Rents rising “You have to be reasonable,” Montreal tells owners.

Benoit Dorris, housing official on Mayor Plante's Executive Committee, also suggested that tenants in the city should be well informed of their rights and not hesitate to contact the Administrative Housing Court if necessary.

“We have to be reasonable,” Mr. Doris said, explaining that this request does not apply only to this year. “Of course if you do renovations, it's expensive. Of course, there's been an increase in property taxes. Of course there's inflation. I'm aware. But they can use the Housing Administrative Court tool to calculate what's reasonable.”

“In the current context, some may be tempted to be a little more stringent and make rent increases a little higher than recommended,” he added. “The message is that we understand that many things are increasing, but you have to be logical.”

Landlords should not repeat the 4.9% average property tax increase on Montreal residential properties in 2024. “Let's not confuse the numbers,” Mr. Dorris asked at a news conference at Montreal City Hall. “It's very easy for any owner in Quebec […] To invoke the fact that he had a “large tax increase” to achieve a “large rent increase.” Moreover, the tax increase decided this fall “was the lowest we could afford it.” “That was reasonable,” he said, noting that many other large cities in Quebec far exceeded that limit.

The City of Montreal is launching an advertising campaign in several languages ​​on the radio these days to inform tenants of their rights, in cooperation with several actors in the housing world. “We want to reach as many people as possible,” he added. “We are a city of tenants, we are a people of tenants in Quebec.”