Montreal tenants allege influencer’s real estate rise leaves renters behind 

A Montreal couple is accusing their former landlord, an influencer-turned-real estate investor, of preying on vulnerable tenants.

This is Part 2 of a CTV News Montreal investigation into tenants’ allegations against a social media influencer-turned real estate investor. Read Part 1 here and Part 3 here.

A Montreal couple is speaking out against their former landlord, Magali Cuvillier, accusing the influencer-turned-real estate investor of preying on vulnerable tenants.

Because Kendra and Sean feared going public could compromise their future ability to secure an apartment, CTV News agreed to use their first names only.

While Kendra and Sean ultimately resolved their dispute with Cuvillier without turning to the rental board, known in French as the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), Kendra described the risk tenants face when they decide to turn to the TAL, because rulings can potentially make them unattractive to future landlords.

“Even if the [rental board] ruling was in your favour and you did nothing wrong, they can say, ‘Oh, that person’s caused trouble,’ and it’s now kind of like a blacklist,” said Kendra.

“It can make it very hard to stand up for your rights if you know that afterwards, you might never get an apartment again,” added Sean.

‘Welcome to Montreal’

Kendra and Sean moved from London, Ont. in October 2022, and settled into an apartment at 4010 Evangeline in Verdun.

In May 2023, the couple and their neighbours were advised there were major structural issues with the building, and everyone would have to leave by August. According to the email, the work was expected to last seven months, and tenants could return once it was completed.

“There was very little detail, and there was no mention of any kind of compensation for having to leave our homes,” said Sean.

“It was stressful,” added Kendra. “We had been here not even a year. I kind of felt like, ‘Oh, here’s your welcome to Montreal. You’re getting renovicted after less than a year.’”

The couple claims Cuvillier wasn’t transparent, and deliberately difficult to communicate with, leaving tenants confused and frustrated.

“She was giving people information in their second language. We’re anglophone … and she was always speaking to us in French, and then we had francophone neighbours who didn’t speak English very well and she was only speaking to them in English,” said Kendra.

Concerned about the building’s safety, Kendra and Sean decided they wanted to leave the apartment immediately and find a new place to live. They signed an agreement with Cuvillier to terminate their lease.

While they managed to find another apartment within their price range, according to Sean, other tenants could not find a place to live.

“We saw one of our neighbours carrying his stuff to the curb and he was saying I can’t afford a place anymore. I have to go live on my aunt’s couch now.”

CTV News reached out to Cuvillier for her version of events. She declined an interview request, but provided a series of statements, documents, and a chronology of events through her lawyer.

Cuvillier claims she accompanied all tenants throughout the entire process and was fully transparent about the building’s structural issues — even providing the engineering inspection report upon request. She also claims every tenant received financial compensation, and some were even offered a temporary place to stay in other buildings she owned.

Tenant harassed

The conflict with Kendra and Sean was not Cuvillier’s first run-in with tenants at 4010 Evangeline. In 2022, one tenant took Cuvillier’s numbered company to the TAL. The woman had been paying $866 a month in rent. The administrative judge concluded Cuvillier had been harassing the tenant and “persistently violated the tenant’s rights, all with the goal of making her leave the dwelling.”

In a statement emailed to CTV News through her lawyer, Cuvillier acknowledged the judge’s conclusions about her behaviour.

“The judgment speaks for itself. There was a personality conflict between me and this tenant. I learned from the situation with this tenant. If I had to do it over again I would proceed differently, but I cannot change the past,” Cuvillier said.

‘Speculator’s paradise’

Lyn O’Donnell, a community organizer and intervention worker with the Citizen Action Committee of Verdun (CVAC), described Verdun as a “speculator’s paradise” that has become attractive to real estate investors looking to upgrade older buildings and turn profits.

O’Donnell said Cuvillier’s name, and tenants’ complaints about her, are well known to the CVAC.

“When I hear her name I am absolutely reminded of the many people who she’s affected, including a lot of elderly people who are very afraid and came here in desperation,” said O’Donnell.

O’Donnell keeps a file connected to Cuvillier, and according to her records, many tenants decided against taking their cases to the TAL.

“This takes an enormous amount of time and energy. So even if they’re able to do that, and they win, these speculators are hit with consequences that are really insignificant. And I’m not sure there’s a real amount that could dissuade this kind of behaviour, because it’s just the cost of doing business,” said O’Donnell.

An email obtained by CTV News shows the borough of Verdun was informed of the issues at 4010 Evangeline in May 2023. The email noted that “the owner, Magali Cuvillier, has tried several eviction tactics.”

The email was sent to Alexie Boivin-Claveau, one of the borough’s liaison officers.

On May 3, 2023, Boivin-Claveau responded to the email, writing, “We are on the file of 4010 Evangeline. Thank you for this information.”

But when CTV News reached out for details of the borough’s records on the building, Boivin-Claveau claimed she was unaware of any issues with Cuvillier or her building.

“Unfortunately, I am not aware of any files concerning Magali Cuvillier and therefore cannot provide you with any information on the subject,” Boivin-Claveau replied in an email.

CTV News followed up with a request for clarification, citing the May 2023 email. Boivin-Claveau did not respond.

‘French Canadian influencer’

Cuvillier, a 33-year-old from Morin Heights, built a following online after moving to Colombia, becoming fluent in Spanish and posting videos of her experiences embracing Colombian culture.

In 2019, she was invited to be an emcee at the Expo Latino festival in Calgary, dubbed Western Canada’s largest Latin festival.

In promotional material for the event, Cuvillier was described as a “French-Canadian influencer” and “social media icon in Colombian culture and around the globe” who “always communicates happiness and positive vibes, elevating others, adding a little flavour everywhere she goes.”

Her more recent online presence revolves around real estate and globetrotting. Cuvillier shares an Instagram account with her boyfriend and business partner, Edouard Martin, highlighting their love of motorbikes and international trips. As a guest on a real estate podcast in February 2024, Cuvillier painted a picture of herself as an enterprising young woman who found financial freedom through real estate investment.

“Ultimately, that’s why I do real estate, because I want to go on my motorcycle trips,” she told the podcaster.

For the tenants who claim Cuvillier upended their lives by forcing them out of their apartments, the social media posts add insult to injury.

“It’s frustrating seeing someone kind of make this glamourous influencer lifestyle out of what I think is a business that’s very predatory,” said Kendra.

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