The Régie very very slowly ... Who?

Within the framework of Justice Thursdays, a date you 24 mars 2016, to the Adult Education Committee of Little Burgundy and Saint-Henri (CEDA) on Delisle Street, near Lionel-Groulx station, an open information and discussion meeting was held on the campaign conducted for more than two years by members of the housing committees P.O.P.I.R and Genesis Project. Community Legal Services lawyer, Me Manuel Johnson, clarified the fog and the complexity of formalities legal issues surrounding complaints, requests for files from the Régie du logement and their progress, so advanced, there is.

I commit themé Régie du Lentement actively protests against the inequalities committed at the Régie du logement (independent administrative tribunal, officially neutral and impartial), to the place of the most precarious. Its members are active, inter alia, against the huge disparity in waiting times between landlords and tenants, i.e. an average of 2 months for the causes of non-payment of rent against an average of 20,4 months for the reasons called “general civil” (unsanitary, harassment, abuse and other harm). The procedures are therefore 10 times faster, today, for the ones who have the accommodation for those of you who live. It is noteworthy to specify that in 1998, the average wait time for general civil cases was approximately 3 month. We can see that the majority of legal proceedings proceeding at the Régie du logement follow requests from a landlord., since they deposit 88% Complaints, dont 62% for non-payment of rent, and 85% of complaints from tenants are of a general civil nature. Sure, given the very low representation of the less well-off and the long enough waiting time for a move to occur due to the end of a lease, their requests often end up falling, completely or in part. According to Mr Johnson: “When tenants change housing, requests made on housing renovations or rent reductions fall, disappear''; That is to say, there generally remain only the requests for moral damages which hold, and they are the most difficult to demonstrate legally. Let us add that for all complaints, it is essential for the complainant to prove all forms of inconvenience, more than the simple fact of not paying your rent (whether or not it seriously affects the owners' finances) is substantial proof of harm to landlords and landlords. Effectively, it is easier to highlight the non-payment of rent than the stress caused by the harassment of a neighbor or the root cause of a vermin infestation. In some cases, it is possible that the non-payment or the delay of a rent engenders them real difficulties, whether economic penalties or seizure of the residence. However, the issue addressed in this campaign is not a fight against the accelerated progress of owners, but rather holds in need, the right, to have as much speed in the procedures for the files of the complaining tenants.

The breach of several conditions of contracts in which the Quebec state participates is decried by the Joint statement for real access to justice at the Régie du logement, written by the Comité Régie du Lentement and signed by a variety of community groups, unions, tenant associations, groups of non-profit organizations, individuals and even the municipal boroughs of Verdun and Sud-Ouest, to Montreal :

Despite the terms of international documents considered by the Government of Quebec, such as Article 11 of International Covenant of Economic Rights, social and cultural, of which Quebec is a signatory, “recognizing the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including food, sufficient clothing and accommodation, as well as a constant improvement of its living conditions.; as well as Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, stipulating that ’’Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for their health, his well-being and that of his family, especially for food, clothing, housing, medical care as well as necessary social services.. Good that several articles from the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms prohibit discrimination and oblige access to a decent living environment and social services, inequalities in housing conditions are shocking. Despite the duty, as a legislative body, of the Régie to be fair and objective, the inequity in the timeframes for processing complaints is glaring. These injustices lead to noise… Noise produced by the Comité Régie du Lentement that can be heard in the streets, in front of and in the offices of the Régie du logement, of the former minister responsible for municipal affairs, Pierre Moreau, and the current minister holding these responsibilities, Martin Coiteux. The campaign-led uproar is clear; he claims over there Joint statement for real access to justice at the Régie du logement :

– That all requests issued are processed in the order of arrival (first come, first served);

– That all requests are processeded within a maximum period of 3 month;

– That causes concerning healthand the safety of complainants are dealt with in less than 72 hours.

However, let us highlight the few achievements obtained from the beginning and the campaigns, minimal, but gains all the same. The first step forward is by hiring new employees, following the opening of additional positions. The second and final gain, probably the birth of the first, is the reduction of 0,3 month wait for general civil claims, from an average of 20,7 at 20,4 month.

Following the refusals rof Pierre Moreau to meet the members of the Régie du Lentement Committee, the hope of a meeting with the new minister responsible for municipalities, Martin Coiteux, surfaced. However not very optimistic about a ministerial response that differs from the previous one, campaign activists launched during this meeting, a questioning about the future of their mobilization and how to exercise it. During this evening of information and discussion, proposals of all kinds flared up on both sides : media harassment, multiplication of demonstrations and direct actions and the requirement to hold a public inquiry into the Régie du logement, for example.

As part of Tenant Day, the 24 next april twill hold a national demonstration in order to protest against the harsh conditions of housing and its occupants. For many, housing issues seem like whims, but for those who live with mold on a daily basis, cockroaches, the rats, air infiltration and health problems (physical and psychological) who as a result, it is not “whims” apt to wait near 2 years before any possibility of change. According to the social worker, Valerie Beauregard : “Even in unsanitary conditions, the speed of execution of the request varies according to the causes of these conditions. When the fault lies with the tenants, the processing of files is faster than when it comes from landlords.’’

The right to decent housing being certainly more recent than the ancestral right to private property, the seems difficult, even in legal institutions, to doubt the primacy of this legal antiquity opposed to a healthy and safe environment. It is therefore to wonder how far will we have to go to be heard? Up to you, how far are you willing to go for a radical change in the living conditions of tenants?

Par Nathaniel Oliveri-Pilotte

Photo credit: Arthur Letourneau-Vachon

Useful links
http://www.ohchr.org/FR/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CESCR.aspx PIDESC
http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/ABCannexesfr.pdf DUDH
http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type=2&file=/C_12/C12.HTM CQDL
http://regiedulentement.com/declaration/ RL-Ddeclaration
https://www.facebook.com/events/1228395797189519/ Manif 24-02