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The first of July syndrome!! | |
| by Martin Messier, president of the Quebec Landlords Association (QLA) |
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We believe that having faith in a free market in residential housing would benefit everyone, tenants, landlords, and even the government. If the government continues to excessively control the habitation market a balance between landlord and tenant will never exist.The day for most lease renewals in Quebec is the first of July which is quickly approaching. It often provokes some thought on the availability of private apartments. Several families are not able to find a suitable apartment before this date and most of the time these families are the ones who cannot afford the rent for a suitable apartment. We believe the government should provide financial aid for families with insufficient revenue and we do not believe that building new low-income apartments (HLM) is the solution. The first of July can create conflicts between tenants who are moving into a new apartment and those who are leaving. As a member of the APQ you have the option of consulting our legal services to resolve any problems. Our association has recently made media headlines due to the complaining of the RCLALQ (Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec) on this year’s rent increase. The rent increase in Québec for 2005 is at an average of 4% and is still among the lowest in North America. According to the SCHL the inoccupation rate has increased and may even attain 2.7% in 2006 for the Montreal area. According to experts this percentage would be close to a balanced rate of 3%. There are currently several apartments still available for rent. In certain areas rentals are slower than they have been in the past few years; landlords should follow the market price if they want to stay competitive. We continue to believe that the market can function normally and several families will continue to need financial assistance to find a suitable apartment. The government would be at an advantage if they put their faith in private landlords instead of using tax dollars to finance the construction and maintenance of low-income apartments (HLM) that often lead to uncontrollable expenses. |
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