(FR) Residential Housing Conflicts in Quebec : Sense of Injustice and Non-Invoking Court

Abstract

In Quebec, the residential housing market is controlled by a series of legal dispositions, including the Civil code of Québec chapter IV. Those regulations define tenants and landlords rights and obligations resulting from lease, since its delivery throughout its term. Unfortunately, a conflict might rise up about their interpretation or application and a party might feel violated, flouted or denied. In this article, we focus on the mobilisation of the law when such situations emerge. Interviews conducted in Quebec as part of a doctoral research study demonstrate that although tenants take steps and ask help to face their situation, they don’t invoke administrative and legal mechanisms to protect their rights, even if they feel unjustly treated.

Keywords

• avoidance
• non-invoking court
• rental housing
• litigation
• injustice
• law mobilization