Getting settled tough for immigrants

"Discrimination is pretty tough to prove," said Bordeaux-Cartierville housing committee member Dominique Perrault, although according to her, it definitely exists in the housing market. According to her, "85 per cent of complaints received by the housing committee come from immigrants."

The complaint process at the Human Rights Commission for discrimination cases is so long and tedious (two to five years to get a verdict), that many people who believe they have been victims of discrimination just drop the matter rather than pursue it.

"I've only ever actually seen one case where a landlord was found guilty of discrimination, but that doesn't get people someplace to live," Perrault said.

According to her, landlords occasionally discriminate against immigrants for reasons other than race. “For instance, immigrant families are often large and landlords will give priority to renters without kids," she added.

Rosa Ariola, an official with the Regroupement des Organismes du Montréal Ethnique pour le Logement (ROMEL) housing lobby group said many injustices fall onto immigrants' shoulders not out of racism, but simply the vulnerable situation immigrants are in.

"Credit checks, usually required by most landlords, are problematic for new arrivals because they arrive without a credit or employment history."

To make up for that lack of good credit, landlords often demand a co-signer for the lease.

"But of course, they’ve just arrived in the country and they really don't know anybody," Ariola said. Other landlords demand the first few months' rent up front as a guarantee, when by law they're only allowed to ask for one month in advance.

"The problem is they don't know the law, so they have to go along," Arriola said. The same goes for when the lease is finally signed.

"There are frequently problems of filth in Montreal apartments. Immigrants don't know the landlord is responsible for it, or how to force him to clean it," she added.

"Certain landlords charge immigrants rent that is way too high, knowing they don't know the market very well or the value of Canadian dollars," she said, adding that when the first shill of winter approaches, some new arrivals precipitate their decisions.

"They panic, and they rent whatever they can at prices that are completely unreasonable.Then they can never make ends meet," Arriola said.

In both places, it's possible to get help for obtaining a writ of order, a letter advising your landlord to handle their responsibilities when it's warranted. The housing committee is there to advise immigrants of their rights. ROMEL acts as a housing bank and offers housing-search training for new arrivals. Complaints can be filed there as well, as ROMEL also acts a reference for those who want to complain to the Human Rights Commission.

Dominique Perrault and Rosa Ariola both said problems encountered by immigrants when it comes to housing will probably not go down over time. Ariola said more regular interventions by Quebec's Regie de Logement could make a difference, especially when it comes to the credit-check issue.

(Translated by Marc Lalonde)



(Photo: Sylvain Sarrazin)