With new regulations already in place since 2003, the City of Montreal – which has been under intense pressure from the media in the last few days – repeats once again that it will find a solution, first and foremost, for the serious cases which include completely unhealthy dwellings, mainly in places like Place Henri-Bourassa.
At a press conference, Cosmo Maciocia, who is responsible for housing on the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal said: «With to-day’s announcement the message which we send to delinquent landlords cannot be any clearer: our Administration will settle, once and for all, the problem of unhealthy dwellings. Landlords targeted by this operation will have to understand that it is in their own good interest to proceed with reparations without delay as regulations will be applied as rigorously as possible and made hard by penalties and fines prescribed by them».
Mr Maciocia continuously received questions concerning certain dwellings high-lighted in the media, making him realize that the application process of the regulations does not seem to function quickly, particularly with landlords whose dwellings are categorized among the « heavy cases » of insalubrity as is, for instance, the case on Jarry Street in Saint Leonard and on Christoph-Colomb Avenue in the Villeray borough.
Ultimately, the City’s representative had to promise to give urgent priority to the dwellings aforementioned by sending out new notices and by acting even more quickly vis-à-vis the targeted landlords if they do not carry out the necessary renovations of these dwellings. Otherwise, following the regulations, the City will have the work done and send the invoice afterwards to the recalcitrant landlords. How much time will it take to settle these extreme cases? Only two to three months promises Cosmo Maciocia.
APQ’s reaction
Interviewed by the media, the president of the APQ, Mr. Martin A. Messier, admits that it is unacceptable for dwellings to be in such a state, even if it goes only about a few extreme cases. He admits, however, that there are laws protecting the tenants and that, should they have problems with their dwellings, they can always go to the courts.
“Present legislation does not motivate us very much to keep our real estate pool in good shape while more and more dwellings are 30 years and older, quite often in need of major repair. We all know very well how an investment spanning 20 to 25 years repays itself, given some major reparations, with rental increases allowed by the Régie du logement in such cases. Government always plays ostrich when it comes to modifying the rules governing the Régie du logement when one looks at present rental control which makes them the lowest rents in Canada and creates a situation very improbable to encourage landlords to take better care of their dwellings », concludes Martin Messier.