$26,000 fine for this owner: convicted for the illegal eviction of his 87-year-old tenant

A judge wanted to send a “clear message” to landlords by sentencing a Longueuil man and taking $26,000 “from his pockets” for “illegally” evicting his 87-year-old tenant.

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“The only way to stop this type of transaction that is harmful to tenants is for the Court to send a clear and unequivocal message that it cannot be done,” writes magistrate Marc C. Forest, of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) .

Duplex in which Claudette Perreault Lévesque, aged 87, lived before being “illegally” evicted by her owner in 2023.

In his judgment rendered at the end of September, we learned that the owner, Ednel Michel, allegedly used subterfuge to get rid of his tenant Claudette Perreault Lévesque. This 87-year-old lady lived in her apartment on Nielsen Street, in Longueuil, for three decades.

Ednel Michel, however, turned his life upside down by announcing that his home would be taken over in 2023. This 42-year-old owner claimed that his own mother was going to live there from now on.

“On April 2, after the tenant had left, she returned to the accommodation to find that there was a poster stating that the accommodation was for rent. It is at this moment that she learns that the landlord’s mother will not come. […] For the Court, this is therefore an illegal repossession of housing,” we can read in the legal document.

It doubles the price

The Longueuil resident tried to explain to the TAL that his mother had finally changed her plans by moving to New Brunswick instead, but his arguments were brushed aside by the court.


The TAL judge used the case of Ednel Michel, seen in this photo, to issue a warning to other owners who would like to enrich themselves with this “kind of non-compliant arrangement”.

Ednel Michel’s Facebook

“The Court does not believe it and it must send a clear message that this type of arrangement to repossess a home with the aim of increasing its rent to generate more profit must not be acceptable,” concludes Marc C. Forest.

The latter therefore ordered Ednel Michel to pay $26,000 in punitive damages to Claudette Perreault Lévesque. Note that the owner doubled the rent by illegally evicting this tenant. In fact, it went from $580 to $1150 per month after his departure.

Anxiety and harassment

Chantal Lévesque, daughter of the 87-year-old tenant, says Journal that his mother experienced great anxiety and insomnia as she was forced to lose her apartment of the last 30 years.


Ednel Michel - Properly condemned

With the illegal eviction of his tenant, Ednel Michel caused the rent on his apartment to jump. It went from $580 to $1150 per month.

PIERRE-PAUL POULIN/LE JOURNAL DE MONTRÉAL

“We had to place her in a private residence four times more expensive, even though she is still independent. It was a lot of harassment from the landlord, who wanted to increase his rent before evicting him too. It really wasn’t fun,” sighs Mme Lévesque.

Ednel Michel assures in an interview with our representative that he did not lie about the resumption of housing. He is even considering appealing the judgment. “I still recognize my share of responsibility in that,” says the quaternary.

WHAT THEY SAID

  • “There is no doubt for the Court that the landlord’s mother never had the intention of settling in and that this whole scenario was set up with the sole aim of ensuring that the tenant leaves and that he can increase the cost of rent.” – Marc C. Forest, judge at the TAL
  • “We have to play into the pockets of those who enrich themselves with this kind of non-compliant arrangement.” – Marc C. Forest, judge at the TAL
  • “It was hell for my mother. We went through a pretty difficult time. She no longer ate or slept. She is 87 years old, but she is still independent. She could have stayed in her home for several more years.” – Chantal Lévesque, daughter of the evicted tenant
  • “I didn’t know that I had to tell the tenant that my mother wouldn’t be living in the apartment right away, after all.” – Ednel Michel

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