Five residential apartment buildings in District 2 have been sold for more than $40 million.
The buildings implicated are 5755, 5765 and 5775 Sir Walter Scott and 6565 and 6575 Kildare Road. They were previously owned by the CLV Group.
For Côte Saint-Luc, the good news is that at a time when our finances have been adversely affected by a lack of home sales due to high interest rates, inflation, city of Montreal transfers and more, we will net $1.2 million in welcome taxes. However, tenants of the five buildings have sounded the alarm due to the mysterious nature of the new owners. The company listed is Immeubles Galleons S.E.C. It is unclear who actually heads this enterprise. One name kept coming up; a developer I have worked with in my day job. When I reached him he insisted that he was originally a prospective buyer. “I flipped the offer to another investor prior to closing,” he stated.
A letter advising tenants of the change was not printed on any kind of letterhead and rather than being delivered to each door, it was merely posted on some of the walls in high traffic areas.
Two property managers, Mr. David and Mr. Avi, are listed. They actually work for the person who denies he is the real owner. “They are helping the new owners with his renovations after hours,” he told me.
I was able to connect with Avi, who is a constituent of mine. I recommended that letters be delivered to each door with clear instructions of how to pay the rent. They cannot assume everyone will respond to a flyer posted on wall minus any stationary.
Tenants fear that the new company will proceed with renovictions – the eviction of all of a building's tenants on the grounds that a large-scale renovation is planned. Having represented District 2 for 18 years now, I know for a fact that in each building there are tenants who called these places home for many years. So I was not surprised to start hearing from some of them soon after the posting of the new ownership occurred. They immediately fired out letters to City Hall, getting the attention of the mayor, council as well as our legal and building inspection departments. Deputy Mayor and Councillor Dida Berku was a tenants rights lawyer for 40 years and last fall she was instrumental in drafting our first ever renoviction bylaw. It emphasizes that prior to the issuance of a permit for major works that require evacuation, written documentation must be provided demonstrating that affected tenants have agreed, in writing, to either temporarily relocate or voluntarily vacate their dwellings during the work. Tenants who have agreed to temporarily relocate must have been presented with a clear expected timeline for their return. The contact information of each affected tenant must be provided.
Councillor Berku and I met with tenants last Thursday night. There were representatives from each building. They are being proactive, having already engaged a lawyer.
One tenant told me the new owners state no dogs are allowed in the building. As the councillor responsible for Animal Protection, I have been told of such edicts before. A dog (or cat) is truly a member of one’s family. Such a clause by a landlord can only be used for new tenants.
Clearly this is a developing story which we will continue to follow.