Dozens of residents of same street in Côte-des-Neiges get eviction notices

“In recent weeks, between 40 and 50 families have received evictions notices for all sorts of minor reasons,” said city councillor Marvin Rotrand.

Dozens of residents of same street in Côte-des-Neiges get eviction notices

Dozens of tenants of apartments on a street in Côte-des-Neiges allege the company that manages the buildings is playing hardball by threatening them with evictions in an effort to increase rents in the low-income neighbourhood.

Marvin Rotrand, a Montreal city councillor for the district of Snowdon, spoke on Saturday of behalf of dozens of residents who live on Bourret Ave. during a press conference to denounce a situation they say is causing them a great deal of stress.

“Bourret Ave. is a nice street. It’s got nice people, the rents are affordable — there is never any trouble here and no one is ever evicted,” said Rotrand, a longtime councillor who will retire from politics before the coming municipal election.

“In recent weeks, between 40 and 50 families have received evictions notices for all sorts of minor reasons. Some (cases) have already passed through the rental board and at least one was evicted because she had forgotten that her new rent included an increase (of $23). They took her check and took her to the rental board and got an eviction. We will be appealing that for a wide variety of reasons,” Rotrand said.

Zenaida Alvarez, the woman who was ordered to be evicted, said she lived in the same apartment building — where Saturday’s press conference was held — for 11 years with no problems until COGIR, a real estate management company, began managing it in October.

The businesswoman said the company claimed she owed her previous landlord three months of rent, but she provided them with records to show that claim was false. Alvarez said she then received an eviction notice because she forgot a recent $23 increase in her rent.

Alvarez added she recently had a hearing before the rental board and lost.

“In two weeks time, I have to vacate the place. Where can I go,” Alvarez said. “I brought all my papers to show I did not owe the owner and (the rental board) did not even listen to me. This is the first time that this has happened to me — the first time before that tribunal.

“There are harassing us to get us evicted. I have neighbours who say the same thing. Do you know how hard it is to move these days?

Rotrand said another Bourret Ave. tenant received an eviction notice and spent a day at the rental board, next to the Olympic Stadium, only to see the case be tossed out quickly. The following day, Rotrand said, the same tenant received a visit from another bailiff, who informed him he had to go back before the rental board in an eviction case for different reasons.

Rotrand noted COGIR made headlines earlier this year after it sent residents on the same street what was described by Project Genesis, a local community group, as a confusing offer to either accept $3,500 to leave their apartment or see it be renovated, with help from a government subsidy, and pay more for rent. One person who received the offer would have seen their rent increase from $700 to $1,200 per month.

Rotrand said what COGIR failed to mention was the renters also had the option to do nothing and maintain their lease.

“The notice did not tell the tenants that they had a valid lease and that they didn’t have to do anything. They could continue to stay in their apartments and pay the same rent,” Rotrand said, while alleging the company might be trying to take advantage of people who recently arrived in Canada and are not aware of their rights.

“The neighbourhood is largely comprised of persons who are immigrants. It has a large Filipino population, but also people who are from Jamaica, Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Residents are largely visible minorities and Jewish, many of whom have lived here for 50 years,” Rotrand said.

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“Between 40 and 50 families have to go before the board for what the tenants claim are false and spurious reasons for which a casual observer would think are minor, at the least. I am puzzled. Why would a major player like COGIR, which has a huge national portfolio of commercial and office properties across Canada and is now managing (residential) rental properties, act like this?

“You would think a good property manager would work with tenants and manage those minor problems.”

The Montreal Gazette has sent a request for comment to COGIR.

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