The Numbers Speak: A Grim Reality for Tenants

The TAL’s rent increase guidelines for 2025 are as follows:

• Unheated dwellings: 5.9%
• Electric heating: 5.5%
• Natural gas: 5.0%
• Heating oil: 4.1%

What This Means for You:
If you’re paying $1,000 a month in rent, expect to shell out an additional $59 each month—or $696 a year. And that’s just the baseline. Factor in municipal taxes and renovation surcharges, and your rent could climb by 8.5%. Saving for the future? Forget about it.

Tenants and Advocates Sound the Alarm

• Jonathan Carmichael (BAIL):
  “This isn’t just disappointing—it’s catastrophic. The TAL is pushing thousands of households to the brink of financial ruin.”
• Amy Darwish (Parc-Extension Action Committee):
  “This is a direct attack on immigrant communities. Over 75% of us are renters, and now we’re being priced out of our own neighborhoods. It’s shameful.”
• RCLALQ:
  “The TAL’s guidelines are absurd. Where is rent control? Where is the lease registry? The government is watching tenants suffer and doing nothing.”

Landlords’ Crocodile Tears

• Eric Sansoucy (CORPIQ):
  “We need this increase to cover our costs!” Really? While tenants are choosing between rent and groceries, landlords cry victim.
• Martin A. Messier (APQ):
  “The TAL’s calculations don’t account for our struggles!” Try living paycheck to paycheck while your rent devours half your income.

Government Response: Too Little, Too Late

• Housing Minister France-Élaine Duranceau:
  “It’s tough for tenants, but we’re focusing on long-term solutions.” Translation: We’re not doing anything to help you now. The government’s “solution”? Build 560,000 housing units by 2034. Great, but how does that help families facing homelessness today?
• Québec Solidaire:
  “We need rent control and immediate action.” Finally, someone is speaking sense. Too bad the government isn’t listening.

The Bigger Picture: A Rigged System

• Rising Rents: Montreal rents jumped 7.7% in 2023, with new tenants facing 10% increases. Landlords are thriving while tenants are sinking.
• Low Vacancy Rates: Quebec’s rental vacancy rate sits at a dismal 1.3%. Finding an affordable home? Nearly impossible.
• Homelessness on the Rise: In September 2024, 427 households were listed as homeless—up from 334 in July. How many more will join them because of this rent hike?

What Can Tenants Do?

• Refuse Rent Increases: Tenants have the right to challenge hikes. If your landlord insists, they must justify the increase to the TAL.
• Organize and Resist: Groups like SLAM are leading “refuse together” campaigns. Strength in numbers—let’s show landlords and the government that tenants won’t be bullied.

Conclusion: A Crisis Ignored, a Population Betrayed

The TAL’s 5.9% rent increase is more than a policy—it’s an attack on tenants. While landlords cry about their costs and the government hides behind empty promises, ordinary Quebecers are left to fend for themselves.

This isn’t just a housing crisis; it’s a moral failure.

Quebec’s leaders must act before it’s too late. Until then, tenants must stand together and fight back.