A blackberry bush marks the entrance to Gabriel Caballero’s campsite carved out along the railroad tracks in Montreal. It is the largest of many plants the 42-year-old web developer, artist, and amateur horticulturist brought with him after his mid-winter eviction. 

In addition to the neat rows of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, and other vegetables growing steps from his tent’s entrance, he’s also planted milkweed to feed the passing monarch butterflies. 

Solar-powered security lights, wind chimes, and a canvas hammock are securely fastened to the surrounding trees and saplings. Aside from what was growing in his garden, everything in his wooded clearing was salvaged from the trash — saved from ending up in a landfill.

This is the first time Caballero finds himself without a roof over his head since he moved to Montreal from Mexico 20 years ago, and he unequivocally blames his former landlords for his current living situation. 

Inside his tent, he unpacks three accordion folders stuffed with legal documents and spreads them across his bed. Just inches away, the floor in front of the wood-burning stove Caballero used to stay warm last winter is covered with small burn holes, ghosts of fallen embers.

“I am convinced that I would not be homeless today if Mr. Rabi had acted… in good faith,” said Caballero about his former landlord, Yosef Rabi. Caballero alleges Rabi made his living situation unbearable, causing a deep depression and leaving him unable to care for himself. After falling behind on the rent, Caballero was sued for non-payment and evicted.

Meanwhile, his former apartment remains empty — available to rent for hundreds of dollars more than he was paying just months ago. 

Caballero’s experience seems to be part of a trend for long-term tenants living in buildings recently purchased by Yosef Rabi, his wife Leah Kohn, or companies tied to them.

In the past six years, the two real estate entrepreneurs, who own more than 20 buildings in and around Montreal, have been before Quebec’s administrative housing tribunal (TAL) more than 120 times. Dozens of other cases have been settled or remain pending. Many of the cases are applications to terminate the lease and evict the tenant, often filed within a short time after purchasing the building. 

Court records, interviews with current and former tenants, and an investigation based on open-source intelligence reveals a pair of real estate speculators who target buildings filled with long-term tenants paying below-market rents — often in neighbourhoods with high poverty rates. Through alleged intimidation, harassment, and neglect, they clear out vulnerable residents to maximize profit margins.

Eviction for profit

Two days before Christmas, the residents of 144 Gaspé St W. in Chateauguay, Quebec, were told they needed to find a new place to live.

Their former landlord, a non-profit organization, which provides affordable, social housing, had just sold the building to 9529-8162 Québec inc., Rabi’s company. Some of the residents were entirely unaware of the sale until Rabi’s employees came knocking with the news. Many of the building’s residents are elderly, living with an intellectual disability, or receiving a low-income rent payment subsidy.

Some tenants spoke to Ricochet on a condition of anonymity, saying they fear reprisals from their landlord.

“The new landlords came to the apartment without permission to enter… and said ‘we are doing renovations, and everyone has to be out,’” said one of the building’s residents. She said they handed her a pre-written agreement to terminate her lease and demanded her signature. “It was very intimidating and very confusing, especially two days before Christmas.”

“They slammed the paper on the counter and said ‘you’re going to sign that right now,’” said another 75-year-old resident of the building. When she inquired about her neighbors who might not be able to leave, or might not have anywhere else to go, she alleged one of Rabi’s employees said “we have our ways, we shoot them.”

A third tenant claims his wife was home alone when the men came to the door and demanded she sign a document, written in English, despite not speaking or understanding that language. The men would return two more times over the next week, banging on the door, ringing the doorbell multiple times, and even shining flashlights through the windows when no one answered. 

“It made us feel very stressed and anxious as we do not know what will happen to us. Where will we be living,” he said. “We cannot go to our home country because of the war, and being retired with no income, we cannot afford the current apartment prices on the market.”

Those who refused to sign said it wasn’t just harassment they had to contend with, but also a refusal to carry out urgent repairs.

One tenant’s heating system broke over the holidays. Despite multiple calls to her new landlord, no one came. “I could see my breath in the house,” she said. For three weeks she relied on her oven to provide heat for her and her 10-year-old daughter. When a repairman did finally arrive, she said it was in the dead of night, leaving her feeling unsafe.

Michel Dormoy, a 71-year-old resident of the building, claims he now sleeps with a knife under his pillow after a confrontation earlier this month with someone he believes was one of Rabi’s employees.

He said the dispute began when he asked the construction worker to show proof of a license from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ), the provincial agency that oversees contractor accreditation. In response, the worker allegedly climbed onto Dormoy’s balcony, grabbed an umbrella, and struck him with it, drawing blood.

“He jumped down and said, ‘This isn’t finished,’” Dormoy recalled.

“In that specific case, it was actually one of our employees who was physically assaulted while on site,” stated a representative from Action Realty Inc., a company that manages many of Rabi and Kohn’s rental properties.

On paper, the company is owned by two individuals with no apparent connection to Rabi and Kohn. Yet the company’s office shares an address in Boisbriand that the couple listed as their home on tax assessment rolls for several of their buildings.

“Our staff is trained to act respectfully and professionally at all times,” assured the Action Realty representative.

Within a short period of time, many of the building’s residents signed the agreement to vacate. 

Some of them are now being represented by law firm Ouellet Nadon, attempting to get those agreements thrown out for vitiated consent. “They were pressured to sign on the spot and were also in a vulnerable position,” said Manuel Johnson, one of the lawyers taking on Rabi and Kohn. 

His free legal advice to other tenants: never sign anything straight away.

Fraudulent tactics

In April, as first reported by CBC, the TAL released twin decisions against Rabi on a file involving the Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal (OMHM), the administrative body responsible for managing social housing and housing assistance programs in the city.

In those cases, two tenants of 1659 Fleury St. in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, owned by Rabi, benefitted from a rent subsidy through the OMHM. Rabi appeared unannounced to those tenants’ apartments with a document on fraudulent and falsified OMHM letterhead indicating a 25 per cent rent increase among other lease modifications — but the OMHM had nothing to do with this move to raise the rent. The interactions lasted around five minutes, and the tenants were told that if they did not sign, they would be evicted.

In both cases, the judge ruled Rabi’s behaviour was “inexcusable and reprehensible because he attempted to obtain an undue advantage from a vulnerable person.”

Data shows landlords target impoverished neighborhoods

An analysis of data related to Rabi and Kohn’s TAL cases show they own at least 23 buildings in the Greater Montreal area. 

A cross-analysis of the buildings’ postal codes with census data revealed some disconcerting trends. According to Yaya Baumann, a research associate at the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) and the University of Montreal, much of their real-estate portfolio is located in neighbourhoods with higher concentrations of poverty, visible minorities, or those with irregular immigration status. “It looks like he’s targeting vulnerable areas in general,” they said.

Baumann also noted that many of these buildings are located in areas targeted for “urban revitalization” by the city of Montreal.

According to the city’s open data portal, the goal of the revitalisation urbaine intégrée (RUI) program is to “significantly and sustainably improve the plight of residents of disadvantaged territories.” But Baumann pushed back against this notion, calling it “state-led gentrification,” a kind of dog whistle to real-estate speculators like Rabi and Kohn, masked in liberal language.

‘No one is being evicted’

Rabi responded to questions sent to him and Kohn by email via Action Realty Inc. 

In an initial email sent last month, Ricochet inquired about the number of eviction cases before the TAL, tenants’ allegations of pressure to terminate the lease, and whether the couple is specifically targeting buildings with vulnerable residents.

Rabi denied the allegations and demanded a two-month delay for a detailed answer. “We can state that no one is being evicted, forced to sign any document, and the allegations you pursue have not been proven by anyone,” said Rabi.

In a subsequent email, he insisted he and his partners often buy properties that are in bad condition, investing “a lot of money” to improve them for tenants and to comply with various norms, justifying large rent increases.

“We own or manage many properties in Montreal and its suburbs,” said Rabi. “We operate as any business people would do when we find an offer that seems profitable for everyone.”

A look through Rabi and Kohn’s TAL cases revealed many applications for eviction were for non-payment of rent. Rabi estimated that his company has lost $200,000 from rent payment defaults by various tenants.

Rabi ignored our request for a phone interview.

Non-payment

According to the TAL’s website, “a lessee (tenant) who does not pay their rent in full on the agreed date is in default as of the next day.” Being three weeks late, or regularly late in paying the rent causing serious injury to the landlord can be a valid reason for the court to terminate the lease and evict the tenant.

At the TAL, non-payment cases are considered straightforward. A strict interpretation of the law is applied. Either rent was paid, or it wasn’t. Parties are only allotted a total of five minutes to make their cases. The reasons for late or non-payment are considered irrelevant.

Tenants have been evicted for owing little more than pocket change, said Manuel Johnson. 

“It’s cruel and inhumane. If someone is in the hospital with cancer and they missed one rent payment, then they’re getting thrown out on the streets,” said Johnson. “Is this the kind of society that we want, where a person who is ill or lost their job can find themselves in the street over a debt as little as $2? … Having a strict application of the law creates absurd situations.”

Johnson also noted that he’s seen cases where landlords intentionally reject rent payments in order to have a tenant evicted for non-payment. While there are options to deal with this, most people are unaware of their rights and may still be evicted.

He suggested that Quebec look to more progressive models where context is considered before kicking someone out of their home for non-payment. “I know in France they do an inquiry on those reasons, and they can give a delay to the tenant to pay the rent. It’s not as catastrophic as here,” he said.

Rabi and Kohn purchased Caballero’s building in February 2021. 

Even though Caballero’s apartment was in a dire state, he claimed his requests for repairs went ignored. Instead, he would receive offers of cash for keys — payment to terminate his lease and leave his apartment.

Caballero refused. 

Rabi opened a case against him for non-payment, despite Caballero’s claim that he had never missed a payment at that time. Caballero arrived at the court ready to defend himself, but Rabi didn’t bother showing up to his own hearing. The case was thrown out by the TAL due to lack of evidence.

In an email, Action Realty Inc. claimed that all repairs were carried out promptly on Caballero’s apartment. As for the TAL hearing for non-payment, they said the rent was eventually paid and that attending the hearing was unnecessary.

By August 2022, Rabi and Kohn ceded the building to 9435-9718 Quebec Inc.

According to the Registre des entreprises du Québec, the provincial business registry, the numbered company is run by a third party with an address listed in Outremont. However, the notice of eviction that was eventually sent to Caballero by the bailiff identifies that company’s address as being the same Boisbriand address tied to Rabi, Kohn, and Action Realty Inc. 

Caballero was never informed of the transfer. “Since Mr. Rabi bought the building, I have always sent the rent cheque in [his] name to an address in Boisbriand,” he said, maintaining that his contact for repairs also remained the same.

In the meantime, his neighbours, once friendly faces he had known for years, disappeared, accepting offers to vacate. In their stead, people who Caballero alleges made his life unbearable. “Their constant harassment, day and night, contributed to the severe psychological trauma from which I still suffer today,” he said. 

Caballero fell into a deep depression — sleeping all day and forgetting how to care for himself more generally. It got so bad that he needed hospitalization, twice. He said he never battled these kinds of feelings before, nor had he been hospitalized for psychiatric reasons. This was all new.

Among the many things Caballero was unable to do during this dark time, paying rent was unfortunately among them, and the new owner opened a file against him at the TAL. 

“There is a lot of stress in being sued regardless of the cost,” said Felix Marois, a community organizer at Bureau d’Animation et Information Logement du Québec Métropolitain (BAIL). “Tenants can lose sleep and experience significant distress, especially if the hearing is for non-payment, where the consequence is expulsion.”

The TAL evicted him, his mental health left unaddressed.

At the time of his eviction, Caballero’s monthly rent was $805. Action Realty Inc. currently lists the apartment to rent for $1,325 — a 65 per cent increase. The apartment has seemingly sat empty since his removal. 

“The current amount remains below the market value for similar units in the area,” said a representative for Action Realty. “We aim to find a fair balance between maintaining affordability and ensuring sustainability for the property owners. … It’s important to understand that our clients are property owners who invest with the goal of generating a return.”

Caballero currently spends his days searching for food and looking for a new place to live. He has no intention of spending another winter outside.

While the space he has made for himself along the tracks retains many elements of home, he lives with the constant fear of another eviction. The last fruits have just fallen from his blackberry bush and remind him that summer will soon be over.