Rental woes cloud moving day

On July 1, when most leases end, hundreds of Quebecers were seeking help

- MAURA FORREST

People carry furniture across a street on Monday in Montreal. As of Monday morning, there were nearly 1,300 Quebec households seeking help from government services to find affordable housing options.

MONTREAL It’s moving day in Quebec, and Mario Lortie is leaving his apartment of 27 years.

It’s not by choice. His new landlords, who recently bought the Montreal duplex where he lives, want to convert the building into a single home, so Lortie got the boot.

The problem is he has nowhere to go. The 62-year-old former social worker lives on welfare due to health problems, and was paying just $535 a month in rent.

After a fruitless search for another apartment he could afford, Lortie turned to a community organization that helped him get a temporary spot in a downtown hotel, paid for by Montreal’s municipal housing office.