Residents of a Park Extension apartment complex on L'Acadie Boulevard say they are forced to live in deplorable conditions, as cockroaches and rats have become a common sight.
One woman tells CTV she spots rats every few days, and says the building manager does nothing to resolve the issue when notified.
Two of 30 complaints filed against building owner Raamco International Properties Canadian Ltd. are before the Quebec rental board. A judge recently ruled the company pay one tenant more than $4,000, citing systematic violation of the tenant's rights.
Andre Trepanier with the Park Extension Action Committee says the judge determined the landlord would only act when forced to by the city inspector.
Local councilor Mary Deros says the city has intervened nearly 30 times and is now looking at nearby sewers to see if a trap door is displaced or broken and therefore allowing rats and other vermin to get through.
But Trepanier says the city could be doing more, and needs to conduct a complete extermination with the landlord footing the bill. He says a global intervention is needed rather than a case-by-case approach.
Raamco has not yet commented on the matter.
- With files from CTV Montreal