Barriers to renovation: the CORPIQ petition presented by MP Carlos J. Leitão

CORPIQ’s second petition requesting legislative amendments to allow the renovation and preservation of the rental housing stock was presented this Wednesday to the National Assembly.

CORPIQ is calling on the government to modernize the Regulation respecting criteria for the fixing of rent, which was developed in the 1970s. It forces landlords to wait 37 years before they can recover the cost of a renovation, even though the lifecycle of said renovation is much shorter.

In addition, this petition urges the government to amend Bill R-20, since it unfairly obligates owners to use construction labour, which can cost approximately $80 hourly, as published by the collective agreement applied by the CCQ (Commission de la construction du Québec). This regulation is so dysfunctional that a tenant who had painted her apartment for her landlord is currently threatened with imprisonment.

"There is no sensible justification for the fact that the renovation of an apartment, where a tenant lives, is charged two to three times more for the same labour and renovations than in a single-family home of an occupying owner," explained Hans Brouillette. "Bill R-20 has two effects: either to unduly increase housing costs for tenants or to lead to a deterioration of the rental housing stock. Everyone loses".