Montreal’s Parc-Extension neighborhood sees growing tenant unrest over rent increases reaching 20%, as landlords cite major building investments to justify the hikes.
Tenant Struggles in Neglected Apartments
Ali Kamruzzaman, a 70-year-old resident, has called the same apartment home for 28 years alongside his wife. Despite persistent issues like ceiling cracks, damaged countertops, warped cabinets, and bathroom mold, the couple intends to stay. Shock hit when a new landlord issued a $150 monthly rent increase notice. “They like to collect money, but don’t like to spend money,” Kamruzzaman stated. He countered with a $50 offer, roughly double the provincial guideline relative to his current rent, and ultimately reached that agreement.
Advocacy Group Reports Widespread Notices
The Comité d’Action de Parc-Extension (CAPE), a local housing advocacy organization, reports that tenants in 18 nearby buildings received notices for 5% to 20% increases from two new landlords using the same property manager. CAPE has launched over 50 cases to challenge these hikes. Coordinator Amy Darwish notes that tenant counteroffers of $50 to $80 get rejected, calling them “still enormous increases.” Lower-rent payers, such as those at $800 monthly, face budget strains amid record-high rents in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough. Long-term residents grapple with tough financial decisions on remaining income.
Examples include two tenants hit with $150 hikes: one at 20.58% and another at 18.75%.
Landlords Defend Investments
The landlords acquired the properties last summer on L’Acadie and D’Anvers avenues and Birnam Street, totaling over 165 units. Marc Lemieux, one owner managing multiple buildings there, states the purchases revealed over 350 city-issued non-conformity notices for safety and security. Investments total $3.1 million, with $2.1 million factored into Quebec’s Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) calculator for increases. Average hikes stand at 9%, with only select units at 20% due to extra work. In total, 89 tenants received notices from 5% to 20%.
“The problems were related to the heating,” Lemieux explained. “So we addressed these issues, we changed the furnaces, we secured access to all units, we installed surveillance cameras, we converted the factory-made panels to breaker panels. We adjusted the system, we replaced the windows. Then we implemented an extermination program.”
Rent Guidelines and Legal Advice
Quebec’s TAL recommends 3.1% increases for unrenovated apartments early in the year and 4.5% for leases renewing before April 1, based on tax, school fees, and insurance shifts. Housing lawyer David Searle explains that hikes above 3.1% require proof of added expenses or renovations. “The tenant has to be convinced that there was either work done or tax or insurance increases beyond 3.1 per cent that justifies such an increase,” he said. Tenants have 30 days to contest unjustified raises. Searle urges negotiation, as tribunal cases challenge both sides, and stresses that maintenance costs impact everyone.
