A Canadian landlord has been ordered by a court to pay more than $62,000 in damages to two tenants for “malicious eviction,” one of whom was undergoing cancer treatment at the time of the move.
A “For Rent” sign appeared outside a residence in Montreal’s Verdun borough on June 26, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)
According to the ruling documents from the Quebec Housing Tribunal (TAL), the landlord claimed that he needed to reclaim the house to allow his stepson to move in, but he demolished the house after the tenants moved out and sold it for more than 1 million Canadian dollars. The ruling stated: “The court is convinced that the landlord took back the property by malicious means with the intention of profiting at the expense of the tenant’s right to continue living there.”
The ruling was made on April 28. The case involves tenant Janet Reside Rosetti and her husband Andrew Rosetti. The couple had been renting the house since 2016 but were forced to find other accommodation after receiving a notice of eviction from the landlord in 2022. Andrew was diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2020 and has been undergoing chemotherapy.
The judgment stated: “He (Andrew) had difficulty even standing at the time. Unable to feed himself, he needed his wife to feed him. During the move, he was even unable to help pack the boxes.”
“His wife took on everything and often broke down crying.” After finding a new place to live, Janet remained sceptical about the landlord’s claim that he was “letting his stepson move in.”
According to the ruling, she continued to drive past the old residence from time to time to check on the situation, but never found that anyone had moved in, and the windows had no blinds or curtains. In October 2023, she discovered that the house had begun to be demolished, so she decided to hire a lawyer. In May 2025, the house was listed for CAD 1.275 million and eventually sold for CAD 1.215 million.
The owner originally purchased it for CAD 255,000. TAL’s judgment clearly states: “There is no doubt that the landlord’s real purpose in evicting the tenant was to demolish the house, not to reclaim it for his own residence.” TAL believes that the tenant couple suffered serious disruption and loss to their lives and are entitled to compensation.
Therefore, the court ordered the landlord to pay 35,000 Canadian dollars in punitive damages, 17,450 Canadian dollars in property damages, and 10,000 Canadian dollars in damages for emotional distress. The ruling stated: “Her husband was suffering from cancer during the move, and she searched for and moved into two different residences.
Since 2016, they had been living in relatively affordable housing, and this move had a huge impact on their lives.” “The whole incident caused her tremendous stress and inconvenience. The court believes that the compensation is sufficient to make up for the losses, pain and distress she suffered.”