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Developer to let Quebec rental board decide on case of holdout Montreal tenant Social Sharing Facebook Twitter Email Reddit LinkedIn Carla White has refused to give up $400-a-month apartment Morgan Lowrie · The Canadian Press · Posted: May 31, 2023 5:22 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 31 Montreal tenant Carla White is the last holdout blocking a condo development. She's lived in her apartment for 10 years and wants a new apartment with some long-term security. (Radio-Canada) A major Montreal real estate developer says it will let Quebec's housing tribunal determine the compensation for a tenant in a $400-a-month apartment whose case risks delaying a major construction project. Mondev senior partners Michael and David Owen say they've already made numerous offers to tenant Carla White, who has so far refused to leave her apartment so it can be demolished to make way for a 176-unit mixed-use building. A municipal committee decided earlier this month to approve the demolition of the building, on the condition that the developer demonstrate that the file has been settled with the holdout tenant. That decision has been appealed, though the developers say they weren't the ones to do it. White, who was previously homeless, has said she doesn't want to leave until she's provided with an acceptable apartment on a long-term affordable lease, or enough compensation to ensure she won't have to return to the streets. This Montreal tenant won't leave her apartment until she is properly compensated by developer In an interview on Wednesday, Michael Owen said the developer sees "no path" to reaching an agreement with White, who he says is demanding a "penthouse apartment worth thousands a month" on an indefinite lease. "It seems, to a certain extent, that she is using this opportunity to either better her lifestyle or hold us for ransom almost, because the things that she's requesting are way beyond the norm," he said. Owen says the developers are sensitive to White's situation but have already offered her a better apartment at her current $400 rent — less than a third of what it would otherwise cost — or compensation many times what the law requires. While he did not specify the amount, David Owen told the demolition committee earlier in May that Mondev has offered White $20,000. While White has expressed concern that rent could be raised after a year or two in the new apartment, Owen said the building is old enough that annual increases are limited to what the rental board allows, the same as where she lives now. "We're offering her alternative housing, a comparative option — better actually — and it's being treated like nothing," he said. "What are we supposed to do? Move everybody into penthouses?" Carla White lives in the building across from Place Émilie Gamelin, which housed the former Da Giovanni restaurant, and refuses to move unless she is properly compensated. (Radio-Canada) He notes that the buildings in question are largely abandoned and in very poor shape, and the redevelopment will add housing and help the revitalization of an area that desperately needs it. David Owen said other apartments had also been suggested to White, but she has disliked the locations. "She thinks that she has a lottery ticket and not a lease, and that's what the problem is," he said. Tenant's lawyer says demands are 'fair and reasonable' White's lawyer, Manuel Johnson, said his client isn't being unreasonable, noting that she's willing to accept financial compensation instead of an apartment. "Without going into details on the amount, we feel that the financial compensation she is asking for is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, taking into account the length of her occupancy (10 years), the amount of her rent, and the possibility of her finding an adequate dwelling in the current super-heated rental market in Montreal." White and her lawyer have said she refused the apartment that was offered because she wouldn't feel safe there. Michael Owen said he believes it will now be up to the province's housing tribunal to determine the appropriate compensation at a hearing in June, adding he will abide by that decision. However, the final decision on whether to allow a demolition and construction permit rests on the city, and not the rental board. David Owen said he believes his company has met the necessary conditions to be granted a permit, because they have negotiated in good faith and offered White reasonable options for housing. The borough council is set to hear the appeal of the permit early next month, while the rental tribunal hearing is set for late June. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-tenant-holds-up-condo-development-1.6861084

Yes it's on my list! I featured them a bit in this video about the Plateau at the 7:40 mark:

Sur le mur aveugle de l’immeuble petit laurent, donnant sur la place (enfin sur un parking, qui n’est donc pas pret d’etre remplacé par un immeuble)

Juste à Montréal ? Clairement tu n'as pas beaucoup sorti... ? La frauenkirche à Dresden, le parthénon d'Athènes sinon plus local, la Gare Windsor, le Reine Élizabeth. C'est excessivement commun comme pratique, rien de bizarre, rien de cheap, rien de ''on est rien capable de faire icite'' C'est un bâtiment historique, c'est de la pierre, ça vit, ça se patine, ça vieillie. C'est normal d'avoir différentes couleurs. Si t'aimes pas ça, c'est ton problème, je pense pas qu'on va dégringoler dans les classements touristiques et que les gens vont bouder le Vieux car on RESTAURE un monument historique...

Quelques photos prises aujourd'hui (31.05.23)