Montreal tenants, who have been at odds with their landlord, who has wanted to evict them since 2017, eventually won their case by declaring the man quarrelsome, who will no longer be able to appeal to the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) to turn.
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“I still have a hard time believing that. Since 2017, the owner has been going to war against us, ”says Olivier Grondin. After 27 submissions to the TAL and 48 hearings, Mr Grondin and his wife believe they see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Then, then students, they had rented an apartment on rue Chambord in Le Plateau, presented as a six-room apartment. However, the tenants quickly realized that the basement, in which three bedrooms were to be housed, was uninhabitable.
As a result, the city declared the basement unhygienic and the tenants contacted the TAL to lower the monthly rent for the three-room apartment. “There should be six of us,” explains Olivier Grondin.
rain of proceedings
The owner of the block, Claude Dominique, who has a housing stock of 43 units, then chained cases before the TAL, but also before the Quebec Court and even the Supreme Court of Canada, to try to convict Oliver Grondin and Emanuelle displace parental side.
The tenant, holder of a master’s degree in law, refused to give him up, responding with legal arguments to each of the requests of Claude Dominique’s lawyers. “At some point someone has to assert themselves. You cannot do that, abuse your power,” explains Olivier Grondin.
Despite the endless legal battles, the couple, who now have a child, adamantly refuse to leave their home and the neighborhood they love. Six years later, Oliver Grondin and Emanuelle Parent-Côté also admit that the conflict goes beyond their personal situation and want to use the dispute to help tenants who are victims of renovations or unjustified increases, for example.
“There is a social aspect to doing useful work. Yes, for me there is this component,” he explains.
hard to carry
Still, this long struggle is hard to endure. “It’s exhausting. I don’t know where I got the strength from to do all these procedures,” admits the tenant, especially since his opponent still owns his apartment.
“It’s difficult to deal with dynamically because it’s at home,” explains Olivier, who feels he has nowhere to go.
However, the couple won their case a few days ago when the owner Claude Dominique was declared the litigant litigant. This means that he is now prohibited from submitting a new procedure to the TAL against the tenants.
The Superior Court judge pointed to the owner’s “obstinate character” in enforcing his decision. “I’m right. I’ve been right since 2017, I’ve been right,” the owner replied to the judge.
Olivier and his wife are not yet at the end of their sentence as the first dispute from 2017 is still unresolved, but they hope their fight will nonetheless be useful to any betrayed renters. “Tenants have rights and they must be respected,” they plead.
Since her victory, the owner has put the triplex up for sale. His lawyer didn’t call us back.
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