A tenant from Trois-Rivières had her lease terminated just hours after signing it because she refused to pay a $800 security deposit when it was illegal to do so.
After inspecting a 3.5-room apartment, the landlord informed him of this conditional rent payment.
Since the woman refused to pay the amount, her lease was terminated on the pretext that this practice had been good for two years.
“I wasn’t happy with that payment,” the tenant said. You can ask me a month in advance, that’s legal, I understand, but if I take $800 when the money is hard enough to make, I think that’s ridiculous. It’s not like they have one or two doors, they have hundreds.”
The officer in question admitted to being aware of the law. She concedes that the claim for the amount was unlawful. She mentioned that there are tenants who are happy with the formula and that it guarantees them an empty, clean and healthy apartment.
“It is illegal to demand and accept for fear of being denied housing,” explained Infologis coordinator Claude Jalette, who claims that this method does not promote access to housing.
However, it may only be a matter of time before this practice is legalized in Quebec.
The Quebec Landlords Association (APQ) has been asking the government for several years to be allowed to demand this. It’s a security issue, she said.
“It’s a way of working that allows us to ensure that the rent is paid, that we have someone who is serious and who also returns the accommodation to the condition in which they received it, barring normal wear and tear” , stressed the President of the APQ, Martin Messier.
“Right now, we’re practically the only ones in North America that can’t ask for a deposit,” he added.
Currently, tenants have the right to refuse to pay a security deposit and can appeal to the Administrative Housing Tribunal.