Montreal landlords and developers rally for the right to evict

A group of Montreal landlords and developers demonstrated in front of City Hall Friday, protesting bylaws passed by seven boroughs that temporarily limit evictions.

The new bylaws are meant to prevent so-called “renovictions”—they forbid landlords from evicting tenants in order to divide, merge, expand or renovate housing units.

Since those bylaws are borough by borough, it’s unclear exactly what role the landlords believed the city had to play, but they said they’re frustrated with an overall lack of response to their concerns.

“We sent questions, we’ve tried to meet with elected officials and no one wants to talk to us,” said Vincent Dubreuil-Hubert, one of the demonstrators.

“No one wants to receive us, no one’s answering our questions.”

He said the new rules have “a big impact.” 

Tenants’ rights groups had pressured the city to stop renovictions because of the city’s housing crisis, with rents spiking and the vacancy rate under two per cent.

The city declined to comment, but recently it required landlords across Montreal to step up their investments in social housing.

The landlords and developers pointed the finger back, saying the city has failed to deliver as much affordable housing as it promised in the last election.