Are you the owner (lessor) of a residential building or a tenant (lessee)? Do you have problems related to your housing? Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for conflictual situations to arise in tenant-landlord relations. Our landlord tenant lawyers are here to protect your rights. Contact us through our contact form or call +1 (514) 600-6025 to take an appointment with one of our landlord tenant attorneys in our office in Montreal or via video conference.
The Civil Code of Quebec protects both lessors and lessees.
The tenant has the right to peaceful enjoyment of the rented premises. Thus, the landlord must ensure the respect of each tenant's rights, for example, by ensuring that there is no excessive noise, allowing the tenant to fully enjoy their home. The housing must also be healthy. The owner must ensure that the building is not infested by insects or rodents, such as cockroaches, bedbugs, ants, mice, and rats. It is the responsibility of the landlord to promptly exterminate the insects once their presence is reported by the tenant. However, the landlord is, in turn, obliged to cooperate with the owner to facilitate treatment by exterminators. If your apartment is unfit to live in, we suggest you to contact us.
The housing must also be free of mold and other dangerous substances that can be harmful to the health of the tenants.
Article 1902 of the Civil Code of Quebec (CCQ) provides that "Neither the lessor nor any other person may harass a lessee in such a manner as to limit his right to peaceable enjoyment of the premises or to induce him to leave the dwelling. A lessee who suffers harassment may demand that the lessor or any other person who has harassed him be condemned to pay punitive damages."
The tenant also has the right to remain in the premises ("right to maintain occupancy"). Thus, the owner cannot arbitrarily terminate the residential lease contract. The owner's right to repossess the dwelling is well-regulated by law, which outlines the circumstances and how the landlord can exercise this right.
A tenant has the right to abandon their housing when it is unfit for habitation by giving prior notice of abandonment of the housing.
However, the tenant also has obligations. They are obliged to pay the rent on the date specified in the lease, use the home with care and diligence, not change the form or purpose of the housing, maintain the apartment in good condition of cleanliness, comply with municipal laws and regulations relating to the safety and health of the housing, carry out rental repairs, allow the landlord to carry out urgent and necessary repairs, allow verification of the state of the housing, not change the locks of the housing, conduct themselves in a way that does not disturb the normal enjoyment of other tenants or the landlord, notify in the event of discovering a substantial defect or deterioration. At the end of the lease, the tenant must also remove their movable effects and return the housing to its original condition. The landlord is required to respect the lease agreement and the building regulations, if applicable.
In case of a late rent payment, delay of more than three weeks, the landlord can request the court to order the tenant to pay the rent and other fees, request the termination of the lease and the eviction of the tenant and other occupants. The landlord may also request the termination of the lease in case of frequent delays. The law also provides for the consequences when a tenant leaves the housing during the lease without notifying the landlord of their reasons and intentions ("tenant's desertion").
Often, to protect your rights, it is enough to contact the opposing party or send them a formal notice; it is not uncommon for the landlord or tenant to comply with this formal request. Otherwise, your rights can be protected by the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), formerly known as the Régie du logement (RDL). Our housing lawyers (landlord and tenant lawyers) can guide you through your steps and represent you before the TAL to enforce your rights.
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