Granby tenants, at risk of eviction, denounce the pressure exerted by their new building owners. Their call for help was heard by Québec Solidaire, which supports citizens in their efforts.
Recently, the management company Immeubles Galleon acquired four apartment buildings on Fortin Boulevard in Granby. Since then, the tenants have reportedly received visits from representatives on several occasions asking them to terminate their lease, under the pretext that major work needs to be done.
“They want to oust everyone. It’s about fifty doors. Unfortunately, lots of people signed. We have not signed, and we want to continue to fight,” says Suzanne Gibeault, a tenant who has lived there for almost 6 years.
Louise Patenaude, 79 years old, has lived in her home for more than 22 years. Representatives reportedly came to her home four times in recent weeks. Each time, she refused the termination request.
” They told me [la quatrième fois] that it wouldn’t be funny when they started the work, that they were going to cut off the water and the electricity. […] They told me: why don’t you sign, why not take this stress off your shoulders,” the lady recalls.
Call for help
Monday morning, Christine Labrie and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois traveled to Granby to meet the tenants concerned and to denounce the situation.
“They deserve to age at home, in their apartment in safety. Experiencing intimidation because a speculator wants to make money is enormous pressure for these seniors. », Supports the co-spokesperson, who was also due to meet the mayor of Granby Julie Bourdon in the afternoon. “We are here to fight with these people who want to have their rights respected. What we are asking the government to do is change the rules so that tenants are better protected,” adds the member for Sherbrooke.
Québec Solidaire wishes in particular to modify the guidelines of the Françoise David law to protect a greater number of tenants. Currently, low-income seniors aged 70 and over who have lived in the same place for more than 10 years cannot be evicted from their apartment.
“There are unfortunately people who could have been protected by this law in the blocks we are talking about who were not aware of it and who unfortunately signed and who could have been protected. There are people who could be protected if we expanded the Françoise David law. So there is still time to act,” adds Christine Labrie.
At the end of the day Monday, Immeubles Galleon had still not returned our requests for comment.
