How long do I have to report a latent defect in Quebec?
Written notice within a reasonable time, a three-year prescription, and the mistake that costs the most files.
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Frequently asked questions
Twelve questions that come up constantly, each with the answer, the applicable deadline and the provision of the Code it rests on.
Real estate law
My landlord wants to repossess the unit — can I refuse?
One month to reply, silence counts as refusal, and a protection many tenants do not know about.
I received a rent increase notice — can I refuse it?
One month to reply, but here silence counts as acceptance. And what the landlord loses by not acting.
My neighbour is causing a problem — what can I require?
Trees, boundaries, division fences, access: the threshold of normal annoyance and the remedies beyond it.
My landlord refuses to make repairs — what can I do?
Urgent repairs without authorisation, court-authorised work and withholding rent, unfit dwellings.
How can I end my lease before its term?
Assignment, sublease, and the fifteen days after which a lessor's refusal no longer counts.
I have a dispute with my co-ownership syndicate — what can I do?
Sharing of expenses, syndicate liability, and the 90 days to contest a meeting decision.
Insurance law
My insurer denied my claim — what are my options?
What a denial must contain, the sixty-day rule, and the difference between nullity and reduction.
How long do I have to report a claim to my insurer?
In damage insurance, no number of days in the law, but an immediate duty — and why late notice does not lose everything.
Can my insurer void my policy for misrepresentation?
Nullity or proportional reduction, bad faith that is not presumed, and the two-year rule in life insurance.
My insurer is investigating my claim — what should I do?
What the insurer can require, the 60-day clock that runs despite the investigation, and the false-statement trap.
My insurer wants a sworn statement — should I go alone?
Where the obligation comes from, why the interview carries so much weight, and how to keep an approximation from becoming a “lie”.
How do I get a copy of my file from my insurer?
The written request, the 30-day deadline that counts as a refusal, the permitted exceptions and the Commission.
My vehicle was stolen and my insurer refuses to pay — what are my options?
The three most common grounds for denial, who must prove what, and insurable interest when the vehicle “wasn't really yours”.
Car accident: I dispute the share of fault my insurer assigned to me
The Direct Compensation Agreement, the proportional deductible, and why your recourse is against your own insurer.
Water damage: my insurer refuses to cover it — what can I do?
Your fault is not enough to deny, the exclusion must be express, and the insurer has to prove it.
How do I complain about my insurer?
The steps with the insurer, the transfer to the AMF, and why a complaint does not stop the three-year clock.
Life insurance: the insurer refuses to pay the beneficiary — what now?
The 30-day deadline, the two-year rule, suicide, and exclusions that must be clearly set out.
Estates
How do I contest a will in Quebec?
Incapacity, undue influence, defect of form — and the provision that saves an imperfect will.
The liquidator refuses to account — what can I do?
Annual account, final account, and the remedy to have them replaced.
Should I accept or renounce a succession?
Six months to choose, and the trap of waiving the inventory.
Civil and commercial law
What is a formal notice, and is it required?
Not always required, almost always useful — and what it must contain.
How long do I have to sue in Quebec?
Three years, but the starting point decides everything. And what actually interrupts it.
Can I have a contract I signed annulled?
Error, fraud by silence, fear — and why lesion is almost never open to you.
I bought a defective vehicle — what are my remedies?
The presumption against a professional seller, the seller's silence, and the garage that botched the work.
Your situation not listed?
A 30-minute initial call, at $150 plus taxes, to identify the situation, the applicable deadlines and the possible routes.
The information on these pages is general and does not constitute legal advice. Every file has its particularities, and a miscalculated deadline is expensive.