| C.P. 63008, 40 Place du Commerce, Île des Soeurs |
| Verdun, QC H3E 1V6 |
| FAX: 514-995-2773 | |
| http://www.oocities.org/alis_nita |
Tuesday, March 9, 2004
Re.: Your Rent Setting ("Fixation 2002")
Dear neighbour:
According to information available to the Nuns' Island Tenants Association (NITA), you (or the previous tenants of your dwelling) are among the 346 clients of Metropolitan Structures Inc. who refused the 5% rent increase originally demanded by the landlord, for "Fixation 2002" (leases renewed between April 2nd, 2002 and April 1st, 2003). Furthermore, we believe that you are among the 143 tenants still before the Régie du logement (Quebec Rental Board) for "Fixation 2002", having not settled with the landlord (this information was obtained from the Régie).
If such is the case, you should have received:
- A lengthy "Interlocutory" court decision, in French, from the Régie. While technical on some points, it confirms your right of access (but only *prior* to the resumption of hearings) to the Income and Expenses figures claimed by your landlord
- An invitation form (in French also) to appear again, on Tuesday March 16, 2004 this time, still at 09:00am, and still at the "Universal Motel"
- An English letter from the landlord, but this probably only if you also had refused "Fixation 2003" and/or "Fixation 2004". The letter might state that NITA considers reasonable a 2.25% increase, for "Fixation 2002". This is indeed correct, for gas heated tenants only. NITA, however, does not believe that some "average" increase, throughout Quebec, would be relevant to us, nor that you might get slapped with court fees.
You probably are aware that NITA follows the captioned file very closely. Should you wish to be part of the preliminary consultation of the landlord's relevant figures (the analysis no longer will be allowed, once the case resumes in court), or should you have questions, feel free to contact NITA, preferably via e-mail.
In a similar vein, should you reach an out-of-court settlement, it would be most useful to know your conditions. Naturally, the final decision is entirely yours, and NITA's role limits itself to allowing you to take a better informed decision. It is said that terms fluctuate, depending on what other "fixations" included your name. For "Fixation 2002", however, +2.25% usually gets mentioned. In addition, it appears Metropolitan Structures are offering long-term renewals, perhaps up to 2006.
The Rental Board, on the other hand, should calculate the following "Fixation 2002" rent increases (at worst), for Metropolitan Structures' tenants:
- 0.4%, if unheated townhouse or electric heated apartment (NITA has a list of dwellings concerned)
- 2.1%, if gas heated, as are most of us.
Remember that these offers are substantially better than the 5% rent increase originally demanded. Repairs deemed "major" by the Rental Board, affect very few people (NITA also has the list of concerned dwellings, which was filed by the landlord before the Régie), who merely need to tag on a couple of dollars a month, on top of the above percentages. You might remember the explanation given on this point if you attended one of NITA's recent workshops on Renewals, to which all tenants were invited.
Click here to obtain more information from a copy of NITA's February 1, 2004 flyer. You'll note that it contains a link to our Membership Application/Renewal form.
Please note that, *thanks to you* and other earlier refusals, the landlord suddenly is offering reasonable renewal terms, from the very start of "Fixation 2004" (reasonable for those of us who are gas heated).
With our congratulations and our gratitude.
NITA Volunteers
NITA (Nuns' Island Tenants Association) is a non-profit organization, staffed entirely by volunteers, founded in February 1993, whose aim is to represent all Nuns' Island tenants and to defend their rights.