r/montrealhousing

Ive been renting in montreal for years, and there is not a single instance where a landlord or agency has left a good impressin on me despite never been late on rent, been noisy or messy, or made an unreasonable demand. They all seem like the lowest humanity has to offer. All arrogant, liars, and straight up condescending like theyre doing you some kind of favor. I honestly hope they all (at least most of them) go bankrupt with real state going down the shitter, and i am sure this is a sentiment that a lot of tenants share especially in montreal.

Hi, I was served a notice of rent increase some months ago. I put down that I refuse the increase but will continue to lease here, and sent it to the address written on the notice via registered mail. Canada Post was able to give me the signed proof that it was recieved.

Unfortunately, the signature is so nondescript that it's hard to tell whose it is. Also, I have no written correspondence that the landlord received and acknowledged my refusal other than the registered mail.

Today, my landlord took the increased rent from me via auto deposit. I have no way of stopping the payment or disputing it with my bank. When I tried to sign up for the landlord company's new resident portal to change my payment details and/or contact them, it said they could not find my address and to contact my property manager.

I've done so and am waiting for a response, but I just wanted to ask -- if they feign ignorance, do I have any leg to stand on with taking it to the TAL? if I do, how do I do so?

Thanks in advance

Edit: finally managed to contact the building manager and have my payment stopped, get my pre-authorized debit contract cancelled, and get the e-transfer address for the company. Thanks for all the advice; definitely hammered it into me that stopping the auto payments was the priority.

Realizing in hindsight that my hands weren't as tied as I thought and I was letting my anxiety get the best of me. Hopefully they won't kick up a fuss about me sending my unchanged rent amount, but it's good to have reassurance that the registered mail proof will be enough to cover my ass legally.

(As for why I even agreed to autopay in the first place: desperation, inexperience, naivety, and a distinct lack of backbone at the time. Definitely learned my lesson now.)

hi everyone, im seeking housing advice!!🥺

so i’ve been living in this apartment that was ceded to me a couple years ago. my landlord had a good relationship with me, noting that im a clean, quiet tenant. we never had any issues and always paid rent on time and kept up with repairs—ive even done repairs myself to help them.

and i had recently just renewed my lease for another year.

but my grandma is sick so my plans changed and im moving away to take care of her. so now, i want to cede the lease to my roommate who has been living with me for over a year (she has great credit, is clean and quiet, has full time steady employment, etc.). on the lease transfer notice, we indicated june 1st 2026 for the transfer.

we sent the notice a couple weeks ago, and they just responded today (within the time limit accorded by the TAL) saying they are refusing the lease transfer for major reparations and that our unit needs to be completely empty for these reparations (they are claiming that there’s water damages in a different unit (illegible number) caused by my unit. the unit number is literally scribbled and i cant tell what it says. im assuming they did this on purpose so that i cant ask the neighbours if its true).

they are saying that our lease will be terminated on june 1st 206, but neither of us has a place to go. is this legit? what am i supposed to do? im slightly freaking out !

apparently they need to give 3 months notice for major reparations and cant evict us for that, they can only ask us to leave temporarily.

and if there were actually major problems, why did they offer to renew my lease a month ago?

Hi all,

What is it actually like to live in one of those concrete condos? how good is sound-proofing?
Can you hear people walking upstairs? can you hear neighbors thru the walls?

also, can they hear you? for example, if you practice an instrument or listen to loud music.

can anyone be kind enough to share what their experience has been? I am forever struggling to find a place where I can get proper sleep. Thank you

Hello everyone.

I found an apartment across from Mederic Martin Park on Havre Street, about ten minutes from Frontenac metro station. People I know say the neighborhood is a bit rough with a lot of homelessness. I'm a woman in my early twenties.

What are your thoughts?

On March 29, I lost my key that gives access to the front door of the building. They finally responded to my email on April 9th saying that the lock smith was out of town and I would have the key by next week.

The next time they responded was April 29th, saying that once I paid the 45.99 dollar fee I would get the key in 24-48 hours.

I’ve sent the amount and request for the receipt on May 1st. I’ve since been ‘ghosted’ and no one is responding. I’ve been emailing and now texting.

one of them picked up the phone just to say it’s the other landlords job + some bs answer about how it’s a hard key to copy and bla blah bla.

Ive been having to buzz my neighbours to get into the building or leaving the door to the alley unlocked. What else can I do? Is this even legal? They never gave me a spare key when I moved in.

I just saw a small 3 bed 1 bath bungalow in Terrebonne going for $760,000 in a flood zone?

1250 square feet

$760,000?

Am I a cheap bastard or is this just absolutely ridiculous?

Anyone have any insight on what the current market is like for sellers/buyers?

Hi everyone,
I’m in Montreal and dealing with a confusing situation with the building caretaker/janitor.
When I moved in, I paid 2 months of rent upfront. My understanding was that one of those months would cover the last month of my lease.

Now my lease is ending on May 31, 2026, and I’m not renewing, so I expected that already-paid amount to be applied to my final month.

Before this, I had already sent emails and texts clearly mentioning that I would be applying that extra payment toward my last month’s rent — but they never replied.

Now the caretaker is saying that the extra month I paid does NOT count as last month’s rent, and instead they will “return it after I move out.”

This makes me uncomfortable because:
As far as I know, in Quebec, landlords aren’t supposed to take deposits like this.
They also can’t deduct money unless there’s actual damage, and my apartment has no damage.

When I mentioned that there are no rules allowing them to keep money like this, they responded with: “you want to play that way, okay.” That felt a bit threatening, and now I’m worried they might try to keep part of the money later.

So I’m trying to understand:
Can they legally refuse to apply that payment to the last month?
What could they do next in this situation?
How can I protect myself before moving out so they don’t try to keep any money?
I just want to be prepared in case this escalates.
Thanks in advance.

I’m likely moving to the Montreal area in early spring 2027 for a job opportunity. Specifically the job is in St-Laurent. I’d be moving myself, my wife and our 1 year old son from Winnipeg along with my wife’s service dog.

I will only be living in the area for about 6 months so I’m wondering where is a place that is relatively safe and affordable to rent somewhere near St-Laurent. So far I’ve gathered Montreal, St-Laurent itself and Laval are all within a decent drive and from what I understand, Laval is the most affordable of the 3.

We have a vehicle so driving to work every day is not a big deal, I’d just like to keep the drive within a reasonable time so I can be home after work to spend some time before my kiddo goes to sleep.

Is Laval a safe area to live? Is there another place I haven’t mentioned already that would be safer/more affordable?

We would like to rent a single family home if possible but could absolutely make an apartment or attached housing work for the short term. I know it will likely not be as cheap as Winnipeg but I’d like to keep costs down if possible.

For reference we currently pay $1450/mo for a 700sq Ft home with an unfinished basement in a less than desirable neighbourhood in Winnipeg. The house is just over 100 years old so we’re not picky about it being fancy. I will be making just under $60k salary with some extra relocation funds from my employer as well coming in every paycheck.

Are there any other things I should know about moving to the Montreal/St-Laurent area? Are utilities like water and heating expensive?

Any help is greatly appreciated and I’m excited to explore a new city, I’ve never been to Montreal before.

Bonjour! Je n’arrive pas à trouver l’information sur le site du TAL. J’ai déménagé le 30 mars et mes déménageurs ont laissé un matelas dans mon ancien appartement (je n’étais pas sur place, j’avais de la famille qui m’aidait). Le propriétaire m’a demandé si c’était à moi quelques jours plus tard et je lui ai répondu que oui et je me suis excusé de ne pas l’avoir sorti, mais il ne m’a jamais répondu par la suite. 1 mois plus tard ajd il me contacte pour me charger 200$ pour avoir eu à l’enlever (il me dit que son menuisier? lui a charger ce montant). Je serais venu le chercher avec de la famille avec un pick up sans problème s’il m’avais dit que c’était un problème/que je devais venir le chercher. Puisque je n’ai jamais eu d’avertissement, est-ce que je suis obligé de payer le 200$ qu’il me charge?

Hi everyone,

I am a student at McGill and looking for an apartment in Montreal. I contacted the person who posted the rental information on Facebook Marketplace and realized that he is a broker, not the property owner. I visited the property, and it looks nice, so I would like to rent it. However, the broker told me that when I sign the lease, I need to pay the first month's rent to his agency, Group Elite Canada, rather than the landlord. I searched for his name on Google and it seems like he is a real broker, but this process makes me feel unsafe. I would like to move in in August, but I have to pay the first month's rent when I decide on the lease in May.

I asked the broker if he could show me the documents proving that the property owner has authorized the agency, but he said it was insulting.

Could you please give me some advice on what I should do in this situation?

Thank you very much.

Hi, so me and my partner we renewed our lease in February for July 1st. However, I recently got a really good job opportunity requiring me to move out of the city. I asked my landlord if we could break our lease and he told us to transfer it to someone and then send him the documents when we will find people to rent the apartment.
However, I cant seem to find anyone that wants to rent it, even after posting the place online.
I need to move out soon and I don’t know what my options are anymore. What happens if I can’t find anyone for July 1st?
Is there any way I can get out of this situation ?

Thanks :,)

Hello!

Je vais bientôt déménager à Montréal sauf que je ne connais pas vraiment le marché locatif et je me demandais si espérer trouver un studio pour environ 1000 dollars dans un bon quartier (type Côte des Neiges et près de l'UdeM) en juillet/août est réaliste ? Ou s'il faut s'y prendre à l'avance, genre vers mai/juin ?

Aussi, quand vous parlez de lease transfer, le loyer indiqué est le loyer "normal" ou bien c'est le loyer que l'ancien locateur offre pour se "débarrasser" du bien (en gros, est-ce qu'il va augmenter la bail initial terminé. Je suis désolé si ma question est bizarre, mais je ne comprends pas trop le fonctionnement du transfert de bail.

Aussi, j'ai entendu dire que la plupart des locations se fait sur facebook marketplace. Comment vous faites pour identifier les scams ?

Merci d'avance !

1000$ - room / studio / 3 1/2
Duration : 6 months
Close to an orange or green line station
Everything included (elec, hydro, WiFi)
No need for parking

Hello I am F30 from France and i am coming to Montréal for 6 months starting next June for professional reasons. It will be my first time in Canada and i struggle a bit to find a good place to stay.

I will be working at Usine C near Lafontaine Park (Beaudry station is the closest station). My budget is quite tight (1000＄maximum) and i am looking for either a room or a studio.

I find it hard to figure out which area would be the best for me as i want to be able to visit Montréal easily on my off days, i want to feel safe and have a clean place to stay while still in my budget.

What would be the area you would prioritise if you were in my situation?

Thank you in advance !