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Flat refusal for the lease registry

Flat refusal for the lease registry

The introduction of a lease registry requested since a few years by the Regroupement des Comités Logement et Association de locataires du Québec (RCLACQ) (the Assembly of the Housing Committees and the Association of tenants of Quebec) and the Parti Québécois again has just been refused by Minister Lessard who has decided to put an end to the study relating to the installation of a lease registry at the time of the publication of the study of the budget allocations for 2012-2013. The purpose of this registry would be to make it possible for new tenants to know the previous rental price of their dwelling.

In 2010 already, the Government stated its opposition to the creation of such a registry thinking “that there are laws which make it possible for the tenants to have their rights respected”. Moreover, the Civil code of Quebec already stipulates that the owner must give to the new tenant a notice indicating the lowest rent paid during the last 12 months.

The APQ has always asserted its opposition to such a registry. The rental pool rather needs an easing of the rules in force, in particular those which relate to the setting of the rental price. It is necessary to intervene to stimulate the interest of the investors by establishing a method of setting of the rents which supports the development and the maintenance of the buildings.

The waiting for a new housing reform remains big and it would be inappropriate to invest in keeping such a registry which has cost 30 million dollars in Ontario. This waiting passes, amongst other things, through a reform of the Régie du logement which dearly needs additional resources, by the granting of consequent financial assistance to underprivileged people or by the installation of a certain policy more targeted towards the owners because today the equilibrium between the obligations of the owners and those of the tenants has been for too long a time to the advantage of the tenants.

About the author

Martin A. Messier

Me Martin A. Messier a fait ses études au Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf avant de continuer ses études en droit à l'Université de Montréal. Il est membre du Barreau du Québec depuis 1992, et œuvre auprès des propriétaires de logements locatifs depuis 1993.

Il est entre autres président de l'Association des propriétaires du Québec, propriétaire d'une compagnie de gestion immobilière. Il est fréquemment invité comme conférencier dans le cadre de conférences et de séminaires juridiques et de gestion portant sur le louage immobilier.

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