Eminent Domain and the Western Housing Expropriation ‘David and Goliath’ row with Montreal developer

The episode discusses the issue of housing expropriation and the corporatization of housing, where developers make deals with local authorities to force residents out of their homes. The case of Carla White, a tenant in Montreal, highlights the lack of affordable housing in Canadian cities. The property developer, Mondev, wants to demolish the building she lives in and construct luxury apartments. White wants a safe and affordable place to live or fair compensation. The developer claims they made offers, but White demands a penthouse and disputes the developer's claims. This case reflects the larger problem of affordable housing disappearing in cities, displacing longstanding communities. The episode also mentions a similar case in the US and the issue of gentrification and regeneration. The impact on residents and the global interest in these issues is highlighted. Hello and welcome to this episode of the Diary of a Lawyer and today I just want to touch on an issue that is global in nature and that is the increasing housing expropriation of usually long-standing residents from their homes, an issue that has obviously happened in major cities such as London, New York, Scandinavia, Spain and now Portugal and that's the corporatization of housing where often developers with finances make deals with local authorities, usually under the law, but I think it is arguable whether the law serves the interests of the residents and in the U.S. it's called eminent domain, it's under that eminent domain sort of law and in the United Kingdom, at least in England and Wales, it's through the use of courts to essentially compel people to leave their homes if they can argue that there's a compelling public interest to that end and that's through the use of the compulsory purchase orders which we design generally around building infrastructure, essential work or infrastructure that is of genuine public good and benefits the community, so that's what the developers and the local authorities tend to use to essentially compel people out of their homes. So coming to this lady, as you can see, she's a single tenant in a Montreal apartment block who has started a multi-million dollar project and what is termed as a stand-up that has focused attention on the lack of affordable housing in major Canadian cities. I should add it's not just a Canadian issue as I mentioned, it seems to be a more Western global issue and the property developer, Mondev, has been trying according to reports, public reports, for years trying to persuade Carla White, the lady's called Carla White, to move from her small 400 Canadian dollars a month which is equivalent to 230 pounds so it can demolish a row of mostly abandoned buildings and build luxury 176 luxury apartments. The one-room unit is stated to be in what is termed as decrepit building which lacks a working stove and can only narrowly fit in a desk, a bed and some houseplants, but for White who according to Guardian was previously homeless and does not currently have a job, the apartment has been her home for decades and not least because under Quebec regulations, her rent has been hidden to ensure it remains affordable. So that's sort of the context. But it's been stated that she's not just trying to save the building, she knows it needs to be renovated but she just wants somewhere safe and affordable to live, says her lawyer, Manuel Johnson, according to the Observer. And he added that she wanted a similar apartment and a long-term affordable lease or enough compensation from the developer to ensure that she would not lose shelter in coming years. They also say that in several meetings the City of demolition comes out with a plan which they tend to do. Some tenants again are usually due to personal circumstances accepted offers but the senior partners from the farm told the media that they had made numerous offers to White over the last three years or so but these were declined. Now he goes on to say to the developer that they had been unable to reach an agreement with White because of what he termed as a no path forward, alleging that she was demanding a penthouse apartment worth $1,000 a month on an indefinite lease, a claim which is disputed by her lawyers. And he went on to tell the demolition committee earlier in May that the company had also offered her around $20,000 Canadian, a figure Johnson confirmed. But he goes on to say that to some extent she is apparently using this to put into either her lifestyle or apparently hold them to ransom because apparently she has been requesting way beyond the norm. But she contends that the end amount offered by the developer would only cover a year or so for rent. And she adds that even if they took the $20,000 rent, sort of compensation, which has got into the pockets of another landlord, which is not unusual. It tends to be the case. And the lawyer adds that whatever reason the settlement miss White with the household needs for housing stability in no way will endanger the financial viability of the project. And adding that they don't have any cash flow problems and they're going to be making millions of dollars off of the development. And so while this loan renter, so-called, is standing up to one of Montreal's largest developers, but he also captured the current public purpose, the price of residence will see a city in which affordable housing is quickly disappearing, often to make way for costly development projects, which dispossess, displace and disenfranchise longstanding local communities. And they tend to be replaced by a different demographic, which is transitional in nature and sometimes doesn't have stake in the society. And usually, for example, in a city like London or New York, the folks who live in these places are often displaced. It tends to be the people who run the city, the hospital workers, the transport workers, the policemen, the social workers, the government workers, the local government workers, the people that actually make the city livable, the people who make the city what it is. And so this is a very interesting report. There was a similar case in the US, which went all the way to the Supreme Court. And the thing was that the City of New London, the lady, similarly, who held out, and the comments from some of the judges were similar. They echoed the same sentiments, where they said it wasn't just about more taxes, but this is where the lady who was elder has lived all her life, that she will move if it's for the public good, but not just because someone wants to make more money. And so the holdout in Montreal is just another chapter on the long running issue of what some people term as gentrification or regeneration, but which essentially is displacement, dispossession and disenfranchisement of local communities to pay away for. Developers are often not known who the investors are, in some cases with offshore accounts in company names. Whilst the mothers, the fathers, the children who live in these places are displaced and their lives are turned upside down. So this is a clear example of how that impacts the residents, the people who call these places home, not just a house but a home. And the global interest that it generates. So we shall be watching developments and then we shall leave it on this episode of the Diary of a Lawyer, in this case of David V. Goliath in Montreal, and the case of Carla White who is holding out and fighting the developer Mondev in Montreal, Canada. So there we shall leave it on this episode. We shall be watching developments and we'll speak again. Thank you. Bye.