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Real Estate Law
From a rented apartment to a purchased building: when a lease, a transaction or the condition of a property turns into a dispute, you need to know quickly what the law allows and what it requires of you.
Residential leases and the TAL
The relationship between landlord and tenant is tightly regulated, and delays at the Tribunal administratif du logement are often measured in months. Arriving prepared makes a real difference.
- Rent recovery and non-payment
- Repossession of a dwelling and eviction
- Contesting a rent increase
- Unfit housing, mould, unsanitary conditions
- Lease termination and assignment
- Loss of peaceful enjoyment and damages
Commercial leases
Commercial leases fall largely outside the protective regime that governs residential tenancies: what you signed is what applies. The stakes are usually higher too.
- Negotiation and review before signing
- Default by the tenant or the landlord
- Renewal and option clauses
- Termination, abandonment of premises, damages
- Disputed operating costs and adjustments
- Subletting and assignment of lease
Latent defects (vice caché)
You bought a property and a problem surfaces, water infiltration, foundation, roof, electrical, soil contamination. The seller says they had no idea, or that you should have seen it.
These files turn on precise questions: did the defect exist before the sale, was it apparent on a careful examination, and did the seller know about it. Representation is available both for buyers who discover a problem and for sellers who are blamed for one.
Timing matters
A latent defect must be reported to the seller in writing within a reasonable time of its discovery, and before corrective work is carried out. Waiting too long, or repairing too quickly, can compromise the claim. If you have just noticed a problem, now is the time to raise it.
Property transactions
Intervention when a transaction does not go as planned.
- Promise to purchase: conditions, deadlines, withdrawal
- Refusal to complete the sale
- Incomplete or inaccurate seller declarations
- Disputes over the deposit
- Servitudes, encroachments and boundary determination
- Co-ownership disputes with the syndicate
Repossession, eviction and rent increases
Three situations people routinely confuse, governed by rules that have almost nothing in common.
Repossession lets an owner take back the dwelling to live in it themselves, or to house a relative the law specifically names. Eviction is something else entirely: subdividing, substantially enlarging, or changing the use of the dwelling. Both require a notice in a particular form and within a particular delay, and the tenant has their own delay to answer, with silence carrying a different meaning in each case.
A rent increase follows its own logic. You are not obliged to accept the increase proposed, and refusing it does not end your lease. If the landlord insists, it falls to them to apply to the Tribunal administratif du logement to have the rent fixed.
These files are rarely lost on the merits. They are lost on a badly drafted notice, a delay allowed to run out, or an answer that was never put in writing.
Co-ownership (condominium)
Living in a co-ownership means accepting collective governance, until the day a decision by the syndicate costs you real money.
- Special assessments you dispute
- Water infiltration: private portion or common portion
- Meeting decisions and abuse of majority
- Work imposed on you, or maintenance refused
- Interpretation of the declaration of co-ownership
- Claims against the syndicate or a director
Neighbours and legal hypothecs
Two common irritants that turn into litigation as soon as they touch the value or the enjoyment of a building.
- Neighbourhood annoyances beyond what is normal
- Encroachment, boundary determination, servitudes
- Trees, fences, views and water run-off
- Legal hypothec published by a contractor
- Contractual holdbacks and unfinished work
- Striking an entry from the land register
The delays that matter
In real estate, almost everything is a question of the calendar. A latent defect must be denounced to the seller in writing within a reasonable delay of discovering it, and before you carry out repairs. A repossession or eviction notice follows delays set according to the length of the lease, and so does the tenant's reply. A rent increase must be refused within a month of the notice. The civil claim itself generally prescribes after three years.
These are orientation points, not a substitute for checking. When a delay starts running depends entirely on the facts, and a single day can separate a valid claim from a lost one. If you think time is short, call before doing anything else.
What to gather before we speak
None of this is required for the initial call. But if you have it at hand, we will get considerably further in the same time.
- The lease, deed of sale, or promise to purchase
- Notices received or sent, with their exact dates
- Written exchanges: emails, texts, letters
- Photos or video of the problem, dated where possible
- Inspection, expert or contractor reports
- Invoices and repair estimates
A building problem very often becomes an insurance file. If your insurer is already involved, or has just refused, see the insurance side as well.
Frequently asked questions — real estate
How long do I have to report a latent defect?
The Civil Code of Québec requires the buyer to notify the seller in writing within a reasonable time after discovering the defect. What counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances, and the clock starts at discovery, not when repairs begin. Late notice is one of the most common reasons a claim fails, so write early and add detail later if needed.
My landlord wants to repossess the unit. Can I refuse?
Yes. A tenant is not required to accept a repossession notice. If you refuse, it falls to the landlord to apply to the Tribunal administratif du logement and prove the conditions are met. The rules governing repossession and eviction have tightened in recent years, so have the notice reviewed before you respond.
I received a rent increase notice. How long do I have to reply?
A tenant has one month from receiving the notice to tell the landlord they refuse the increase. Without a reply in that window, the increase is deemed accepted. If you do refuse, it is then up to the landlord to ask the Tribunal administratif du logement to set the rent.
Do I have to go through the Tribunal administratif du logement?
For residential lease disputes, that tribunal is generally the competent forum. Disputes over a property sale, a latent defect or co-ownership go instead to the Court of Québec or the Superior Court depending on the amount. A good share of files settle before any hearing, through negotiation or mediation.
Maintenance, repairs and unfit dwellings
A lessor must deliver a dwelling in good habitable condition and keep it that way for the whole lease. A clause by which the tenant acknowledges otherwise has no effect.
- Repairs the landlord refuses to make
- Urgent and necessary repairs made without authorisation
- Court-authorised work and withholding rent
- Mould, infiltration, insalubrity, bedbugs
- A dwelling that has become unfit for habitation
Leaving a dwelling before term
A residential lease is not resiliated for convenience. Assignment of lease remains the normal route — and there, a landlord's silence works in the tenant's favour.
- Assignment and sublease: what separates them
- A lessor's refusal and what counts as serious cause
- Resiliation for handicap, lodging or low-rental housing
- Late rent and a lessor's application to resiliate
- Penalty clauses for early departure
Dealing with a real estate matter?
A 30-minute initial call, at $150 plus taxes, to identify the situation, the deadlines that apply, and the options available.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice.