The Quebec Landlords' Association (APQ) hopes the next government will address rental housing.
We often see ads for access to home ownership or green renovations, but few of these initiatives are open to rental properties.
Housing is a provincial jurisdiction, but some requests can be addressed to the federal government.
Security Deposit and Criminalization of Acts - Recommendation: Clarifications should therefore be made to the Criminal Code to include these acts of vandalism as a criminal act, just like vandalism.
The Quebec Landlords' Association (APQ) has been calling for the introduction of a security deposit for many years. This deposit would help landlords who are victims of abuse and raise awareness among tenants.
Currently, a tenant who vandalizes their housing can leave and may face no consequences for their actions. The system created by Quebec was the establishment in 1981 of the Régie du logement (now the Tribunal administratif du logement, TAL), an administrative tribunal that only hears cases between tenants and landlords. However, in a case of vandalism, the landlord must rebuild the dwelling at their own expense, find the tenant (also at their own expense), and open a file with the Administrative Housing Tribunal. Since this case is not a priority, the landlord will wait more than two years for a hearing.
Acts committed by tenants should be considered criminal acts, which is not currently the case. However, when a tenant vandalizes, destroys the counters, breaks the toilet, and leaves the dwelling unsanitary, they should be considered to have committed a criminal act.
Recommendation: Extend the CELIAPP contribution to eight dwellings or fewer.
The Trudeau government introduced the Tax-Free Savings Account for First-Time Home Buyers (TFSHB), a registered plan that allows you to save tax-free to buy or build an eligible housing when you buy your first home.
Eligible Housing: This definition includes single-family and semi-detached houses, row houses, mobile homes, condominiums, duplexes, triplexes, quadruplexes, and condominiums.
Recommendation: Remove the GST on the purchase of new homes AND buildings under construction.
Buyers will be able to purchase more easily, but also in the case of rental properties; each saving will reduce the advertised rental price to make construction profitable.
Recommendation: Increase subsidies and/or credits for housing construction and renovation.
The APQ calls for the granting of incentives, both tax and subsidy-based, for work in residential rental buildings in Quebec. The costs of maintaining our buildings in good condition have increased; this has made reasonable rent increases more necessary than ever, something that is currently impossible to achieve with the outdated rent-setting method in place. The APQ also calls for a direction and action plan to encourage investment in rental real estate in Quebec, particularly through the granting of tax credits for renovations or subsidies from municipalities and/or the provincial government. Landlords should be encouraged to invest in their buildings and, when carrying out renovations, to choose energy-efficient products.
The APQ hopes that the government will allow landlords to maintain a healthy rental housing stock, which would be beneficial for tenants as well as landlords. It is therefore desirable to implement a subsidy program for the renovation of all buildings, particularly those of a certain age and with more urgent needs.
Recommendation: Assistance for individuals, not for the construction of housing requiring maintenance.
According to the APQ, private landlords would be happy to serve clients who need housing assistance. If government or city assistance were provided to individuals rather than buildings, keeping in mind that personal assistance promotes social diversity, it would be a win-win solution. The concentration of people in need occupying the same buildings is as detrimental to the people who live there as it is to society. Therefore, the APQ proposes increasing the amounts offered as rent supplements or other equivalent programs, as well as broadening the eligibility criteria.
The Quebec Landlords' Association (APQ) is continuing its advocacy to determine the government's direction regarding rental housing in Quebec.
2025 Federal Election: Providing a Safe Housing. Let's Help the Landlords!
