How long do I have to report a latent defect in Quebec?

Two deadlines that get confused

The first is notice. The Civil Code requires the buyer to inform the seller in writing within a reasonable time after discovering the defect. The Code puts no number on it: it is assessed on the circumstances, and late notice alone can sink a claim that is strong in every other respect.

The second is prescription — three years to bring the claim. So a buyer can give proper notice and still lose the right to act by waiting too long afterwards.

In practice, most lost files are lost on the first deadline, not the second. The useful reflex is simple: write early, and add detail later.

When does the clock start?

It starts on discovery of the defect, which is not necessarily the day you first noticed something. A damp patch can look harmless for months and then turn out to be structural water infiltration. What matters is when you could understand the real nature and seriousness of the problem.

The Civil Code says so expressly: where a defect appears gradually, time runs from the day the buyer could first suspect its seriousness and extent (article 1739).

That distinction often saves a file. It does require a precise chronology: what you saw, when, what you were told, and when a professional first named the problem.

Keep everything that dates events — photos with metadata, emails, invoices, reports. A documented timeline is worth far more than a sincere recollection.

Why notice has to be in writing

A phone call leaves no trace. Before a court the question is not only whether you warned the seller, but whether you can prove it and on what date.

Useful notice describes the problem, says when you discovered it, asks the seller to come and see it, and sets a time to respond. It need not be long or technical.

Send it so that receipt can be proven: registered mail, or an email where you keep both the sending record and any reply.

One exception is worth knowing: a seller cannot rely on late notice if they knew of the defect or could not have been unaware of it (article 1739). A seller who concealed the problem cannot then complain that the buyer wrote too late.

The costliest mistake: repairing before giving notice

This is the error that destroys the most files, and it comes from a good instinct. The basement floods, you call a contractor, everything is fixed — and the evidence of the defect went out with the water.

The purpose of notice is precisely to let the seller see the defect and, if they wish, remedy it. If the work is done before they could see anything, they can argue they were never able to verify the problem or propose a cheaper solution, and your claim is weakened.

If urgency forces your hand — an active leak, a safety risk — document heavily first: photos, video, a professional's report, and written notice sent the same day.

What actually counts as a latent defect

Four conditions must be met. The defect must be hidden: a defect is apparent where it can be perceived by a prudent and diligent buyer without needing to resort to an expert (article 1726). It must be serious enough that you would not have bought, or not at that price. It must have existed before the sale. And it must have been unknown to you when you bought.

A defect visible on an ordinary visit is not hidden. A pre-purchase inspection that flagged the problem makes it hard to characterise that way.

Who the seller is matters too, though not in the way people assume. Against a professional seller, the existence of the defect at the time of sale is presumed where the property deteriorates or malfunctions prematurely compared with similar goods; the presumption falls away if the defect is due to misuse by the buyer (article 1729). That is a lighter burden of proof, not a different warranty.

Against whom, and for how much

Two rules widen the claim considerably, and most buyers do not know them.

First, you are not confined to the person who sold to you. The manufacturer, anyone distributing the property under their own name, and any supplier including the wholesaler and importer are equally bound by the seller's warranty (article 1730). For defective materials or a recent building, that opens a direct claim.

Second, how much you can claim depends on what the seller knew. A seller who knew of the defect or could not have been unaware of it owes, beyond restitution of the price, compensation for the injury suffered by the buyer (article 1728). A seller in good faith owes restitution or a reduction of the price.

What if the deed excluded the warranty?

The principle is that a seller cannot exclude or limit liability for defects they knew of or could not have been unaware of (article 1733). But the same article sets out an exception worth knowing: it does not apply where the buyer buys at their own risk from a non-professional seller — which very often means a private individual selling their home.

The exact reach of the clause, how it was drafted, whether the seller was a professional, and what they knew then become the heart of the file. A clause of this kind does not always close the door, but it clearly shifts the balance. That analysis is done with the deed in hand, not from memory.