Rents are going up across Montreal and tenant rights activist are worried that some people are afraid to speak up for fear of being left without a place to live.
Landlords have the green light to raise rents by nearly six per cent this year and tenants are scrambling for information about their rights, according to Sophie Gagnon, a lawyer with Juripop which offers free legal assistance.
“It’s really a drastic increase from the previous year,” she said, adding the stakes are higher than ever.
“Because of the housing crisis, they understand that, if they’re not able to challenge the rent increase or the eviction notice, then the consequences can be really dire for them.”
It’s a trend Amy Darwish sees firsthand with her work at housing group Parc-Extension Action Committee.
“In a context where affordable housing is scarce, where evictions are rampant, a lot of people hesitate to refuse a rent increase for fear of starting a conflict with their landlords,” she said.
The increase recommended by Quebec’s rental tribunal (TAL) for unheated units in 2025 increased by four-point-seven per cent since 2020.
Even before that, a lot of tenants were paying rents beyond their means, said Darwish.
“A lot of people end up accepting rents that are pretty much the totality of their income. A lot of them are forced into situations where they have to share apartments, sometimes with multiple families,” she said.
Fighting back doesn’t guarantee a win.
After over 13 years in the same St-Henri apartment, Angela Henderson faced a rent increase of $87 last year.
“I contested it and I went to the TAL and when we got in, basically, the judge didn’t want to hear anything from me,” she said.
This year she’s facing a $92 hike.
Henderson says every dollar counts. Her daughter has multiple medical conditions, and money is already tight.
“I frequently have to take time off work, and I only work part time, just so that I can go to a lot of medical appointments and procedures... so her increasing our rent by large amounts multiple years in a row definitely makes it far less affordable,” said Henderson.
The deadline to respond to standard lease renewal notices, including rent increases, is March 31 for those with leases renewing July 1.
