Increase notice, time to answer, refusal, Tribunal administratif du logement: how a rent increase works in Quebec, step by step.
In Quebec, rent can change at each lease renewal, but under precise rules set out in the Civil Code. The good news: they're simple to follow, and silence has clear consequences. Here are the essentials for a 12-month lease.
1. The landlord's notice
For a 12-month lease, a landlord who wants to change the rent or another condition must send written notice between 3 and 6 months before the end of the lease. For a lease ending June 30, that's between January 1 and March 31. The notice states the new rent or the increase, and the length of the renewed lease.
2. Your answer: one month
You have one month after receiving the notice to answer. Three options:
- Accept: you can say so, but you don't have to. If you don't answer within the month, you're deemed to have accepted.
- Refuse the increase and stay: say so in writing within the month. The lease is then renewed and it's up to the landlord to ask the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) to set the rent.
- Leave: give written notice that you won't renew the lease.
3. If you refuse
The landlord has one month after receiving your refusal to apply to the TAL. If they don't, the lease is renewed on the same terms. If they do, the TAL sets the rent based in particular on the building's expenses (taxes, insurance, work). Meanwhile, you stay in the apartment and pay the current rent.
Special cases
- An apartment in a building built less than five years ago may be exempt from rent-setting by the TAL, provided the lease says so.
- Rules differ for leases shorter than 12 months or with no fixed term: deadlines are shorter.
- The TAL publishes a calculation tool every year to estimate a reasonable increase: a good basis for discussion.
Our approach
At Imovia, the renewal notice explains the proposed rent, and we'd rather have a conversation than a TAL file. A question about your renewal? Write to gestion@imovia.ca.
This article explains the general rules; for a specific situation, check the Tribunal administratif du logement's website.