Roger-Luc Chayer
Following the recent news concerning the housing crisis and the renovations which allow many owners of housing to abuse the laws, sometimes even without going through the Administrative Court of Housing (formerly Régie du logement), it becomes important for the housing owners. tenants to know their rights.
In this sense, a new service has been implemented to allow tenants to help each other. This is the Citizen Rent Register. According to the website, “The Citizen Rent Register is a public, open and anonymous platform on which residents of Quebec can publish the price of their rental rent, that is to say the price of their apartment per month. .
Quebec is currently experiencing a housing crisis and the average price of a home has experienced its largest increase in nearly 20 years. It is for this reason that La Base, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create, operationalize and support open data projects by and for citizens, offers a free, anonymous and accessible solution in one click which allows to know the amount paid by the previous tenant. «
Also according to the website at https://monloyer.quebec, “The Citizen Rent Register is an open data platform that aims to preserve the affordability of rental housing by providing access to information about rents in Quebec. It allows to know the cost of the rent paid by the previous occupant allows to enforce the regulations concerning rent increases in Quebec. The Citizen Rent Register is managed by La Base, a non-profit organization whose mission is to create, operationalize and support open data projects, particularly those coming from the citizens themselves, in the service of sustainability. communities and the quality of life of citizens. In 2021, the Citizen Rent Register received funding from CMHC as part of the Housing Supply Challenge – Impact Canada program, through La Base, in order to continue developing the platform and to propel it more widely. «
Gay Globe has tried it for you and registration is indeed confidential and very easy. It was all done in less than three minutes, including the confirmation email.
The advantage of this service, offered for free of course, is that it allows any new tenant of a building to know the most recent old rent paid and to check whether the landlord is complying with the law with the new requested rent. Anyone who signs a lease and finds out that the new rent does not meet the standards of the Administrative Housing Tribunal can ask this tribunal to set the rent down.
The register is official and can be used in court. In addition to the old rent paid, you can find other information such as the cost of electricity, animal rights, access to parking, etc. It was high time such a service was offered!