'In Quebec, it's a free for all:' Montreal tenants' group calls for stronger rent controls

A Montreal-based tenants' rights group is calling for tighter restrictions on how much landlords should be allowed to charge for rentals in the province.

MaximeRoy-Allard,of the Regroupement des comits logement et associations de locataires du Qubec, says rents have gone up over the last 10 years even though more places have become available.

There are an estimated 500,000 rental apartments in Montreal with rent averages ranging a great deal based on location and occupancy.

"We know that all over the city there is a lack of affordable housing for families,"said Roy-Allard.

Hesays the province should do more to help its low-income renters by moving towards Ontario's modeland investing in social housing projects.

"We want the Quebec province to follow the Ontario example as ofnow, every apartment in Ontario is under rent control," he said, explaining that landlordsaren't allowed to increase rents by more than a certain percentage.

In Quebec, the provincial housing board, the Rgie du logement, issues annualpercentages for calculating rent increases based on a number of factors.

These percentages, however, are not mandatoryand landlords can choose to increase at higher rates depending on the case.

Roy-Allardtold CBC that he often sees instances of low income families getting pushed out of their neighbourhoods orforced into places that are not in good condition because of high prices.

"In Quebec, it's a free for all. Landlords can ask whatever they want and tenants are in a position where they don't want to refuse the rent otherwise they risk being pushed out," he said.

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In January2017, the provincial government pledged to invest a total of$407 million into social housing in Quebec over two years, with Ottawa contributing $286 million to the province's$121 million.