Quebec's rental tribunal has proposed the highest rent increase in 30 years, prompting anxiety among Montreal tenants already grappling with rising living costs. The proposed 5.9% increase, coupled with escalating property taxes and renovations, could push many to the brink of affordability. Local tenants' associations are advocating for a freeze on rent hikes until more protective measures are implemented.
Fog blankets the Montreal skyline on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press) Ken Cervera has resided in his two-bedroom apartment in Saint-Henri for 12 years, the longest stretch he's spent in a single location as an adult. In a country far from his family, the apartment transcends the mere definition of a dwelling; it feels like a sanctuary, more than just a home. 'As an immigrant, I'm alone here. All I have is my place.
It's not just an apartment, it's my home, it's where I live, where I keep my memories. It's where I can just be,' the 44-year-old stated on Monday afternoon at a community centre in Montreal's Sud-Ouest borough, which encompasses Saint-Henri and other historically working-class neighbourhoods. This marked Cervera's inaugural attendance at a workshop hosted by his local tenants' association, POPIR-Comité Logement. However, following Quebec's rental tribunal, known in French as the TAL, issuing its highest rental increase recommendation in 30 years last week, Cervera felt compelled to learn more about his rights and the community's collective efforts to mitigate the challenges posed by escalating living costs. Tenants residing in homes where heat is not included in the rent could observe a 5.9 percent surge in their rent, based on the TAL's calculations of landlords' expenses. This amount could further escalate, contingent upon factors such as apartment upgrades and property taxes. Ken Cervera, left, and Mohamed Cherrak affix papers with messages advocating for a rent hike freeze to a poster at a housing rights workshop in Saint-Henri on Monday. (Verity Stevenson/CBC) Tenants' rights groups are vehemently calling for a rent hike freeze until measures such as a mandatory rental registry and a ceiling on rent increases are implemented. They harbor concerns that the city's housing costs, previously renowned for their affordability, could soon rival those of Toronto and Vancouver, where rents have skyrocketed in recent decades. 'It's not human,' expressed Cervera, who has witnessed his neighbourhood undergo a dramatic transformation from a impoverished enclave with aged architecture to a gentrified and trendy strip adorned with gleaming businesses and newly constructed condo buildings. According to POPIR, rents have surged by 90 percent in the Sud-Ouest over the past decade, contrasting with a 59 percent increase across Montreal. 'That's substantial,' stated Catherine Fournier, a community organizer for POPIR, who was leading the workshop on Monday. 'I'm apprehensive about how people will manage,' she added. Last year, local tenants were already reaching out to POPIR, voicing concerns that the TAL's 2024 rent increase at four percent was excessively high. 'Relocating is considerably more expensive, so individuals risk accepting but struggling to pay and subsequently facing eviction if they fail to meet their financial obligations,' she explained. That's precisely what Cervera fears — and times are undeniably tight. Although Cervera, hailing from Mexico, possesses literature and language degrees from a university in Richmond, Virginia, and from the Université de Montréal, he has encountered difficulties securing employment in his field and has recently been working in a hotel. His monthly rent stands at $725, which is relatively inexpensive by most standards, but Cervera's salary barely covers his monthly expenses, in addition to the lingering student loan debt he still needs to repay. WATCH | Recommended rent increase hits historic high in Quebec: Tenants living in homes where heat is not included could see their rent increase 5.9 percent in 2025. This is based on calculations Quebec’s rental board releases each year, which landlords can use before sending a rent increase notice to a tenant., though Montreal rent growth slowed slightly in 2024, 'it was still higher than average wage growth.' 'As a result, rental market affordability in Montreal continued to erode over the past year,' the report stated. The vacancy rate remains low in the city at 2.1 percent. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment was up by 6.3 percent in the 'purpose-built rental market' at $1,176 per month. Meanwhile, the average two-bedroom in the condominium apartment market is $1,724 and the vacancy rate in that sector is 1.4 percent. The CMHC report notes that apartments are 'scarce in the lower rent ranges.' It also found that the average rent increase for apartments that turned over to new tenants was much higher, at 18.7 percent, than for those where the lease was renewed, at 4.7 percent. The positive news, according to the report, is that Montreal has been building rental units at a faster pace than other Canadian cities, which has prevented the vacancy rate from getting worse. Landlords in Quebec are not supposed to raise rent beyond recommended amounts between tenants, but the data suggests many do. Tenants in Quebec have the right to refuse or negotiate on rent increases with their landlords. Sud-Ouest community members stuck messages calling for a rent hike freeze to a poste
RENT INCREASES QUEBEC MONTREAL HOUSING CRISIS TENANTS' RIGHTS POPIR SUD-OUEST GENTRIFICATION AFFORDABILITY
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