Long live the lease
An NDG-based website lets tenants sidestep landlords and their big hikes to keep west end renting affordable
by ELISABETH FAURE
February 3, 2011
TAKE MY APARTMENT, PLEASE: Leslie Bagg
Photo by MICHEAL BEAULIEU
If you’re an NDG-er seeking release from your lease, a local website is aiming to help you out.
The NDG Lease Transfer Network (ndgleasetransfer.org) is the brainchild of the NDG Community Council’s housing association. In an effort to preserve affordable housing in the bor ough, the site connects those looking to get out of their lease with prospective new tenants—sans landlord interference.
The goal? To prevent landlords from sticking new renters with abusive rent increases. “Between tenants, that’s when big rent increases tend to happen, sometimes hundreds of dollars,” explains Leslie Bagg, the council’s community organizer.
As rents across the island continue to climb, they want to ensure vulnerable citizens aren’t squeezed out of the rental market. “One of the areas we’re most worried about is lower NDG,” says Bagg, worrying that the looming MUHC superhospital will make the area more desirable for future hospital employees. “We need to make sure people living there now continue to be able to afford it.”
Although landlords aren’t supposed to raise rents for new tenants, it’s often difficult for prospective occupants to figure out how much their predecessor paid. “Right now, the new tenant must somehow find out what the old tenant was paying, and then take their brand-new landlord to the rental board,” Bagg says. And time is of the essence—under current laws, you only have two months to prove your landlord jacked up the rent illegally, and challenge them at the rental board.
So the website was born. Launched last summer, it currently lists apartments starting as low as $560 a month. Many are classic NDG pads—balconies, wooden detailing, lots of sunlight. “One apartment even had a working fireplace, which is pretty cool,” says Bagg.
Aleksandra Graonic is listing her large four-and-a-half on Benny Crescent on the website ($930 a month, Hydro included). “I’m behind the idea 100 per cent,” she says. Graonic chose to forego big sites like Kijiji or Craigslist in favor of the NDG-based site.
Bagg says there are benefits to keeping it local. “You have the built-in support of the Community Council,” she says, noting that the council willl provide free advice if your landlord tries to pre vent you from transferring your lease.
Can landlords ever refuse a transfer? “The only valid reason is if the new tenant is clearly going to be unable to pay rent,” says Bagg.
In theory, landlords have no problem with the site. “It’s perfectly legal,” says landlord’s association president Martin Messier. But he warns the process is open to abuse from tenants who are looking to sell a sweet apartment’s cheap lease. He says he’s seen “hundreds” of such cases. “The most expensive one I ever saw was someone charging $5,000.”
Bagg was surprised by the warning. “Before we set up the site, we did a bunch of consulting. That never actually came up,” she says. “Hopefully, that means that not many people would think of that.”
Bagg’s message? Spread the word. “I hope more people use it, and transfer their leases to people who want an affordable place in NDG.”
She sees a future for the local lease-transfer movement outside the borough. “If it’s successful, I hope other neighborhoods will decide to create similar sites, and it will spread throughout the city.” ■
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