Montreal tenants' union hopes 'people power' will lead to improved living conditions

A new tenants' organization in Montreal is using strength in numbers to pressure landlords to make repairs, keep rents low and stop so-called renovictions.

The Syndicat des Locataires Autonomes Montréal, also known as the Montreal Autonomous Tenants Union (SLAM-MATU) was created last fall, when organizers noticed a lack of solutions to housing disputes outside of the Tribunal administratif du logement, the provincial rental tribunal.

Union members Jules Dimant and Noah Merali say that recourse through the tribunal is often skewed in favour of landlords, leaving tenants in need of other solutions. 

SLAM-MATU essentially provides a structure for connecting tenants from various buildings and neighbourhoods to one another, and gives them strategies and resources to push for effective change.

When someone approaches SLAM-MATU and says they have a problem with their housing situation, the union presents them with several options for action and organization.

"It's always in the hands of tenants of individual buildings," says Dimant, "but we try to orient ourselves through direct action, so signed petitions, flyers, banner drops."

Their model is based on progressive escalation of tactics intended to build solidarity among tenants. They start by knocking on doors in order to create a community united around common issues.

"Odds are if someone's having problems with rats or repairs or neglect of the unit, then their neighbours are having these issues as well." says Merali.

From there, SLAM members and tenants document the issues and might co-sign a letter or a petition with demands for the landlord. The unified front that union members and tenants present gets landlords to take them seriously as a group, as opposed to isolated individuals, organizers said. 

Collective action, or, as Merali puts it, "people power," is the basis for the union's activities. 

"By coming together as a collective, we're able to boost each other's strength and increase the power beyond what each individual person has," he said.

"In order to level the playing field with the landlord who will often not care about a single tenant, or take advantage of a single tenant who believes their problems are too small to be worth going through a larger process." 

Creating a union to strengthen collective bargaining power was inspired in part by other tenant action, such as the 2017 Parkdale Rent Strike in Toronto and Tenant and Neighbourhood Councils in California's Bay Area. 

The Montreal organizers say the tactics they use have been effective so far.