Got an eviction notice last month? In Quebec you can refuse

It's that time of the year; the holiday season is over and you may have received a notice from your landlord that you'll have to leave your home come July.

Annie Comeau received such a notice. She says she wasn't expecting the eviction, even though her landlord opened several cases against her at the provincial housing tribunal, the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL). She says her landlord is trying to evict her to turn her apartment into a short-term rental, which is prohibited in some neighbourhoods.

"I have a hard time sleeping. I don't have much of an appetite, I'm so stressed. I'm looking around, but apartments are $2,000 a month," said Comeau.

"I just can't afford that."

Last year saw a record number of "forced evictions," according to a report by the Regroupement des comits logement et associations de locataires du Qubec (RCLALQ). More than 3,530 tenants filed complaints about being forced out of their dwellings.

Quebec law says landlords must send tenants a written notice of eviction or repossession at least six months before the lease ends. For leases that start July 1, the deadline for landlords to send their notice is Dec.31.

From there, tenants have 30 days to respond through a written notice and canrefuse to leave their unit.

In the case of an eviction notice, it is up to the tenant to bring the refusal form to the TAL.

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Eviction and repossession notices in Quebec are often issued in late December, but tenants have options if they want to contest them.

For repossessions, tenants can refuse simply by delivering a refusal notice to the landlord. A response form is available on the TAL website, but if a tenant does not respond it is assumed they refused.

The landlord would then have to open a file at the housing tribunal to get permission to repossess the unit. For both evictions and repossessions, the onus is on the landlord to prove to the tribunal that they have a legitimate reason. Some landlords offer tenants compensation to move out.

If a tenant finds out a repossession or eviction is fraudulent, they can open a case against the landlord at the housing tribunal and demand compensation. However, the burden of proof is on the tenant.

Martin Blanchard, a co-ordinator at RCLALQ, believes many attempts to repossess units are fraudulent, but tenants rarely know they are allowed to push back against their landlord. He says this is especially difficult for tenants like Comeau who might not be able to find another place that fits their needs and budget amid a housing crisis.

"It's worse than ever," he said. "There's a lot of distress among tenants right now."

Blanchard says those who received their eviction or repossession notices in the last month should contact their local tenant association before signing anything.

"We have done many studies that show that the majority of the repossession or eviction projects are not legal, are not legitimate, and it's not easy to see if everything is right or not," said Blanchard.

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There are legitimate reasons for a landlord to evict a tenant or repossess an apartment. But owners could be tempted to evict a tenant or falsely repossess the unit to hike the rent for the next tenants or turn them into short-term rentals, Blanchard said.

Because many cases never make it to the housing tribunal, it's difficult to get accurate data on how many eviction and repossession cases are fraudulent. Few protections exist for tenants, says Blanchard.

He says follow-ups with the housing tribunal should be mandatory for eviction and repossession cases, because as of now there is no process to verify if they're legitimate.