Tribunal administratif du logement

Think before you move, Montreal warns renters

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By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

The City of Montreal launched an information campaign hoping to help Montreals navigate what they are calling an unprecedented housing crisis, and to deal with rent increases amid the shortage of affordable housing.

The recommended rent increase, announced last month by the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), and reported on in The Suburban, is the highest increase in the last three decades: 5.9 percent. The city points out that landlords have until the end of March to submit notice of rent increases for leases starting July 1. Tenants have a month to either accept or refuse.

The city put out its warning in the hopes of reducing the number of households using the rehousing service offered by the city in collaboration with the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM).

“The housing crisis in Montreal has dramatic repercussions for some households who find themselves homeless on July 1, because they have not found housing that meets their financial capacity,” said Montreal’s head of housing Benoit Dorais. “It is crucial to know your rights to better enforce them.”

The city is warning Montreal tenants to think carefully before terminating a lease and moving. It is recommending to those thinking of moving to start searching for a new place to live now due to the shortage of affordable housing. It is also suggesting renters visit the city’s website to avail themselves of online tools from the OMHM that groups available housing by the number of rooms and amount. It also recommends the organization Vivre en Ville organization as a good source of information about the costs of rent in different areas.

The city said in its release that neighbourhood housing committees are available, as well, “to help you see things more clearly.” n

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West Island tenants protest “abusive” rent hikes after TAL decision

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By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

Protestors gathered at the Fairview Pointe-Claire central bus terminal on Monday to voice their opposition to what housing advocates are calling “historic” rent increases announced by the Tribunal Administratif du Logement (TAL) for 2025-26.

The demonstration, organized by the Community Action and Legal Organizations for Development and Integration (CALODI), saw tenants holding signs and offering educational materials to transit travellers about the TAL’s allowable maximum 5.9% increase for unheated dwellings and 5.5% for electrically heated units. It is the highest in 30 years, substantially above inflation and comes on top of the 4.4% increase allowed last year, making the two-year combined increase the highest in history.

“The system has been broken for a while,” CALODI spokesperson Lily Martin told The Suburban. “This historic rent increase, coming right after another record increase in 2024, will force many tenants to choose between paying rent and buying groceries or essential medications.”

Recent data from the Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation reveals the severity of the situation in the West Island, with actual rent increases far exceeding the TAL’s guidelines. While last year’s allowable increase was 4.4%, areas like Pointe-Claire and Pierrefonds saw dramatic jumps of 13% and 19% respectively in some cases. But most landlords do settle with tenants below the maximum allowed by the TAL.

The housing crisis has hit West Island communities particularly hard. According to the Observatoire du grand Montréal’s 2021 data, the percentage of low-income households spending over 30% of their income on rent exceeds the Montreal average of 27.5% in most West Island municipalities. Pointe-Claire tops the list at 43.2%, followed by Kirkland at 36.2%, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue at 33.9%, and Dollard des Ormeaux at 33.1%. Dorval shows the lowest rate at 28.9%, though still above the Montreal average.

A recent letter from the Lachine-LaSalle Housing Committee to Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau highlights serious concerns about the TAL’s rent calculation formula. The committee’s research reveals that the regulation systematically grants increases based on buildings’ net operating income, a component that has become increasingly problematic given the current housing market conditions.

“The increase lies predominantly in the net income of buildings,” Martin explained. “We’ve seen the net revenue component jump from 3.9% to 6.9%, creating a dangerous snowball effect.” Historical data shows this rate remained relatively stable until 2021, when it began rising sharply each year. According to Martin, the TAL’s ambiguous increase allowance chart plays a significant role in “abusive increases” practised by landlords.

According to the committee’s analysis, Quebec-wide rent increases have significantly outpaced general inflation. In 2023, average rents rose by 7.4%, while 2024 saw a 9.5% increase across municipalities with populations over 10,000. These figures represent 1.6 times the overall inflation rate for 2023 (4.5%) and four times the rate for 2024 (2.4%).

Housing advocates are calling for immediate action, including a rent freeze and the implementation of mandatory rent control and registry systems. They argue that real estate speculation, not immigration as suggested by the CAQ government, is the root cause of the crisis.

“The current guidelines for rent increases change every year, creating confusion for tenants who often don’t have access to the necessary information to understand or challenge these increases,” Martin told The Suburban. “Many landlords don’t follow TAL guidelines, and it falls on tenants to know their rights and feel comfortable defending them.”

The situation has led to increased pressure on local services, with food banks reporting significant rises in demand. Housing organizations across Quebec are uniting in their call for an immediate rent freeze to prevent what they describe as an imminent state of emergency for Quebec tenants.

“As tenants, we make up 40% of Quebec’s population,” Martin explained. “We need concrete measures to curb this crisis, not just guidelines that many landlords don’t follow anyway.” Some 70% of people on the island of Montreal rent. Historically, Montreal has had the highest percentage of renters of any city over a million people in North America.

CALODI will be hosting free workshops in the coming weeks to inform tenants about their rights regarding lease renewals and rent increases in an effort to help them curb some of the increases, where possible. n

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Demonstrators brave the cold to demand rent freeze

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Demonstrators brave the cold to demand rent freeze 

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter 

Cassandra@qctonline.com

Renters’ rights groups are raising the alarm about the combined impact of inflation, rising food prices and record rent increases on renters, a week after the province’s housing tribunal announced a record high 5.9 per cent rent increase benchmark. They are calling on the provincial government to impose a freeze on rent increases. 

During “rent control week” activities organized by the Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ), on Jan. 30, some 25 protesters gathered in the cold in Parc de l’Amérique-Française and marched across the street to the offices of Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau in Édifice Marie-Guyart in the hope of freezing rents. 

Contrary to popular belief, the RCLALQ states, “There is no rent control in Quebec,” leaving tenants vulnerable to abusive increases. When presented with an increase they believe is abusive, tenants can go before the Tribunal administratif du Logement (TAL) and have a judge set an increase. According to the RCLALQ, many tenants are unaware of their rights, and when they do contest abusive, negligent or illegal practices, they often fail to make their voices heard at the TAL. 

On Jan. 21, the TAL announced a 5.9 percent rent increase benchmark for 2025 (see article in Jan. 29, 2025 edition). While the Coalition de Québec contre les hausses de loyer claims this trend drives rents up across the board, landlords argue these increases are overdue, compensating for nearly 10 years of mismanagement within the Régie du Logement and the TAL and allowing landlords to adjust to the rising costs of maintenance. 

Nicolas Villamarin Bonilla of the Coalition stated, “Owners’ income has risen, allowing them to increase rents further. This wealth drain is making the poor poorer and the richest are getting richer at their expense. The outdated calculation methods are concerning, particularly regarding rent evolution this year.” He continued, “We need action before it’s too late. Many tenants are already struggling to pay rent or find affordable housing. Rent-setting by the TAL is ineffective.” 

As a recourse, the RCLALQ and the Coalition are demanding an immediate rent freeze and provincewide rent control. At the Jan. 30 protest at the housing ministry offices, they threw white confetti to mimic snow and sang a modified version of the theme from Frozen while distributing stickers asserting the right of tenants to refuse rent hikes, until security personnel showed them the exit. 

Along with rising rents, there is a housing crisis in Quebec, renters’ groups assert. “There is housing available, but it is even more expensive. What is currently being built in Saint-Sauveur, we are talking about 4 1/2s [two-bedroom apartments] that start at $1,600, $2,000 [per month]. This is well above the ability of a large part of the neighbourhood’s population to pay,” said Guillaume Béliveau Côté of the Comité des citoyens et des citoyennes du quartier Saint-Sauveur.

As of Feb. 1, there is no indication the government plans to legislate to freeze rents, despite calls for a freeze by the Quebec Liberal Party and Québec Solidaire. Duranceau has said the Coalition Avenir Québec government’s approach to the housing shortage is centred around increasing supply. 

With files from Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

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Record rent benchmark increase alarms renters’ groups

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Record rent increase benchmark alarms renters’ groups

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

At the Saint-Roch offices of the Bureau d’animation et d’information logement de Québec métropolitaine (BAIL-Québec), the phones haven’t stopped ringing for days. The record rent increase benchmark of 5.9 per cent announced by the province’s housing tribunal (Tribunal administratif du logement; TAL) has many renters in a panic as they brace for lease renewal season.

In Quebec, private residential landlords can increase rent annually by as much as they see fit, explained lawyer Richard Goldman of Éducaloi, a legal information nonprofit. Renters have the choice of accepting the increase and renewing their lease, moving out, or refusing the increase. If the tenant refuses the increase, they can either try to negotiate a smaller increase directly with the landlord, or go before the TAL and have a judge set a (non-negotiable) increase. Although the increases determined by the TAL can vary widely depending on the age of a building, whether it has been recently renovated or needs work, the property owner’s tax liability and whether utilities are included, the TAL uses the benchmark as a guideline to determine what a fair increase is. Some landlords also use the benchmark to calculate increases they propose to renters.

“Rent is made up of different components – maintenance, insurance, gas, electricity, net revenue [for the property owner], all of those make up a percentage [of the increase],” explained Jonathan Carmichael, an information officer at BAIL-Québec and a spokesperson for the provincewide Régroupement des comités du logement et des associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ; Quebec association of housing committees and renters’ associations). Macroeconomic indicators and housing tribunal jurisprudence also play a role in the calculations. The benchmark “gives [landlords and renters] an idea of what the TAL might decide, if your case goes before the TAL.” Last year’s benchmark was four per cent. Carmichael said the 5.9 per cent benchmark is “the highest we’ve seen in years. … Twenty years ago, it was more like one per cent.”

Carmichael said the organization had been getting “lots of calls” from worried renters. “Most people’s salaries have not gone up that much, and social assistance has not gone up by that much. People have been stretching the rubber band as much as they can for a long time now. The rise of the cost of living is also high, and landlords have been profiting from it.”

Real estate lawyer Martin Messier is president of the Association des propriétaires du Québec (APQ), the residential landlords’ professional association. He refutes Carmichael’s accusation that landlords are taking advantage of the situation to line their pockets. “We know that people are in a difficult situation, and it is also hard for a lot of our property owners, who are dealing with mortgages that have nearly doubled,” he said. “It’s not true that [the increase] is going in our pockets – it’s based on expenses.” He noted that fluctuating interest rates and the rising cost of renovations have made rent increases inevitable. “Every cost involved in maintaining a building has gone up, and we need to be able to maintain the building.”

The RCLALQ, the Quebec Liberal Party and Québec Solidaire have called for a rent freeze. Messier said that was untenable, and that direct aid to the most vulnerable renters might be a better approach as inflation continues to bite and economic uncertainty looms. “A rent freeze would make sense, but only if they banned tax increases, hydro rate increases and price increases for contractors,” he said. “If people’s income does not go up, we’re all stuck. We want renters to be happy and to be in a position to pay.”

Carmichael advised anyone who receives a rent increase that they are unable or unwilling to pay to contact their local housing committee for free advice. A provincewide directory of housing committees can be found at rclalq.qc.ca/en/housing-committee.

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