Although the belief remains tenacious, a tenant cannot “break” their lease with a simple 3-month notice for any reason and at any time. Indeed, residential lease law is much more complex and it is essential, as a landlord, that you know your rights and obligations.
Termination
Termination, i.e. the termination of the lease agreement, can be obtained by mutual agreement, following a decision of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the “NLP”) or be made of Full Right, i.e., on the sole part of the landlord and/or the tenant, without having to seek authorization from the TAL.
Termination following a judgment of the TAL
The Civil Code of Québec provides that a termination can be requested from the TAL if the tenant is more than 3 weeks late in paying his rent or if the tenant often pays his rent late and you suffer serious prejudice.
You or the tenant can also request the termination of the lease if the unit has become unfit for habitation.
Finally, you can request the termination of your lease if the tenant does not comply with his obligations and you suffer serious harm.
Termination by operation of law
Certain specific situations allow the tenant to terminate the lease agreement with you of their own volition, without the TAL having to intervene.
These situations, which are set out in the Civil Code, are as follows:
- The tenant is allocated low-rent housing;
- The tenant can no longer occupy his or her dwelling because of a disability;
- The tenant is an elderly person and is permanently admitted to a residential and long-term care centre (CHSLD), a private seniors’ residence or any other place where the care or services required by the tenant’s state of health is offered;
- The safety of the tenant or a child living in the unit is at risk due to sexual violence, domestic violence or child abuse;
- The tenant leaves without cause, taking his household effects with him;
- The tenant abandons the unit because it is unfit for habitation, but does not notify the landlord.
In the first four cases, the termination takes place 2 months after the tenant sends a notice, or 1 month after this sending if the lease is for an indefinite period or for less than twelve months. However, the termination will take place earlier if you and the tenant agree to this or if you have vacated the property and rent it out to someone else before the expiry of the period.
The tenant must also provide you with a certificate the authority concerned, in the case of termination due to the allocation of low-rent housing, a disability preventing the tenant from occupying the dwelling or admission to a CHSLD, a private seniors’ residence or any other place where the care or services necessary for the senior tenant’s state of health are offered. In the latter case, the tenant must also provide a certificate from an authorized person certifying that the conditions requiring admission are met.
If the termination is due to the sexual violence, conjugal or against a child, the certificate that must accompany the notice must come from an officer or public officer designated by the Minister of Justice and must confirm that the termination is a measure to ensure the safety of the tenant or a child living in the dwelling.
Any other reason, such as the purchase of a house, financial problems, divorce or the need for a larger home, does not, according to the law, allow the termination of the tenancy agreement.
However, you can always enter into an agreement (preferably in writing) with the tenant to terminate the lease agreement. If you don’t come to an agreement with the tenant, the tenant has two options, subject to your consent: subletting and assignment of the lease.
However, the tenant will not be able to use either of these two mechanisms if, by law, you have been notified by the tenant, his or her spouse or civil partner that the dwelling is a family residence. In this case, the tenant will only be able to sublet or assign his lease if his or her spouse or civil partner consents in writing.
We help you with:Landlords’ law, Death of the tenant, Eviction, Non-payment of rent and frequent delays, Takeover of housing, Termination, subletting and assignment of lease
Sublease
A tenant may sublet his or her dwelling to a third party under the Civil Code. This third party is therefore referred to as the “subtenant” while the tenant is referred to as the “sublandlord”. Thanks to this mechanism, a tenant does not have to pay rent unnecessarily while he is away (for example, for a trip of a few months) since he allows a third party to live in his place and it is the latter who pays the rent. The sublandlord and the subtenant enter into a sublease agreement.
How to sublet
The law stipulates that a tenant who wants to sublet his unit must send you a notice informing you of his intention and the name and address of the person to whom he intends to sublet. The tenant, with the agreement of the potential subtenant, may decide to provide you with more information.
You can legally refuse to consent to subletting only if you have a serious reason for your decision. The potential subtenant’s bad behaviour or inability to pay the rent are such reasons. You have 15 days from receipt of the notice to inform the tenant of the reasons for your refusal. If you fail to do so, you will be considered to have consented to the sublease.
If you consent to the subletting, you can only require the tenant to reimburse the reasonable expenses that may result from the subletting, as provided by law. An example of a reasonable expense would be the costs for the subtenant’s credit check.
Relationship between landlord, tenant (sublandlord) and subtenant
Despite the sublet, the tenant (sublandlord) remains a party to the lease agreement with you. He therefore retains all his rights and obligations under this contract, including the right to return to live in his home once the sublease is over.
The law provides that if you bring an action against the tenant, the subtenant is only liable to you for the amount of rent it owes to the tenant. The subtenant cannot oppose you for payments made in advance. The payment made by the subtenant pursuant to a stipulation in his lease and which is denounced to you, or the payment made in accordance with the custom of the premises, is not considered to have been made in advance.
The subtenant has the same rights (except the right to remain in the premises, since they will have to leave the unit once the tenant returns to live there) and obligations to you as the tenant. He must, therefore, pay the rent and not disturb the enjoyment of the premises of the other tenants who reside in the building.
If they do not comply with one of their obligations and this causes serious harm to you or other tenants, you can legally request the termination of the sublease agreement, or the termination of the lease agreement that binds you to the sublandlord.
Finally, if you fail to perform the obligations you are bound by as a landlord, the subtenant can exercise the same rights and remedies as the tenant in order to force you to perform them.
Assignment of lease
A tenant may also transfer his or her dwelling to a third party under the Civil Code. This third party is therefore referred to as the “assignee” while the tenant becomes the “assignor”. Through this mechanism, a tenant can terminate a lease at any time and for any reason, as long as the landlord agrees.
Procedure for completing an assignment of lease
The procedure explained for subletting also applies to the assignment of lease.
However, as of February 21, 2024, An Act to amend various housing laws requires that the notice contain, in addition to the information named in the section on subletting, the date of the assignment. This date must take into account the 15-day period to which you are entitled to respond to the notice.
In addition, the law now allows you to refuse a lease assignment even without a serious reason. In this case, the lease agreement between you and the tenant is terminated on the assignment date indicated in the notice. In this way, the tenant is still released from the contract. These provisions only apply to notices sent on or after February 21, 2024.
Relationship between the Landlord, the Assigning Tenant and the Assignee
The assignment of the lease relieves the assigning tenant of his obligations. He also no longer has any rights under the lease agreement. Indeed, there is no longer a lease agreement between the tenant and yourself from the day of the lease assignment.
Thus, among other things, the tenant waives his right to remain in the premises, since he can no longer claim the right to return to live in the dwelling.
The assignee is not a new tenant within the meaning of the law, as he continues the contract that the assigning tenant had begun. Therefore, there is no new lease agreement to be signed. He does not have the right to have his rent fixed by the TAL. You are related to the transferee from the date of the assignment.
If you have any questions about a situation of termination, subletting or assignment of the lease, do not hesitate to contact our team specialized in real estate law for assistance.