Marie (fictitious first name) moved into an apartment in Longueuil three weeks ago. She thought she had found the rare pearl, a comfort for this catering professional with a limited budget. Since October, he has tried to escape from a house full of rats.
On the surface, his new home was in good condition, except that the bad surprise didn’t take long to appear.
A few hours after his arrival, the electrical system showed failure. A circuit breaker is proven to be delicate once the washer and dryer are turned on. He also discovered that he had to go without hot water, which still happened at the time of our visit.
But the main nuisance remains a colony of cockroaches. He showed us hidden traps in some rooms with dead creatures inside.
” I look at the blankets, the mattresses, the floors. We get sick, obsessive. I no longer eat in the apartment. If we cook, eight or nine come out on top of the refrigerator. I see it day and night. “
It was a very uncomfortable situation for her 15-year-old daughter, who had trouble sleeping. He said he was shocked to have all the cockroaches, which even went into his clothes bags. When I saw them come out of my bag, I was confusedhe said, holding his head in his hands to express disgust.
I was eating, a cockroach was descending in front of me. I brushed my teeth, a cockroach coming down on my facethe young man was furious.
Marie told us that a representative of the owner of the place told her that a preventive treatment had been carried out three months ago, information we could not confirm because the owner did not respond to our request for an interview.
This is company number 9329-9865 Québec inc. Its administrators own several apartment buildings in the area, including the building right next to Marie’s, with a municipal assessment of $ 7,395,000.
However, the problem seems older: this is what emerges from the archives of the Rive-Sud Housing Committee. Community organizer Caroline Vohl tracked down a similar report at the same address nearly a year ago.
” The owners knew that liquidation was very expensive. They want to try alternative things. Often it doesn’t work. People are tired, leave. Finally, what is in an apartment, it becomes a complete building. “
According to Marie, the property owner has temporarily refused to call an exterminator or even participate in decontamination costs. Instead, Mary was offered an arrangement to destroy her rent.
Caroline Vohl also observed some cases where enthusiastic landlords did not hesitate to rent a dwelling without doing any work, because they knew it was a lot of mistakes. There are good landlords, but there are others who are able to re-rent more expensive substandard housing because they know people have nowhere to go.he moaned.
Mary’s case is not unique. The South Shore Housing Committee has received several reports in recent weeks.
Complaints continue to pile up but go unanswered
Tenant complaints to the Municipality of Longueuil are increasing in number. They rose from 400 in 2015 to almost 1,000 in 2019. After a low in 2020 due to the pandemic, there were 692 in 2021.
These measures are often useless, according to Caroline Vohl, because the delay in getting the inspection can take up to a year. In general, tenants are discouraged before taking care of and leaving their dwelling in poor condition.
During last year’s election campaign, Mayor Catherine Fournier promised set up cells of specialized full-time inspectors to ensure better application of the Longueuil municipal code in terms of housing hygiene, as well as better follow-up for tenants.
This promise has not yet been fulfilled. An announcement should be made in the coming weeks, said the City’s press attaché, Camille Desrosiers-Laferrière.
Meanwhile, the housing code is not adequately applied, impatient Caroline Vohl. Multiplying the presence of inspectors will not be enough, he says: it will also be necessary to tighten the screw on repeat offenders, who benefit from excessive relief for his taste.
However, an inspection report submitted by the City proves to be a key element for tenants. For example, it is a pillar in the steps taken with the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL).
At this stage also, the delays were long and the wait for the City report delayed the start of the process. Caroline Vohl said many choose to give up on possible compensation and leave their residence.
Vicious circle for tenants
Legally leave unclean housing, but you have to be careful, because it can backfire on tenants., warns Caroline Vohl. If there is no proper agreement with the landlord, the tenant can be accused of leaving without paying rent.
This is what happened to Marie a few years ago when she left a residence in a hurry with a serious humidity problem. It still represents a black spot in his file with Régie du logement, where it is written that he did not honor his rent. He admitted that his record was far from commendable after several disputes with landlords.
” People tell me: ” You always have problems. ” But no: we try not to live with these problems anymore. “
This single parent wants to escape the spiral that carries her from one unclean home to another. However, with limited income and housing shortage, he felt he was trapped.
I feel confusedshe says, swallowing a sob, but she thinks finding decent and affordable housing is even harder.
According to a recent report by the Montreal Metropolitan Community, 8% of rental housing is not clean in its territory. More than 58,000 tenant households remain in poor housing quality and 200,000 low -income tenant households are experiencing housing affordability issues.
Source: Radio-Canada
