2024-01-19 00:30:00
Tenants feel more than ever under pressure after receiving rent increases well beyond the recommendations of the Administrative Housing Tribunal and which can go up to nearly $100 per month.
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“It feels like it’s never-ending. I already received an $80 raise [par mois] in July, it’s another $80. It’s almost $200 in less than two years,” complains Noémie Martel.
The 25-year-old single-parent mother lives with her two- and three-year-old children in a “normal” four and a half apartment in Terrebonne.
When she moved in in January, she paid $860. Last July, it increased to $940, a rent that will increase further to $1,020 next July, an increase of 8.5%.
Up to 16% increase
The recommendations of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) revealed on Tuesday establish a basic increase of 4% for unheated housing, which can further increase depending on municipal taxes and if there has been major work.
“There is nothing that has changed in my accommodation, except a mosquito net,” protests Ms. Martel, who intends to contest the opinion.
The Journal spoke to at least five other tenants from Montreal, Quebec and Trois-Rivières who were shocked after receiving their notice of increase.
Even before the publication of the TAL grid, the Haut-Saint-François Women’s Center, in Estrie, had witnessed several cases, including a notice of an increase of 15.63%.
“We are not in Montreal, nor in Sherbrooke. People who get raises, even abusive ones, accept them because they tell themselves that they won’t find anything better. They don’t want any trouble with their owner and they often don’t know that they can refuse,” laments co-coordinator Marilyn Ouellet.
Marilyn Ouellet, co-coordinator at the Haut-Saint-François women’s center. PROVIDED BY MARILYN OUELLET
Increases that exceed
The Association of Housing Committees and Tenant Associations of Quebec (RCLAQ) fears that again this year the actual increases will exceed the recommendations of the TAL.
“Even respecting the grid, we can expect exorbitant increases. With municipal taxes, we are talking on average of $50 for a $1000 accommodation, that puts a lot of pressure on tenants,” explains spokesperson Cédric Dussault.
He recalls that last year, the TAL recommendation was 2.3% and that the average price of a two-bedroom apartment jumped 5.4% to exceed $1,000 in Montreal, a first in 20 years.
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