At 71 years old, Michel Dubé is the latest victim of renovictions.
“We don’t ask for a castle — we want to stay where we are,” he says.
After alleging he was pressured by his landlord, and renovations in the apartment above his, he has decided to move.
“I was in a state of panic. I just decided to move. I signed. He won.”
The trend growing in popularity with Montreal landlords has displaced hundreds of tenants.
The Comité Logement du Plateau Mont-Royal has seen the number of eviction cases triple to 154 in the past two years.
Together with Québec solidaire, they’re demanding the Coalition Avenir Québec take immediate action to assist these tenants who are already victims of renoviction before they see another increase in evictions.
Québec solidaire wants to see the government put a moratorium on all renovictions while changing the law.
In addition, they want an emergency committee in charge of relocating residents who have been evicted.
These changes will not only protect tenants but also communities, said Québec solidaire MNA Ruba Ghazal.
“People who are living in these apartments, they are not only living in an apartment, they are living in a neighbourhood, they are living in a community, they want to contribute, they are families,” she says.
She says in renoviction cases all landlords want to do is double or even triple rent.
Andréanne Leclerc-Marceau said that’s what happened to her apartment.
“Our owners, when they sent the renovation letter they said, they would double the rent,” she says.
Leclerc-Marceau and her boyfriend Eric Beaulieu lived in their apartment for 14 years. The couple says they were forced out after new owners renovated the building.
“We felt like he was making it hard for us. Why not make more noise, more dust?” Eric Beaulieu says.
The couple stayed in their apartment until they decided it was no longer manageable.
Global News reached out to the CAQ but the were unable to comment by our deadline.
Québec solidaire says they hope the matter will be handled by December so more landlords aren’t displacing tenants come July 1.