Quebec couple ordered to pay $5,000 to man refused apartment over baby’s crying

MONTREAL — A Quebec human rights tribunal has ordered two Montreal landlords to pay $5,000 in moral damages to a man who was refused an apartment rental because of his baby.

However, the judge rejected the man’s request for another $1,500 in punitive damages.

The judgment notes that in March 2015, Abderrahim Taoussi and his spouse were interested in visiting an apartment in a duplex owned by d’Irina Taranovskaya Tsarevsky and Mikhail Tsarevsky. The landlords lived in the building’s other unit.

Taoussi spoke with the landlord by phone, at which time he mentioned the couple had two children — aged 10 months and five and a half years old — but then didn’t hear back until April 5.

On that day, Taranovskaya Tsarevsky told him she could not rent him the apartment because his baby would cry.

Taoussi filed a human rights complaint a few days later. His family moved into a different apartment in July, but he maintains Taranovskaya Tsarevsky’s would have better suited his family.

Taoussi told the tribunal that going through the legal process caused his family significant stress and financial loss. Taranovskaya Tsarevsky, for her part, said her husband was very sick in 2015 and needed to be in a quiet environment.

The tribunal concluded Taoussi was the victim of discrimination from Taranovskaya Tsarevsky based on the young age of his children. It concluded Mikhail Tsarevsky was a passive witness to his wife’s discrimination.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March. 11, 2020.

The Canadian Press