“It looks like a dump”: a landlord finds his home ransacked on July 1

It’s every landlord’s nightmare: a Montrealer found one of his apartments in a pitiful state on July 1, the day his tenant left it riddled with holes in the walls, graffiti and littered with trash.

“It’s a cataclysm, a tornado, a catastrophe,” summarizes Jacques Bégin, owner of a triplex in the Anjou district of Montreal.

The latter showed up on Monday, moving day, at a place his tenant had just left. He then came across a scene that left him in a state of shock.

Holes in the walls, broken windows and mirrors, smashed doors, torn out heating system, abandoned waste: these are some of the observations made by Mr. Bégin in the company of the representative of the Journal during a visit on Tuesday.

The painting of an entire room also needs to be redone while a “cabochon job” of a single coat of white paint is visible, the owner points out.

And the cherry on the cake: graffiti that reads “fuck you” now decorates two walls of the apartment.

Up to $20,000 in damages

“It looks like a dump, a pigsty. It’s never been like this here,” sighs Mr. Bégin, seeing the damage.

He estimates that the cleanup and repairs will cost him “$15,000 to $20,000,” an amount that is expected to be confirmed in the coming days by the contractor he has hired.

“It’s too much money. I’m a 100% loser. Unfortunately. I don’t know how I’m going to get all that back.”

Mr. Bégin filed a complaint with the Montreal Police Department for mischief early this morning.

So-called problematic tenant

Mr. Bégin had won two different decisions of the Administrative Housing Tribunal against the tenant in recent months. The latter was evicted from the accommodation in a judgment rendered on April 11.

However, she contested the decision, which extended her stay in the accommodation.

“He is someone who is very unclean, very disorganized, very conflictual,” says Mr. Bégin, who was surprised by the tenant’s behavior, because she had no history of TAL when she signed her lease.

Jacques Bégin believes that his case shows that landlords are not sufficiently protected against tenants in bad faith. In particular, he believes that deposits should be required from tenants when they move in.

“If I had had a deposit of $3,000 to $4,000, she would not have left the apartment in this state.” In Quebec, it is forbidden for a landlord to ask for a deposit when renting.

For its part, the Corporation des Propriétaires Immobiliers du Québec describes this situation as “unacceptable” and maintains that obtaining reimbursement for repair costs through recourse to the TAL for this type of case results in lengthy procedures and legal costs for the owner.

“In this case, a security deposit could have made this tenant aware and led him to think about the consequences of his actions,” said spokesperson Anne-Louise Chauvette.

Discouraged by the situation, Mr. Bégin is now considering selling his only apartment building. “It takes the flavor out of it,” he laments.