A Longueuil property owner who filed for separation has been ordered to pay $7,000 to her former tenants whom she evicted to make way for an Airbnb that now rents for $600 a night.
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“I felt like she was laughing at me. “I thought it was really bold to rent the accommodation again so quickly,” said tenant Nathalie Beauregard on the phone with the Journal.
She and her partner, 58-year-old François L’Allier, had to leave their five-room apartment in Longueuil in June 2022. Its owner, Yu Jin, pretended to take over the house to move in with his partner.
Portrait of owner Yu Jin, who was convicted of malicious repossession this month. Photo from Jindavina’s Instagram
“The court concludes that the tenants have established that they were victims of malicious recovery on the part of the owner and that this malicious recovery caused them harm,” judge Robin-Martial Guay ruled in a decision issued in October 5 the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL).
“Alleged separation”
In this legal document, we learn that Yu Jin separated from his partner in 2022 and that these circumstances blocked his move.
“In this case, the landlord has not convinced the court that there are personal circumstances that prevented her from regaining possession of the property from July 1, 2022. The alleged separation from her then-spouse.” […] “does not constitute a serious obstacle,” emphasizes the court.
The building where Nathalie Beauregard and François L’Allier lived before they were evicted in June 2022. Screenshot from Google Maps
The judge also noted that Nathalie Beauregard and François L’Allier paid $925 per month for the accommodation in question. After they left, Yu Jin tried to re-rent her apartment at double the price, a monthly rent of $1,800.
“It seems clear to us that the landlord used the pretext of taking over the property to get the tenants to move out,” the decision says. […] The only undoubted intention of the landlord is to significantly increase the monthly income from the accommodation in question.
Sign that would have been put up by the owner to rent the apartment from her former tenants. This would have been released the same month the tenants were evicted in June 2022. Evidence was submitted to the TAL
The Honorable Robin-Martial Guay ultimately ordered Ms. Jin to pay $6,900 in damages to Nathalie Beauregard and François L’Allier.
“They had to find new accommodation given the housing shortage and rent prices well above what they were paying, which caused everyone a lot of stress, fatigue and anxiety. This does not take into account the fact that they had to change districts and lost access to local shops,” he explains.
$600 per night on Airbnb
The owner contacted on this issue denies any bad faith and assures that she is considering her options.
“This is really unfair,” said Ms. Jin, stressing that she had already given the couple $2,000 in June 2022 as compensation for the move.
Nathalie Beauregard and François L’Allier’s former apartment is now going for $597 per night on the Airbnb platform. The couple paid $925 a month in rent before being evicted by Yu Jin in June 2022. Screenshot from the Airbnb.ca website
The Journal also found that Nathalie Beauregard and François L’Allier’s former apartment is now available for rent on the Airbnb platform for $597 per night. The owner claims she pays an agent to rent her property on this platform, but refuses to provide further details.
“We’re not surprised,” sighs Ms. Beauregard when she sees the ad online. We just hope we get our money back which we are still waiting for. We are still very bitter about this. All of these procedures take a lot of time and energy.”
To read this judgment, consult the following document:
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