The estate of the former “king of the slum” is suing the Curator… for not having properly maintained his house

The estate of the former “king of the slum” is demanding $500,000 from the Public Curator… for not having properly maintained his house while it was under his protection.

• Also read: Even former Montreal slum king Robert Sebag no longer wants rotten condos in Faubourg Boisbriand

“The decrease in value is in no way attributable to decay or normal use of the property, but rather to a faulty administration of the Curator marked by negligence,” it is argued in the lawsuit filed this week at the Montreal courthouse. .

Robert Sebag made the headlines numerous times in the 2000s due to the unsanitary conditions in which he left his imposing real estate portfolio in Montreal. He was then nicknamed the “king of the slum”.

He sold the vast majority of his dilapidated buildings, filled with mold and vermin, in the following years to retrain in condominium buildings before passing away in November 2023.

Property administrator

The Public Curator was appointed administrator of the buildings in 2019, when the real estate developer was declared incapacitated. Among them was Sebag’s main residence, located on Sunset Road in Mont-Royal.

“The building was in good habitable condition, showed normal wear and tear and had a satisfactory lifespan,” it says.

The Curator was responsible for the buildings until 2022, when his children were appointed guardians.

During this period, Sebag’s house was in turn affected by water infiltration and vermin, “thus causing a high degree of degradation to the property,” the lawsuit says. The walls and ceilings of certain rooms would need to be redone, as would a garage wall and the attic.

Decrease in value

According to an evaluation report, the market value of the ancestral house would have been $2.2 million if it had been adequately maintained.

Initially put on sale for $1.5 million, the building was finally sold for $140,000 less in 2023.

“The poor condition of the property dissuaded potential buyers from making offers corresponding to the initial valuation,” lament the heirs of Robert Sebag.

They are therefore demanding $500,000 from the Curator, since he “failed in his duties by not ensuring the conservation of the building and by neglecting to carry out the necessary repairs”.

This house, whose construction dates back to the 18th^e century, would have escaped demolition last spring, according to Duty.