Montreal landlord struggles to evict tenant he claims brought chaos to neighbourhood
The issues reported by those around included “people going up and down all the time, smoking crack all over the place, sitting down in that location, defecating and urinating over there” and “howling at people” and “screaming at each other.”
A Montreal engineer and part-time professor is expressing his frustration with Quebec’s slow housing tribunal, following what he describes as chaos and disturbances caused by a new tenant in an apartment he owns.
François Tardy, who rents out an apartment on a street in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, said he leased the unit to a new tenant on a one-year contract in March. Almost immediately, Tardy, an engineer and professor at Concordia University, began receiving complaints from neighbors.
The reported issues included "people constantly coming and going, smoking crack everywhere, sitting in the area, defecating and urinating in public," as well as "yelling at people" and "screaming at each other."
Tardy recounted a stark warning from one of his other tenants to Global News: “One of my tenants called me and said, ‘You realize that you just invited a crack house up there?’”
Tardy provided videos to Global News, which appeared to show individuals using drugs on the street. He also pointed out that an elementary school is just steps away from the property.
"I thought it would be a quick resolution, but it was not," Tardy said regarding his efforts to evict the tenant. "It was much more complicated than I could ever imagine."
When he reported the situation to the police, Tardy was advised to pursue an eviction order through the provincial housing tribunal, as the police had limited options without it.
Tardy mentioned that the police did search the property but found no evidence to support criminal charges. "They searched the place but couldn’t find anything incriminating because everyone’s organized to carry small amounts of drugs," Tardy alleged.
Global News reached out to Montreal police for comment. While the police did not directly address the alleged activities, they did point to recent arrests made on the same street when asked about Tardy’s claims.
Last week, Tardy's building was hit by a Molotov cocktail. Shortly after, the police conducted an operation targeting a drug-selling hub on Desjardins Avenue in Hochelaga. A media release from the Montreal police stated that officers had gone door-to-door in the area to reassure residents following the operation.
Investigators emphasized that maintaining peace in the neighborhood is a priority for the force.
"They’re taking it seriously, but that doesn’t mean that my troubles are over," Tardy said.
A hearing with the provincial housing tribunal, initially scheduled for June, has been postponed until September.
