Too little, too late: bill 401 to improve the Régie dies on the order paper

The Quebec government will have waited until the very last minute, four years after its election, to introduce a bill to try to correct the poor judicial delays in the court of its Régie du logement. Too late for landlords and tenants: The parliamentary session ended on June 15 and elections will be called at the end of the summer.

Minister Lise Thériault's Bill 401 did not constitute the long-awaited and demanded by CORPIQ reform. It however contained interesting changes that unfortunately will not be forthcoming, at least for the moment. Here are the main measures enacted in Bill 401.

• Specialization of judges according to the type of causes
• Holding hearings through technological means (videoconference where the parties are gathered in a room and heard via video transmission by a judge located in another city)
• Recognition of technological means (for example: certified e-mail) to notify the defendant of the application filed with the Régie
• Increased power of special clerks of the Régie du logement to hear uncontested general causes, not only cases of non-payment of undisputed rent and rent-fixations
• Offer parties free conciliation sessions to find an amicable agreement to avoid a hearing
• Obligation to forward certain supporting documents (evidence) in advance of granting a hearing date, in order to reduce delays and postponements
• Preparatory conference between the parties to better plan the upcoming hearing
• Obligation of parties involved in a lawsuit to provide their change of address, otherwise those who are absent will not be able to request a retraction of judgment
• The summoning of a witness to appear could be issued by a lawyer, and not only by the Régie du logement
• The court would have the opportunity to order a plaintiff who opens a case for dilatory reasons (in order to delay the proceedings) to pay damages to the other party who suffers the prejudice
• Impossibility to request a review of a rent-fixation judgment, except in cases of substantive or procedural defects.

CORPIQ welcomes some of these measures, while others raise doubts, aimed more at protecting the interests of the Régie du logement than those of citizens. Some of these procedural tools are already in place in other Quebec courts. What is announced does not revolutionize anything.

The Quebec government is opening the door wide open to those who abuse the system by demanding retractions of judgment in order to delay their eviction from a dwelling for which they do not pay rent. However, the ministers responsible for the Régie du lodgement have successively shown their support to compel the tenant to deposit the rent in court if a new hearing is demanded.

"The Liberal government knew of the grave situation of delays at the Régie du logement when it was elected in April 2014, but did not find a way to deal with it and things have gotten worse," says the Director of Public Affairs of the CORPIQ, Hans Brouillette.