Shape up or lose your property, Quebec City tells owners of neglected buildings

It's known in Quebec Cityas "the little white house" atiny 139-year-old building thatfaces the city's historic Plains of Abraham and istucked next to a Martello tower where British soldiers once stood guard.

Once a picture of tranquillity, the house became ground zero this summer in a battle between developers and the city's historic-building aficionados.

Amid concerns for the future of the little white house, the city threatened to expropriate the property from the developer.

But one expert in municipal law says both Quebec City and Montreal are generallyslow to deal with buildings that are either at risk, neglectedor abandoned.

According toFranoisMarchand,Quebec's two biggest cities don't seem to realize the legal powers they have to deal with these buildings.

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The sad decline of the little white house

Neighbours began to rally around the little white house after its owner, developer StphaneHuot, started using it as an office for a nearby construction site.

Huot's company razed the bushes and grass on the front lawn, and left rebar, blocks of cement and other building materials scattered in its place. A stack of lumber lay on the sill of its delicately paned front window.

"There was a magnificent yard with very beautiful trees,"said neighbourAlainPerron."But since the first of June, it was completely destroyed."

About 30 people who live nearby, concerned aboutHuot'streatment of the building,started pushing for the city to list it as a heritage property.

In 2013, Huotwanted to demolish the home to make way for a condominium tower. The city blocked that move.

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Fix it or lose it

Mayor Regis Labeaumethreatened to expropriate the little white house, along with four other properties, in order to protect them from developers.

Labeaume claimed special zoning laws for the area around the National Assembly could have been invoked, and that theywould have left the property owners with little recourse.

The next dayHuot's company, Groupe Huot, promisedthe construction office would be relocated and that the little white house would be preserved.

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ButMarchand, amunicipal law attorney and former city councillor, saysLabeaume'sbluster was unnecessary.

"I think they already have all the necessary tools," saidMarchand, who is also considering running for mayor in the next municipal election.

He believesQuebec City should go to court instead of seeking to givebuildings protected status,a processhe says could take months.

Montreal property woes

Montreal is nursing its own property headaches.Two greystone buildings on de l'Esplanade Avenue were declared unsafe in 1996, but have continued to deteriorate.

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The PlateauMont-Royal borough considered expropriating them, but oppositioncouncillor Alex Norris said the city's legal department advised against it.

Expropriation is usually done because it's in the public interest. The city's director general concluded that it mightbe hard to make such a case if the buildings weregoing to be converted into private condominiums, said Norris.

Instead, the boroughlaunched injunction proceedings three years ago, which are still pending.

"What this whole sad story shows is that cities in Quebec, and particularly the City of Montreal,do not have the powers they need when faced with extreme cases of negligence and abandonment of buildings," Norris said.

"I believe the City of Montreal should have the power to simply seize a building that is abandoned for a certain amount of time with no compensation to the owner," he said, adding that such powers would scare a lot of negligent property owners into fixing up their buildings.

Smaller towns do it

Marchand said Quebec courts are often willing to empower smaller municipalities to deal with problematic properties, and that should work for the province's big cities, too.

"I am a lawyer in municipal [law], and I have seen many small towns or municipalities go in court andwin," he said.

As examples, he points to Coaticook, in the Eastern Townships, and Rivire-Bleue, near Rivire-du-Loup.

Both municipalities obtained court rulings that not only forced building owners to repair their properties within a set time period, but also granted the municipalities the power to do the repair work themselves and send the owners the bill.

"If small towns win in court, Quebec and Montreal should also," Marchand said.

"We have problems with very,very beautiful buildings thatneed urgent renovation work and nobody acts," he added.

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