The City of Montreal is planning on more than doubling the number of building inspectors on the payroll and tripling building inspections by 2021 in an effort to fight squalor among rental units in the city.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante made the announcement in Cote-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, which, according to a city heat map, has some of the worst instances of poor living conditions on the island.
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According to the borough’s mayor, Sue Montgomery, “We haven’t had an administration that took this issue seriously, so landlords have gotten away with a lot in the past,” she said.
The city is planning on inspecting more than 30,000 rental units, and will use parking ticket-style fines for enforcement. In situations where landlords are unwilling to pay fines, the City would collect the amount owing from the price of the property when it sells, Montgomery said.
“I’ve personally spoken to a couple landlords and I’ve sent a message out saying that we are not going to be like other administrations and we are going to be on the side of the tenants,” she said.
The city also plans to eventually make its enforcement information public so that people can see addresses that have received fines.