Quebec rents should be increased by 5.9%, housing tribunal recommends

"It's huge this year," says Lynn O'Donnell of the Citizen Action Committee of Verdun, as Quebec's housing tribunal recommended a rent increase of nearly six per cent - a 30-year-high. Alyssia Rubertucci reports.

Rents in Quebec could rise sharply this year after the latest suggestion from the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL).

The TAL is recommending that rents in the province be increased by an average of 5.9 per cent – its highest rent increase recommendation over the last three decades.

“It really is just a suggestion,” said Lyn O’Donnell, a community organizer and intervention worker with Citizen Action Committee of Verdun (CACV). “We see rent hikes that are much higher than the numbers that come out each year.

Lyn O’Donnell, community organizer and intervention worker with Citizen Action Committee of Verdun on Jan. 21, 2025. (Alyssia Rubertucci, CityNews)

“It’s huge this year. It’s extremely significant.”

RELATED: Rents will rise more in Quebec than anywhere else in the country: report

Directly impacted is Riley Karam, a tenant sharing an apartment with five roommates.

“That makes me really frustrated,” said Karam, who is interning at CACV. “That makes me feel hopeless. … And obviously there’s a power dynamic between the landlord and the tenants.

Riley Karam, tenant and intern with Citizen Action Committee of Verdun (CACV) on Jan. 21, 2025. (Alyssia Rubertucci, CityNews)

“When the rent goes up it’s like, yeah it’s split between six of us, but that means OK, $15 extra that I can’t spend on groceries, $15 extra that I need to cut off.”

Also dreading an eventual substantial rise in rent is Verdun resident Anna, who didn’t want to give her full name to avoid being targeted. She is part of the Montreal Autonomous Tenants Union known as SLAM.

“I am the person who pays a rent for this place alone, and I have two kids,” Anna said. “And so there aren’t many apartments with two or three bedrooms available in this neighbourhood. So if the rent keeps going up I won’t be able to afford it.”

This year’s rent increase suggestion follows last year’s already elevated increase recommendation of four per cent. In 2023, the TAL recommended a 1.8 per cent rent increase.

TAL’s suggested increase of 5.9 per cent applies to unheated homes in the province.

A table from the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) outlining their 2025 rent increase recommendations. (Courtesy: TAL)

A tenant who pays, for instance, $1,500 in rent every month would see their rent increase to $1,588.50 – meaning they would be out of pocket an additional $1,062 by the end of the year.

It’s lower for heated units: a 5.5 per cent increase for those heated with electricity, five per cent for gas, and 4.1 per cent for oil.

The TAL says there’s a calculation tool available to establish the rent adjustment, taking into account all costs.

The APQ, the Quebec Landlords Association, says the calculations don’t go far enough.

“The difficulty that we are facing with this way of calculating is that we’re dependent on Statistics Canada year after year,” said APQ president Martin A. Messier. “So it’s not only complicated, but does not always reflect the reality of the landlord. So for a lot of landlords, it’s going to be way more. It does not take into consideration the huge spike in interest rate that we had.

“So for a lot of landlords, still I understand that it’s a high number, more than we’ve seen for a long time, but it’s going to be still hard for a lot of landlords to keep up with the expenses.”

Refusing the increase?

Tenants have the ability to refuse an increase, but O’Donnell says some may not want to jeopardize their living situation as a result.

“Tenants often worry that refusing a rent increase, whether it is deemed abusive or not, can tarnish a relationship between landlord and tenant,” she said.

Housing advocates at SLAM are putting together a “refuse together” campaign to refuse any increases.

Anna, member of the Montreal Autonomous Tenants Union (SLAM) on Jan. 21, 2025. (Alyssia Rubertucci, CityNews)

“Tenants have a right to refuse the rent increase,” Anna said. “The landlord can then try to negotiate with the tenant to find a rent increase that works for both of them. If an agreement is not reached, then the landlord needs to go to the tribunal in order to petition for the rent to be fixed.”

Karam is among those planning to refuse their increase.

“Making sure that the rent increase follows the format it’s supposed to follow, but also just to not be taken advantage of as a tenant,” Karam said.

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