The City of Montreal intends to take strong action against landlords who fail to maintain their buildings and apartment units according to regulations.
Officials aim to conduct 10,000 new inspections this year alone.
Priority will be given to inspecting apartment buildings with many units that are several decades old.
Mayor Valérie Plante stated that the current focus is not on recently built properties with 100 units.
Four new inspectors have been employed.
Landlords who neglect building maintenance and fail to provide clean, secure apartment units may receive fines or have their mortgage payments frozen by creditors.
Plante emphasized the city's desire to proactively support tenants.
However, opposition councillors believe that the city requires 50 new inspectors to achieve its objectives.
Julien Hénault-Ratelle, a city councillor and housing critic, expressed doubt about the city's capacity to address all tenant needs within five years with the current number of inspectors.
Advocates for tenants' rights are doubtful about the effectiveness of the announcement, citing previous similar plans by city officials that yielded few results.
Martin Blanchard, a tenants' rights advocate, mentioned that inspectors often do not visit the site when a tenant calls, and instead only send a letter to the owner requesting resolution of the issue without further follow-up.
The mayor is assuring that stricter new measures are now being put into practice to put an end to these past practices.
