In the midst of Quebec’s housing crisis, staff at the Administrative Housing Tribunal are so overwhelmed that they are neglecting the rights of tenants and landlords, her union says.
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“The companions are there to help and support people in their procedures; At the moment they cannot do that,” says Christian Daigle, president-general of the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec, which represents the staff of the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL).
In an interview with Le Journal, he complained about the chronic lack of staff and the poor working conditions.
“Employees are prevented from giving all the necessary information to the people they consult; it’s serious for us to get to that,” Mr Daigle said, noting that they have a policy not to talk about Article 59.
Invoking this article allows the deadline for a communication received to be extended.
Knowing that a tenant or landlord has 30 days to respond to most evictions, many people simply can’t get an appointment before the due date, the president denounced.
staff shortage
Also according to the union, poor working conditions have caused many information workers to quit their jobs over the past five years.
In Montreal and Laval, 38% of information officers have been with the TAL for less than two years.
According to the annual management report, more than 4.7 million applications were made to the Administrative Court for the years 2021 and 2022.
Big mistake
Photo Marianne Langlois
Martin Blanchard
co-speaker
The Regrouping of Housing Committees and Tenants Associations of Quebec (RCLALQ) even compares the TAL’s administrative failures to those of the SAAQclic platform, pointing out that the impact is much larger.
“Because of this impossibility to meet professionals, some people are losing their homes,” adds Martin Blanchard, co-spokesman for RCLALQ.
In the midst of a housing crisis and during this lease renewal, tenants wait several hours on the phone to speak to a representative from the Administrative Housing Tribunal.
When asked by Le Journal about the chronic staffing shortages at their operations, the TAL replied via email: “Like all other employers in the public and private sectors, the court has to deal with important staffing issues. Significant efforts are being made to remedy this and to fill vacant information officer positions.”
However, our request for an interview was denied.
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