Confusion, anger and 5 minutes to avoid eviction: A day at Quebec’s jammed rental tribunal [Video]

Montreal was, in years past, considered a haven for renters. But those days are long gone.

The cost of rent has jumped since the pandemic — and so have disputes between tenants and landlords.

The number of applications filed with Quebec’s rental tribunal, known in French as the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), has skyrocketed. The bulk of those cases have been initiated by landlords.

There were more than 91,000 cases brought forward at the tribunal in 2023-24, an increase of more than 40 per cent over two years.

“This situation has persisted for several years now, but we can notice that it has been exacerbated,” said Daniel Villarreal, a Montreal lawyer and expert in tenants’ rights, referring to the rental board.

“The situation does not seem to improve and that’s something much more structural on a societal level.”

Here’s a look at how the TAL works — and doesn’t — based on a …