It’s time to refuse
your rent increase!
In Québec, the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) provides calculations each year to determine what constitutes a “reasonable” increase in monthly rent. It’s generally different for each unit of housing and is based on amounts such as the landlord’s total revenue for the building, local municipal and school tax rates, and improvements or repairs they’ve made over the past year.
Many landlords issue rent increases far in excess of this “reasonable” amount. If your landlord issues a rent increase larger than the calculated “reasonable” increase and you accept it, you may be obligated to continue to pay it even if you later realize that it should have been lower.
You have the right to refuse a rent increase. Your landlord will then need to propose a lower amount or ask the Tribunal du logement to intervene and decide the final increase. You may even be entitled to a decrease in rent as a result of changes in tax and energy rates. As a tenant, there’s no risk to you in refusing this increase — at worst you’ll be told that it’s within the permissible increase amount for your dwelling.
@coeurdelile
gentrification