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Termination of lease for sexual assault or domestic violence
News
In residential leases, the law only allows a tenant to terminate his or her lease prematurely in a few specific cases. One of the most misunderstood exceptions is found in article 1974.1 of the Civil Code of Québec.
This section of the law deals with two specific situations. First, it deals with the case where a tenant is subjected to violence by a spouse or former spouse. Second, it arises when a tenant is sexually assaulted, even by a third party. In other words, this situation is not limited to the spouse or ex-spouse, but to any person committing this act. Both situations are applicable if the tenant fears for his or her safety and that of his or her child living with him or her.
To benefit from this exception in the law and prematurely terminate the lease, the tenant must send you two documents: the notice of termination provided for this purpose, mentioning the cause of the break of the lease and a certificate from a civil servant or a public officer designated by the Minister of Justice. This sworn statement by the tenant that such a situation exists or based on other facts or documents from persons in contact with the victim and supporting this statement, may make the termination of the lease a necessary measure to ensure the safety of the victim or the child. It should be noted that a complaint to the police is not always necessary to exercise this right to terminate. It is possible to find the notice of termination of lease on the website of the Tribunal administratif du logement. As for the application for certification, it is also available on the Justice Québec website.
The termination will take effect two (2) months after the notice is sent by the tenant if the term of the lease is twelve months or more, or one (1) month after the notice is sent if the term of the lease is less than twelve months or indeterminate. The calculation of the period is from date to date (i.e. from the date of the month to the other date). The tenant is bounded by the same obligations in the lease until the effective date of termination. However, if the lease includes services attached to the tenant or the tenant's child living with him or her, the tenant will be liable only for the portion of the rent relating to the services rendered therein until the tenant leaves. The same principle applies to services rendered by the landlord under a contract other than the lease. The type of services provided to the tenant under the lease can be found in Schedule 6 of the lease.
The tenant could also try to negotiate with the landlord to end the lease immediately or at any time before the statutory deadlines as mentioned above. If the unit is re-rented in the meantime, the landlord is required to subtract the pro rata rent charged to the new tenant from the compensation received.
In short, since this is an exception to the law regarding the termination of a lease, this section of the law is restrictive and therefore all the criteria must be respected in order to apply.
Notice of termination of a lease because of spousal violence or sexual aggression
https://www.tal.gouv.qc.ca/sites/default/files/notices/TAL_818A_E.pdf
Request for certification