Lease renewal in 11 questions

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With lease renewals on the rise at this time of year, our consulting services team have compiled the 11 most frequently asked questions on the subject.

Lease renewal in 11 questions

1. What is the purpose of the renewal notice?

Landlords often consider the notice of renewal, often referred to as a “notice of rent increase”, as a simple tool for increasing the rent. Indeed, it can be used to adjust the rent annually, but it can also be used to modify, add or remove conditions and/or services from the lease.

For example, it can include a clause to:

  • Change the lease term,
  • Add a clause prohibiting smoking in the dwelling,
  • Remove a parking space, etc.

If no notice of renewal is sent to tenants and they do not express their intention to vacate during the renewal period, the lease will be automatically renewed under the same conditions and at the same rent.

Important note: Except for the exceptions provided for in article 1944 of the Civil Code of Quebec (subletting for more than 12 months or death of the tenant), a landlord may not send a notice of non-renewal. The tenant has security of tenure and it is up to them to decide whether or not to renew the lease.. If you find yourself in one of these situations, you should be aware that these notices of non-renewal must also be sent within the same renewal period. CORPIQ also offers model notices for these more specific situations, if required.

 


 

2. When should I send the lease renewal notice to my tenants?

Refer to the back of your lease or to the table below to identify the precise dates to be respected according to the specific duration of the lease. For example :

  • -For a standard lease from July 1 to June 30, the notice must be sent between January 1 and March 31.
  • - For a short-term lease (less than 12 months) ending June 30, the notice must be sent in May (1 to 2 months before the end of the lease term).
  • For an indeterminate term lease for which we want to increase the rent like our other tenants on July 1, the notice should also be sent in May (1 to 2 months before the proposed change).

Be cautious, a renewal notice sent out of time will be considered invalid. It should be noted that a tenant cannot claim that your notice is late if you have proof that it was sent within the legal time frame. 

 To find out which calculation tool you should use to calculate your rent increase, you need to identify which reference period you are in.  To determine this, use the calculation tools available on the Tribunal administratif du logement website. For example, for leases renewed on or after April 2, 2025, the 2025 calculation tool will be used for rent setting.

 Table of notice periods

 


 

3. What are the best ways to send the renewal notice?

It is essential to obtain proof of receipt from each tenant. Tenants have one month to respond to the notice, failing which they are deemed to have accepted the changes.

Here are the recommended mailing methods:

  • Hand-delivered with acknowledgement of receipt (see the model available on the CORPIQ website, if required);
  • Registered mail with signature (note that if the tenant does not pick up the mail, additional proof will be required);
    • When you track your letter on the Canada Post website, make sure to verify that the signature is indeed that of your tenant. If it is not, you will need to obtain additional confirmation of receipt by another means (text message, e-mail, etc.). Sometimes the signature does not appear on the Canada Post website, in which case you can contact them to view it.
  • Pronotif certified e-mail, provided that you previously obtained authorization to communicate via the CORPIQ Lease Appendix or when an initial mailing was sent directly on the platform.
    • You must ensure that each tenant has a valid e-mail address. Two tenants cannot use the same e-mail address in this case.
  • Bailiff (CORPIQ provides you with a list of partners);

Avoid verbal renewals: “Words vanish, writing remains”. If you use e-mail or another messaging system, make sure that each tenant confirms receipt of the document.

 


 

4. Do I need to send a renewal notice to each tenant?

Yes, each tenant must receive a renewal notice and acknowledge receipt of the notice. For example, if two tenants are listed on the lease, the hand-delivered notice must be signed by both. A single signature is not sufficient. It is therefore impossible to send a single notice by registered mail to several tenants, as only one person will be able to sign for receipt of the envelope.

 


 

5.  Is there a fixed percentage rent increase in Quebec?

No. Every year, the Tribunal administratif du logement publishes scenarios and a hypothetical average, which are often a source of confusion. Landlords can propose an increase they consider reasonable. If the tenant accepts, everything is valid. In the event of a dispute, if the landlord is unable to reach an agreement with the tenant, he or she will have to file an application to modify the lease with the Tribunal administratif du logement to have the rent set. The tribunal sets the rent using a tool that takes into account:

  • Variation in taxes and insurance, maintenance expenses, services, energy, management, net income and major work.

Each building has unique operating expenses. If we take two neighbouring buildings, one of which spent $100,000 on major repairs the previous year, and for which the owner pays the electricity and has a salaried concierge on the premises, while the neighbor does not have these expenses in his building: it would be illogical for these two owners to increase their tenants' rent by the same amount.

Use the rent increase calculation tool to assess your leeway and strengthen your bargaining power.

 


 

6. Why does the CORPIQ calculation tool only allow three increases at a time?

CORPIQ's rent increase calculator allows owners of small buildings (houses, condos, duplexes and triplexes) to use the tool once to calculate all their rent increases.  It's also available in Excel format on our site if you need it.

Please note that the Tribunal administratif du logement tool only allows you to increase one rent at a time. Therefore, in our tool, when you have more than 3 doors, you need to delete the information at the bottom of the calculator (in the “Rent adjustment” section) and enter the rents of the other units to be increased. The rest of the information at the top of the tool (income, operating expenses) remains unchanged, unless a unit undergoes specific major work. Please note that you can print out each of your calculations in PDF format for storage on your computer.

 


 

7. What should I do if tenant refuses to accept the lease renewal notice?

In accordance with article 1945 of the Civil Code of Quebec, the tenant has one month from receipt of the lease renewal notice to respond. If the tenant fails to respond within this period, he or she is deemed to have accepted all the changes in the notice.

However, if the tenant sends you a written refusal within the onemonth time limit, you should, within one month of receiving the refusal, open the “Application to modify the lease” at the Tribunal administratif du logement.

Note that it is always possible to negotiate with the tenant to reach an agreement and avoid going to court. If this is the case, it is essential to put the agreement in writing to protect yourself in the event of a dispute (see the model on the CORPIQ website). However, never forget the time limit for opening your claim. This period does not start again with each new proposal by one or other of the parties but remains one month from receipt of the tenant's refusal by the landlord. If you exceed this deadline and no agreement is reached, your lease will be renewed under the same conditions as the last term (i.e., without any increase or modifications). You will not be able to recover this increase during the following year's renewal period.

Also, be aware that if you receive your tenant's response past the deadline, but the tenant is able to prove that the notice was sent on time, the notice is still valid. Let's take the example of a landlord who sent his notice of lease renewal to his tenant on February 15, and the latter sent a notice of response by registered mail on March 12, stating that he refuses the increase, but is renewing his lease. Although the landlord picked up the notice at the post office on March 18, the tenant still replied within his one-month deadline. However, the landlord's deadline remains one month from receipt of the refusal to open an application to modify the lease if there is no agreement with the tenant (in the example, he would therefore have until April 18 to open his application in court).

Important note: Please note that when we refer to a onemonth period, we mean one month from day to day, not 30 days (for example, from February 15 to March 15). This is important, as many months do not have 30 days.

Moreover, it is very important to remember that if you open your file with the Tribunal administratif du logement on the last day of your onemonth deadline, you must ensure that you submit it before 4:30 pm. If you send it after that, the application is presumed to have been received by the tribunal on the next business day following receipt. You will therefore be in default of the deadline for opening your application.

 


 

8. Can I include an expense I forgot last year?

As mentioned in question 5 above, you can propose a rent increase that you consider reasonable, and if your tenant accepts it, this is perfectly legal. However, if the tenant contests and you have to go to the Tribunal administratif du logement to have the rent fixed, previous years' expenses cannot be taken into account for a new increase, unless they appear in the reference year of the calculation tool.

For example, if I have the rent fixed for my lease, which renews on July 1, 2025, and I have used the 2025 calculation tool, which takes into account expenses for calendar year 2024, I would not be able to include expenses incurred in 2023.

As a result, it is not ideal to separate expenses over several years in the calculation tool. For example, if I have made a major expenditure of $100,000 on my building in 2024 and I try to include $50,000 in my 2025 calculation tool, and include the other $50,000 the following year in 2026: if my tenants accept this year's increase, but contest next year's, the increase related to my second $50,000 cannot be taken into account and is therefore lost.

 


 

9. The RL-31 slip: what it's for and when to submit it?

The RL-31 slip is used to report information on the occupancy of a dwelling as of December 31 of the year in question. The information provided on this statement is used by the tenant or sub-tenant claiming the solidarity tax credit on his or her income tax return.

It must therefore be given to all tenants and/or sub-tenants occupying your dwelling on December 31. If your tenant moved out before December 31, he or she must obtain the statement from the new landlord with whom they were living on that date.

This statement must be produced and given to the tenant by the end of February at the latest. It is good practice to send this statement with the lease renewal notice. You will find a CORPIQ article with all the details here.

 


 

10. Does CORPIQ offer sample notices?

Of course! Go to the CORPIQ website, log in to the member's area and click on “Sample letters and forms” in your tools. There's a complete section on fixedterm and indeterminate term lease renewal notices, all in compliance with the Civil Code of Quebec and current legislation. Please note that you must not remove any basic elements from our templates, otherwise your lease renewal notice will be invalid, in accordance with article 1943 of the Civil Code of Quebec.

In addition, landlords still awaiting a rent-setting judgment from the Tribunal administratif du logement, or those for whom Section F applies (building constructed five years or less ago, or whose use for residential purposes results from a change of use five years or less ago), will also find the right notice for their situation on our website.

Important note: As of December 26, 2024, the Regulation respecting the mandatory content of renewal notices has come into force. This regulation stipulates that the renewal notice must now reproduce the schedule included in the regulation. It is therefore essential that you obtain the new renewal notice templates and do not use templates previously saved on your computers or copies printed in previous years, which have become obsolete.

It is also important to note that CORPIQ and the Tribunal administratif du logement also provide you with a notice of tenant's response to the notice of lease renewal, but it is not legally obligatory to enclose it with your notice of lease renewal. This tenant's response notice should not be confused with the legal obligation to inform the tenant of the three response options in the lease renewal notice. Rest assured that these options are already included in our renewal notice templates.

 



11. Should I visit my property during the renewal period?

We do recommend that landlords take advantage of the renewal period to visit their rental units. This visit will enable them to check the condition of the dwelling and possibly hand over the notice of renewal to the tenant (with acknowledgement of receipt), as well as the RL-31 slip. You can also take advantage of the visit to see if there is any maintenance to be carried out in the near future. It also makes tenants feel more responsible when they know that the landlord will be coming to see the property.

Note that you must give notice at least 24 hours before the scheduled visit, in accordance with article 1931 of the Civil Code of Quebec. Although, in accordance with article 1898 of the Civil Code of Quebec, this notice need not be given in writing, it is good practice to do so to keep proof. CORPIQ now also offers a model for this purpose. Please click here to consult it, if necessary.

 


Disclaimer: This text is for information purposes only, does not constitute legal advice and should not be construed as such.

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