Quebec's controversial housing law could be passed next week

As Quebec's housing crisis continues to worsen, a detailed study of 31 bills to limit the use of rentals was completed on Tuesday. Québec solidaire (QS) tried to propose amendments until the end, but ultimately failed.

Housing Minister France-Elaine Duranceau said the bill could be passed as early as next week, but the commission's report must first be considered by the Quebec legislature.

“It's a great day,” the minister said at the end of the commission, admitting that the bill alone will not solve the housing crisis.

QS MNA Andres Fontequilla made several criticisms of the bill in his closing remarks.

“I can only oppose the passage of Bill 31,” he said.

“Chaotic”

Studying the draft law required a lot of work. Last October, the commission was suspended because several articles had to be rewritten. Opposition parties accused the minister of disorganization.

Days later, Duranceau said that if the bill was not passed by the end of 2023, opposition parties would bear the “burden” of vulnerable tenants, a statement that sparked a firestorm. The opposition slammed the door of the commission studying the draft law and exposed the “blackmail” and “arrogance” of the minister.

In her closing remarks on Tuesday, Liberal MNA Virginie Dufour described the scrutiny of the bill as “painful”.

“It's even chaotic, sometimes there are a number of amendments that change the nature of the bill,” he said.

Bill 31 has caused quite a stir, particularly because it addresses the tenancy issue. The bill allows the landlord to refuse the transfer for non-serious reasons.

Opponents tried to bend the minister with several amendments on this issue, but he was convinced that this was not the right tool to control rent prices.

Last week, Fontecilla proposed an amendment to extend the “Francois David Law” aimed at better protecting seniors from eviction. The government also rejected the amendments proposed by QS.

Duranso justified his refusal by saying that his bill would introduce several mechanisms to protect tenants from eviction, regardless of age. It removes the burden of proof for eviction to impose liability on the landlord.

If the tenant does not respond to the eviction notice, he will not be deemed to have accepted it by default as it is now. Finally, the legislation requires a landlord who evicts a tenant to pay one month's rent for each year of continuous occupancy.

The minister also had to defend a controversial amendment that would allow municipalities with at least 10,000 residents and at least three housing projects with less than 3 percent vacancy to ignore their own town planning regulations.

A municipality can waive its rules if a development project consists mostly of social, affordable or student housing. A municipality wishing to use this measure only needs to hold a public meeting. The maximum duration of this special measure will be five years.

Opposition parties fear that this amendment will have a negative impact on urban planning.