5 things quebec tenants should know about their rights

this is part 4 of the gazette series renting montreal.

hit with a rent increase? asked to leave an apartment to make way for renovations? receiving such news can be destabilizing, but there are several laws in quebec that aim to protect tenants. not everyone knows about them, however, which can lead to tenants agreeing to changes under pressure — only to discover they had every right to decline or negotiate. "being informed is the first step to being empowered," said tenants' rights activist lina, who sits on an advisory committee for the national tenant organizing fund and runs the instagram account @tenantrightsqc, devoted to raising public awareness about laws in quebec. (lina prefers to keep her last name private since she is a tenant.)

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renting montreal

• part 1: montreal rent prices have jumped 70% in the last decade
• part 2: how tenants’ rights evolved — and eroded — under the caq
• part 3: rising rents reshaped montreal’s music scene, but a mile end holdout survives
• part 4: 5 things quebec tenants should know about their rights

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"i really want people to understand their rights," she said in an interview. "there's a lot of shady practices, unfortunately. rents are skyrocketing, and i think we really need to ... get to know our rights and work together."acknowledging that pushing back against a landlord can be daunting, lina pointed out that tenants shouldn't feel uncomfortable exercising their rights."ideally, you stay on good terms with your landlord — that's the best-case scenario," she said. "but if they broke the law first by hiking up your rent without justification or by threatening you to sign something, you're not the one who is the problematic person in this scenario. you're just exercising your rights — rights that are there to protect you, rights that should have been followed by both the landlord and the tenant."it is, of course, intimidating, "but the law does have our back," lina said. "i know it's not easy, but there is support out there, and it's never wrong to do the right thing."for individual advice about specific scenarios, lina suggests contacting local housing committees. more broadly, these are the top five things she thinks tenants should know:

1: you shouldn't sign anything you don't understand

get informed about what you're being asked to sign before signing it, lina said. "read through it; get advice from your housing committee if you need to."it's very difficult to undo a signature, and unfortunately, landlords have been known to show up at tenants' doors and intimidate them and say, 'you have to sign this now,' and that's never a requirement," she said. "that is like signing your rights away."

2: you can refuse a rent increase

tenants have three options when they receive a rent increase notice: accept; refuse and not renew the lease; or refuse and renew it, at which point the landlord would have to justify the increase through the tribunal administratif du logement (tal). "many landlords, unfortunately, don't even put the three options on the notice," lina said.tenants have one month from the day they receive the notice to formally respond with their choice. lina suggests talking to neighbours to see what increase they received. her landlord gives different increases to different neighbours, so they swap information, and all aim for the lowest amount requested."that's how i've managed to lower my increase several years in a row," she said. "talking to your neighbours is really, really powerful." in addition to saving money for the individual, negotiating rent increases down also helps lower the average price of rents in the city, she said. "we really need to be fighting for that as much as we can, as rents are skyrocketing."

3: security deposits are illegal

unlike other places in canada, security deposits are illegal in quebec. that doesn't stop some landlords from asking for them, however."that's a big red flag," lina said. it's common to pay the first month's rent while signing the lease with the landlord, but that shouldn't be confused with a deposit."in other places in canada, (security deposits) are the norm, and so a lot of people who come to quebec don't recognize that that's not how things work here, and landlords often get away with it," lina said.

4. you shouldn't withhold rent

"this is, like, the no. 1 way to get evicted," lina said.paying rent is a tenant's obligation, and withholding it for more than three weeks is one of the reasons a landlord can terminate a lease with the tal's permission. withholding rent is "playing with fire," lina said."it's not something that gives you the upper hand," she explained. "if there are problems with your apartment, if there are repairs that need to be done, there are processes and steps to take in order for the repairs to get done. it's legally required for the landlord to provide you with safe and livable housing, but withholding rent is not the move in such situations."if a landlord hasn't addressed a problem despite the tenant going through the appropriate channels, lina said the tenant can, on some occasions — depending on the urgency — have the work contracted and subtract the amount from the rent (with receipts). "but i would really get advice before going down this route, whether it's through the tal or your local housing committee."

5. pay attention to section g on a lease

section g, if filled in — which it should be — indicates the lowest price paid for a unit over the last 12 months. outside of the context of a lease transfer, which keeps the rent as is, landlords sometimes increase rent unjustifiably between tenants.if you want a given apartment, lina suggests signing the lease despite what section g says, but to pay attention to it "because it has the potential of saving you a lot of money.""you might be able to reduce your current rent price if the increase is not justified" by asking the tal to reset the rent, lina said. tenants have 10 days from the day the lease is signed to make the request with the tal if section g was filled out. if it was blank, tenants have two months. "it is very time sensitive, and you have to be proactive about it," lina said.in some cases, rent increases are justifiable. "but if you're entering a creaky house with outdated appliances, old paint, and suddenly it's $500 to $1,000 more than it used to be, than what's indicated in section g, you might want to think about that," lina said.

6. bonus tips

asked if it wanted to add anything to the above five tips, housing rights group front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (frapru) said tenants who are asked to leave their apartments for major renovations are allowed to come back to them.in addition, a tenant who plans on leaving their apartment should always have another one lined up before terminating their lease, frapru advises. for more information about tenants' rights, contact your local housing committee or see the website locataire.info.kthomas@postmedia.com