Grand-Mère tenants without heating when winter arrives

Tenants in Shawinigan are preparing to spend cold nights in their homes if nothing changes. The heating no longer works in a building in Grand-Mère, where several tenants live. The authorities are concerned about the situation as winter approaches.

Xavier Patry is a tenant of accommodation in the building at 540 avenue de Grand-Mère, who, like the other tenants, is deprived of heating even if he pays the rent.

[Le chauffage] is in the background right now. There is nothingdemonstrates Mr. Patry, his hand above the heater.

To keep warm, people in their situation use the stove or small additional appliances to generate a little heat. This is not enough for Xavier Patry, who often covers himself with jackets or blankets.

However the lease is clear, heating is the responsibility of the owner. If on December 3 I don’t have heating. I don’t pay itconfides a tenant who preferred to remain anonymous.

The situation concerns the authorities to such an extent that the City of Shawinigan intervened quickly, creating a crisis unit.

Having their electricity or water cut off, we’re still talking about things that are quite vital, and these people don’t necessarily have the capacity to find new housing. They are destitutedeplores the coordinator of InfoLogis Mauricie, Geneviève Dugré.

The owner defends himself

Officially, FCS Capital owns the building.

Frédéric Côté, an investor whose successes and pitfalls have been widely publicized in the past, says he sold this company in recent days.

As for the heating, he says he discovered the problem towards the end of October when we started to turn all the units back on downstairs. He claims that heating homes down works, and it is a pressure problem to get to the top.

Frédéric Côté admits that he could have resolved the situation more quickly, but that it would have been even more dangerous. If we do something wrong and everything goes wrong, we’re no further ahead.he said.

Breakage or stratagem?

If the owner assures that it is a breakdown, Geneviève Dugré worries that it could be a tactic to increase the price of rent. She explains that owners sometimes use different maneuvers that do not appear to be evictions, but whose result is the same. There is a lot of pressure from owners for tenants to leave their accommodation in order to substantially increase these accommodations.she explains.

By his admission, Mr. Côté says that he offered a proposal to lots of tenants. We gave them $3,000 and they could find a new apartment. He also maintains that the previous owner had signed leases that were too lowemphasizing that rooms rent for more than 4 ½ units in this building.

Obviously, as the days pass, impatience increases among residents who feel like their rights are not being respected.

Moreover, the City and the various stakeholders involved must take stock of the situation on Monday.