A New Report Says Quebec's Rental Market Is An 'Obstacle Course' Rife With Discrimination
The Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ), a tenants' rights organization in Quebec, said Quebec's housing market is rife with discrimination in a new report released on June 3.
The organization called finding a dwelling to rent in Quebec an "obstacle course," citing openly discriminatory apartment ads and racism faced by tenants in Quebec.
Editor's Choice: This 19-Room Quebec Home For Sale Under $200,000 Is Actually An Old General Store (PHOTOS)
"Ads that openly refuse children or people on social assistance, landlords who no longer want to rent when they see that the applicant is an immigrant or newly arrived in Quebec, pre-rental surveys that ask for illegal information: it's really the wild west for tenants who are looking for housing," said Marjolaine Deneault, spokesperson for the RCLALQ.
The RCLALQ noted that, in the absence of punitive measures for landlords who discriminate against tenants, the phenomenon could continue to grow in a rental market where affordable housing is scarce, and where rental practices are constantly changing.
To combat the housing crisis, the RCLALQ is calling for the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (CDPDJ) to have "more means of intervention," and for the Tribunal administratif du logement to "have jurisdiction over the entire rental process."
The organization is also calling on the Quebec government to implement rent control due to "exploding" rent prices.
Read the full report here.
