Housing advocates call for simpler leases after Quebec City seniors win rent increase case

A provincial coalition of housing committees is calling for simpler leases after a group of seniors fighting a rent increase at their private seniors' residence in Quebec City won a case at the rental board last week.

Marc Pettigrew, 91, is one of the 14 residents who took their case to the board.

"We stood our ground, and we won and that can inspire," he said.

Pettigrew didn't agree with the 2.5 per cent rent increase he was facing at the Domaine Bordeaux residence, and wants seniors to know their rights as tenants.

"It's unbelievable that people don't even know that they can go to the rental board," he said.

Maxime Roy-Allard of Quebec's coalition of housing committees (RCLALQ) says some seniors are afraid to contest rent increases, often because in many cases, their landlord is also their caretaker.

"They don't want to confront them, and become in conflict with the landlord, so they just accept the rent increase," Roy-Allard said.

A new government program was announced in April that will offer support to tenants in private seniors' residences facing a problem with a lease.

The provincial governmentannounced $3.2 million in funding for this program.

Roy-Allard says he hopes the provincial program will help, but that often, the leases themselves are at issue.

"The leases are sometimes eight pages long," Roy-Allard said. "Even [for] us, being specialized in those issues, these leases are very complicated."

A provincial working group was tasked with reviewing leases for private seniors' residences. They're scheduled to meet Thursday.

A spokesperson for the municipal affairs and housing ministry says their mission is to shorten and simplify these leases.