A red-tape nightmare

The story of a Dorval landlord who is having trouble with a tenant is a familiar one. As long as there have been people renting places from other people, there have been stories that resemble the one currently unfolding in Dorval. But in Quebec, the difficulties are doubled because of the Régie du logement' toothlessness.

The Régie du logement was originally conceived as away to protect poor renters from overzealous landlords with their dastardly rent increases and their shutting off the hot water in the wintertime. As so often happens, it was a good idea whose original intent was lost because of government involvement. The Régie du logement, unfortunately, has become a red-tape nightmare for any landlord who has ever tried to get rid of a difficult tenant.

Behind in the rent? No problem. Just schedule a hearing at the rental board with the delinquent tenant. Tenant didn't show up? Oh, just give them a continuance. All the while, the landlord's got a mortgage to pay and faces financial difficulties related to cash flow. Yes, the street does go both ways, but in Quebec, everything in the process is slanted in favour of the tenant.

If you know how to manipulate the system, then you can get away with just about anything, it seems.

Take into account the idea the Régie du logement has no power of procedure that would force delinquent tenants to pay overdue rent or face any civil action. They have power of judgment, but no power of enforcement. It opens a great many doors for those who elect not to pay for a while and then leave, unannounced, never to return.

In the situation in Dorval, the landlord alleges the tenant has a history of not paying the last three months' rent on a unit and bolting, never to be heard from again. The Chronicle was unable to get any of the tenant's former landlords to speak on the record about their experiences with him, preferring to leave the unpleasant past behind them.

If that is indeed the case, the tenant's knowledge of loopholes and ability to manipulate the system makes him a threat to future landlords as well. The Régie du logement is a unilingual body that is intimidating to immigrants, who are often on one side or the other in these disputes.

The government body needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror and commit to changing some of their slanted regulations and make themselves friendlier to immigrants if they want us to be able to refer to them as being part of the 'public service' and mean it in any way other than irony.