Tenants in this Park Ex building say they're being pressured out. Advocates say they're not alone

After years living in the same apartment on Birnam and St-Roch streets in Montreal's Parc-Extension neighbourhood, several tenants say they feel they're being pressured out of the 14-apartment building.

It started with phone calls, with the landlord urging them to move out.

A few months later, tenants say they were handed a lease renewal letter which changed their situations dramatically.

Heat and hot water would no longer be included and rent would rise at least $60 a month, according to the document CBC has obtained a copy of. Overall, the tenants say they would be paying hundreds more each month.

One tenant, whom CBC is not identifying because she fears being singled out and targeted by the landlord, said she can't afford the changes.

The lease renewal also includes a clause that would penalize the tenant $50 if rent is not paid by the fifth of the month. If the tenant's cheque bounces, they would be penalized an additional $50.

Facing the possibility of being priced out of her apartment, the tenant says she reached out to the neighbourhood housing committee, the Comité d'action de Parc-Extension (CAPE).

Tenants in Park Ex more vulnerable, say advocates

André Trépanier, a community organizer at CAPE, says most of the residents of the building are banding together to fight the rent increase. He says they're not the only ones facing what he calls abusive rent hikes and pressure tactics.

Trépanier says in his 12 years working at CAPE, he has never seen so many people facing the same problem.

Some people have to turn to food banks, he says, because after paying their rent, they cannot afford groceries — which have also gotten more expensive.

Many people in Park Ex are extra vulnerable as newcomers to Quebec, still learning English or French and how to navigate the system, said Trépanier.

"If we are not there for these people and if the tenants are not staying together, people will be evicted or people will face major rent increases," he said.

"The law is very complicated even for folks who are born and raised in Canada and have a good understanding of French and English. So imagine a recent newcomer who has to navigate all that," said Manuel Johnson, a lawyer who exclusively represents tenants.

Johnson says landlords are allowed to ask for more money, but they must justify why they are doing so if the tenant asks for that explanation.

Johnson said he too has seen an explosive growth in the number of tenants fighting abusive rent hikes.

"There's a handful of lawyers in Montreal that defend tenants, and we are all completely overwhelmed by the demand," he said.

He says the process of going to the province's housing tribunal can be long and stressful, and some people give in and agree to abusive rent hikes, especially in such a difficult rental market.

"You're talking about peoples' homes, so they want to feel comfortable there. They don't want to feel that they have that Damocles's sword over their heads."

Johnson and Trépanier are both calling on the provincial government to do more to protect vulnerable tenants.

Inflation, insurance hikes to blame for higher rent, says landlord

Abraham Kellner, the building's landlord, said in a statement that he didn't mean to harass anyone, and that he is still willing to help with repairs "despite that they have decided to stay."

He said he was not aware that a penalty for late rent is illegal and said he is doing his best to manage the building, calling the repair delays normal.

Kellner also said the rent hike was based on the tribunal's rent calculator, and that the increased cost is due to inflation and higher insurance costs.

Nevertheless, the tenants say they have sent a letter by registered mail refusing the terms of their lease renewal – and they will fight to stay in their homes.