A lawyer for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been ordered to pay more than $21,000 for illegally evicting his tenant in Longueuil. “Housing for a tenant, just like for an owner, is one of the most basic needs that exist and all parties who contract on this basic good of life must do so in complete transparency and good faith,” Judge Marc C. Forest of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) wrote in the ruling. “In the event of a repossession of a dwelling, landlords must be in good faith before, during and after the repossession,” the ruling continues. According to the ruling, the defendant, Jonathan Savard-Shaw, purchased a triplex in June 2024 on Duvivier Street in Longueuil on the South Shore of Montreal. Three months later, Savard-Shaw told his tenant, Sonia Masseau, that he was taking back her apartment to live in, stating that renovations on his duplex were too expensive. However, there was another apartment in the triplex that was occupied by the previous owner and was vacant. But instead of moving into that vacant apartment, he rented it to someone else. After Masseau had left, Savard-Shaw re-rented her unit to someone else and increased the monthly rent from $1,200 to $1,700. “The Court therefore considers this an illegal repossession of housing and here the tenant is entitled to certain damages,” the ruling continues. According to the ruling, at one point Savard-Shaw advised Masseau that his plans had changed, and she could remain in her apartment, but she had already found a new place to live and could not accept the offer to stay. The TAL does not believe that Savard-Shaw acted in good faith throughout the process, and as a result, it “must send a clear message that this kind of arrangement to regain possession of a dwelling with the aim of re-letting it at a large profit should not be acceptable,” the ruling states. Further, the lease termination document did not state it was ending because of repossession, but rather that it simply ended, and both parties gave each other a mutual and final release. “There are more and more illegal repossessions for renovation or to get rid of an undesirable tenant. The Tribunal must act accordingly and send the message that this is an illegal practice and should be totally discouraged,” the ruling states. Savard-Shaw has been ordered by the TAL to pay Masseau $21,000 plus interest and court costs of $125. He was also ordered to file an application for authorization to put the triplex back on the market and to adjust the cost of the rent within thirty days of the signing of the judgment. Efforts to reach Savard-Shaw by CTV News were unsuccessful.
