Substandard housing: Landlord visits or deposits as a solution?

Many homeowners in Quebec want the government to take steps to prevent their tenants from ending up with unsanitary homes after they leave.

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“Unfortunately, recently, in the last few years, we have had some laxity when tenants leave their residences after termination or the end of their lease,” confirmed M. Robert Soucy, representative of the Quebec landlords’ association, in an interview with LCN.

This phenomenon, according to the latter, is due to the fact that the tenants “have no permission whatsoever”.

“You have to go after tenants. We need to take action against these delinquent tenants, but often the action is illusory because often the people doing so are the ones who are not solvent. That is the difficulty,” he says.

A Quebec landlord association requires a minimum deposit when signing a lease.

“We ask for at least one month’s rent as a security deposit to insure against damages and, above all, to educate the tenants,” explains Me Soucy.

The spokesperson also noted that the association insists its members conduct a credit and conduct check before signing a lease.

“You need to have a good credit check, a good conduct check and, from time to time, visit the accommodation,” he says.

Watch the full interview in the video above.