Housing advocates demand moratorium on repossessions
Quebec's repossessions have tripled in 12 years, forcing thousands off the rental market. Tenant rights groups want the three-year eviction ban expanded.
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Housing advocates are calling for Quebec to expand its eviction moratorium to include repossessions, citing a new study showing the number of repossessions by landlords in the province has tripled over 12 years.
The Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ) released findings Monday showing repossessions reached historic highs in the province. Between 2019 and 2023, Quebec's Administrative Housing Tribunal approved nearly two-thirds of repossession requests, leading to more than 2,200 units leaving the rental market — the majority of them affordable housing units occupied by long-term tenants.
"The TAL treats homeowners and tenants differently, generally to the advantage of the former," said Renaud Goyer, researcher at the Collectif de recherche et d'action sur l'habitat (CRACH). "Evictions disproportionately affect people who have been rooted in their communities for years, often in housing with rents below the market average. This is no coincidence, but rather proof that our legislative model is synonymous with housing insecurity."
RCLALQ notes that while evictions declined thanks to Bill 65, which banned evictions for three years between 2024 and 2027, repossessions continued rising — because the moratorium does not cover repossessions. The group is calling on Quebec Housing Minister Karine Boivin-Roy to expand Bill 65 to include repossession protection.