A lawyer is dealing with a lawsuit over removing firewalls from a building in Old Montreal close to the building that burned down last week to increase rental capacity on Airbnb.
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Emil Fattal
Lawyer
Four tenants of a building on Notre-Dame Street West filed a lawsuit in Montreal court in 2021, seeking a total of $330,000. They target a real estate investment firm run by a Montreal attorney named Émile Fattal.
According to their allegations, the company illegally operated short-term rentals on Airbnb, making their lives impossible and endangering their safety.
“Renovation work on fire doors will take place on September 14, 2019 […] to enlarge the apartments and increase their capacity. This renovation work destroys the walls of the fire doors next to the plaintiff’s apartment, ”in particular claims one of the tenants, Éric Pelletier, on appeal.
The building is in the same very touristy area where a tragic fire killed two and left five missing on Thursday.
smell of smoke
By June 2018, according to another tenant, James Peters, the smell of smoke had already spread through the building.
He said he had to call 911 to avoid a fire. The fire brigade’s visit would have revealed that the smoke came from a lit cigar in a flower box filled with fertilizer in an apartment.
As if that weren’t enough, an “accumulation of trash and snow” would also have blocked the back alley door, “thus compromising the safety of the plaintiff, who cannot use the door as an emergency exit in the event of a fire,” it is alleged.
Montreal was aware of these prohibited activities, and a city employee would have made a relevant statement in 2020, according to the lawsuit.
The owner of the building is said to have denied that there were problems with tourist visitors.
He would also have been aware of the short-term rental activity, as the leases indicated that the rental was planned through Airbnb.
Screenshot of an exhibit submitted in a court filing
In English, the highlighted passage on a rental agreement states that the short-term rental on Airbnb was intended and would therefore have escaped the jurisdiction of the Administrative Housing Tribunal.
dead animals
Many other harassments are listed in the complaint. Spaces have reportedly been advertised on Airbnb as perfect for accommodating groups during the pandemic.
Remains of dead animals in the walls would have lured flies and cockroaches into an apartment.
In May 2022, the law firm moved to withdraw certain allegations from the lawsuit, specifically that it was hearsay.
In October 2021, she also blamed all of the blame on the renters who sublet Airbnb, arguing that if any damage occurred, they should be held solely responsible. The company’s full defense has yet to be presented in court.
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