An organization representing more than 60 tenants’ rights groups in Quebec has presented a 15,000-signature petition to provincial leaders calling for an immediate rent freeze.
The petition presented to the Quebec’s National Assembly by Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Quebec (RCLALQ) also calls for the implementation of effective rent control in Quebec and the rejection of the second proposed amendment of regulatory criteria for rent increases that was made public last month, arguing it would allow for an inflationary spiral in rent increase calculations and encourages landlords to make tenants pay for the entire cost of renovations to their units.
RCLALQ is also calling for an absolute cap on annual rent increases; the obligation for landlords to apply to the Tribunal Administratif du Logement (TAL or Administrative Housing Tribunal) to justify any increase above the set rate; the creation of a public rent registry, accessible free of charge, allowing tenants to view the history of rents and major renovations; and a decree freezing rents until these new regulations and measures are implemented.
“The CAQ is opening the door to even greater increases and to an acceleration in the transfer of wealth from tenants to landlords,” said RCLALQ spokesperson Émile Boucher, referring to the majority Coalition Avenir Quebec party that dominates the Quebec National Assembly. “The new minister must understand that tenants’ ability to pay has already reached its limit and that we will always oppose a government that aims to line the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of the majority.”
