Pets in rental housing: landlords are already very accommodating

This week, we deal with a subject that comes up regularly in the news: housing and the right to animals for tenants. It is a subject brought up by several animal rights associations who wish to review the legislation and allow all tenants to have the right to animals.

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Obviously, CORPIQ is the voice of landlords and is opposed to such a decree mainly because, for us, it does not take into consideration the current context. We must remember that there are already 25% of landlords who allow the presence of animals, and this rate goes up to 65%, with certain restrictions, for cats accepted in apartments.

Another aspect that worries us is that the rights of tenants to have animals are put forward, but the point of view of landlords is not put into perspective. Landlords have a right to manage their building and to balance the tenants who are, in some cases, bothered by the presence of certain types of animals. Whether it is by noise, allergies, but also because some apartments are unsuitable to accommodate certain types of animals in our housing stock are arguments against a total authorization of animals in housing. This means that landlords are called upon to make certain decisions in the interest of all tenants and not just in the interest of certain tenants.

At CORPIQ, we feel it is important to put forward the voice of landlords: first, housing 1.4 million Quebecers comes with its share of responsibilities. Landlords are constantly seeking to satisfy all the needs of tenants, but also to protect the entire rental housing stock, which can often deteriorate much more quickly, resulting in additional costs for everyone, including other tenants.

In this context, it seems important to us to underline that the priority today is certainly to find solutions to the current housing crisis. The right to animals is allowed in many apartments in Quebec, but to allow it de facto to everyone would generate conflicts in many buildings, and most of the time, between tenants.

It is for these reasons that CORPIQ will continue to make representations to maintain the status quo, to favour conciliatory approaches between landlords and tenants, and especially to recognize that in the Quebec rental housing stock, animals are already welcomed in a large proportion. However, there are apartments that are simply unsuitable for pets.