Tenants’ rights advocates say landlords openly using records from Quebec’s housing tribunal against prospective renters is cause for concern.
CBC News has reviewed dozens of postings specifically spelling out that having any record with the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) will influence your shot at getting the place.
Some landlords are considering any interaction with the TAL as a potential red flag. The TAL enforces housing law and protects both tenants and landlords’ rights.
For example, tenants often take landlords to the TAL if necessary maintenance isn’t done or to contest abusive rent hikes. Landlords can open a file at the TAL to evict a tenant.
All these records are available publicly.
Checking records is completely legal, but Lyn O’Donnell, a community organizer with the Verdun Housing Committee, says it can lead to a form of discrimination.
She also worries the threat of being refused housing can make tenants who might already be vulnerable hesitant to ask the TAL to enforce their rights. She walks tenants through the process of opening a file against their landlord and says they’re often hesitant.
“There’s a big imbalance of power,” she said.
“We see people putting up with harassment, illegal rent jacking, unsanitary conditions and apartments that are falling apart.”
Background check recommended
David Searle, a lawyer with expertise in housing law, says that concern is justified and it can close doors for tenants who advocate for their rights, which is “completely unacceptable.”
But he says it’s recommended landlords do a background check to make sure their tenant will be able to pay rent and keep the property in good shape and protect themselves.
“What’s illegal is you have landlords who might be ignorant, lazy or in total bad faith are refusing tenants who are advocating for their rights. This is very much a problem in a housing crisis when there’s a lack of apartments,” said Searle.
If the landlord flat out refuses tenants with a TAL record, they can get help from a housing committee and file a complaint. But proving it and holding landlords accountable is very difficult, said Searle.
Having a friend with no TAL record apply for the same apartment can be one way to prove discrimination, he said.
Martin Messier, president of the Quebec Landlord Association, says it’s necessary for a landlord to check TAL records and make sure they aren’t renting to people “repeatedly making trouble” and compared the practice to a credit check.
For example, he says if a tenant has a record of being too loud or disrupting tenants, it’s a landlord’s responsibility to provide a peaceful environment.
But he says other cases, like complaints about the conditions of the unit, shouldn’t be a problem for landlords who properly maintain their buildings.
“Of course we have to look at the history behind the case number,” he said
There are pushes to make tenants anonymous in public documents. Searle says only those being sued for non-payment of rent or destruction of property should be named.
