A lease is a contract entered into between a lessor (landlord) and a lessee (tenant) that defines their respective commitments concerning the rental of a dwelling and the services, accessories and dependencies attached to the dwelling. A lease may be written or oral and have a fixed or indeterminate term.
Written Lease
A written lease must be drawn up using the lease form prescribed by the Régie du logement. Once the lease has been entered into, the lessor must give the lessee a copy of the lease signed by both parties, within the prescribed time period.
The lease form must be used for the rental of an apartment, a house, a room, a dwelling in a unit under divided co-ownership (condominium) or a mobile home.
A room is not subject to the rules of the Régie if it is situated
- in the principal residence of the lessor and no more than two rooms in the residence are rented or offered for rent and the room has neither a separate entrance from the outside nor sanitary facilities separate from those used by the lessor
- in a hotel establishment
- in a dwelling leased as a vacation resort
- in a health or social services institution
Special Leases
Special lease forms must be used for the following four types of rentals:
- Land intended for the installation of a mobile home
- A dwelling in a cooperative
- A dwelling in an educational institution
- A dwelling in low-rental housing
Oral Lease
A lease entered into verbally can have the same value as a written lease. The lessor must complete the form prescribed by the Régie du logement for an oral lease and give a copy to the lessee, within the prescribed time period.
Term of the Lease
A lease may be entered into at any time of the year and for any length of time, provided the parties agree on the conditions and expiry date of the lease.
The term of a lease is fixed or indeterminate. A lease with a fixed term begins on the date agreed upon by the lessor and the lessee and ends upon expiry of the term. A lease with an indeterminate term begins on the date agreed upon by the lessor and the lessee and ends when the lessee terminates the lease or for any other reason provided by law.
Rent
A lessor may demand advance payment of the rent for the first payment period and even make this a condition of the lease. However, a lessor may not require payment by means of postdated cheques or exact any amount of money other than the rent (e.g. a deposit for the keys or the furniture supplied to the lessee).
Notice to a New Lessee
At the time of entering into a lease, the lessor must indicate in Section G of the lease (Notice to a New Lessee or a Sublessee) the lowest rent paid during the 12 months preceding the beginning of the lease or, where applicable, the rent fixed by the Régie for that period.
A new lessee or sublessee who is charged a higher rent than the lowest rent paid during the 12 months preceding the beginning of the lease may apply to the Régie to fix the rent. The application must be filed
- within 10 days after the lease is signed, if the lessor has completed Section G of the lease
- within two months following the date on which the lessee becomes aware that the lessor made a false statement in Section G of the lease
If the lessor did not give the lessee such notice at the time the lease or sublease was entered into, the new lessee or the sublessee may, within two months after the beginning of the lease, apply to the Régie to have his or her rent fixed.
The parties should try and reach an agreement before taking legal action.
The Régie cannot fix the rent if the lessor has indicated in Section F of the lease that the dwelling is subject to restrictions on the right to have the rent fixed and the lease modified by the Régie because it is located in
- a housing cooperative of which the lessee is a member
- an immovable erected five years ago or less
- an immovable whose use for residential purposes results from a change of destination that was made five years ago or less
The Régie cannot fix the rent of a dwelling in low-rental housing unless the lessee has reason to believe that the rules of the Société d’habitation du Québec were not followed.
Services and Conditions
Before entering into a lease, the lessor must give the lessee, where applicable, a copy of the by-laws of the immovable. The by-laws form part of the lease.
All of the services provided to the lessee must be specified in the lease, along with any other conditions, including any work or repairs to be carried out before the delivery of the dwelling or during the lease.
The lessor must also indicate in the lease whether the lessee
- has the right to keep one or more animals
- has the right to smoke in the dwelling
- has a right of access to the land on which the dwelling sits
Language of the Lease and Notices
All lease forms, by-laws of the immovable and notices must be drawn up in French. However, the lessor and the lessee may expressly agree to have them drawn up in another language.
Personal Information Requested from a Lessee
A lessor may request the last name, first name and current address, in full, of a prospective lessee and, with the lessee’s consent, may contact a current or previous landlord in order to verify the conduct and payment habits of the prospective lessee.
However, a lessor cannot require a prospective lessee to provide his or her social insurance number, health insurance number or driver’s licence number.
Credit Check
To establish a prospective lessee’s payment habits, a lessor may, with the lessee’s consent, enlist the services of a personal information agent, commonly referred to as a “credit bureau”.
A lessor may also require a lessee to designate an endorser, in which case the name of the endorser must be indicated on the lease form. An endorser undertakes to pay the rent if the lessee fails to do so, for the term of the lease only, and is normally released from this undertaking at the end of the term, even if the lease is renewed automatically.
However, if a lease or an agreement stipulates that the undertaking also applies to the renewed lease, the endorser’s liability is renewed with the lease. There are special rules for terminating such undertakings.
