If Bill 31, An Act to amend various legislative provisions relating to housing, is passed in the next session of the National Assembly, certain changes will have to be made to the mandatory lease form since Section F will have to respect the amendments decided.
Indeed, currently section F of the lease “Restrictions on the right to set rent and modify the lease” allows the landlord not to be subject to the rules of the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL) concerning rent increases for the first 5 years of a building.
But on condition that this section is duly fulfilled in the lease for a new building or one whose use for rental purposes results from a recent change of use (1955 C.c.Q.).
This exemption applies for 5 years following the date on which the building is ready for residential use and ensures that the tenant who refuses the modifications indicated in the notice of modification of the lease must simply leave at the end of his lease.
Bill 31 seeks to add a field in which the landlord must indicate the maximum amount of rent that could be charged.
Excerpt from the bill tabled on June 9, 2023:
1. Section 1955 of the Civil Code of Québec is amended by replacing the third paragraph by the following:
“Such restrictions may be invoked against the lessee by the lessor only if they are provided for in the lease and, in the case of a dwelling referred to in the second paragraph, only if the lease indicates the maximum rent that the lessor may impose within five years after the date on which the building is ready for its intended use.”
According to the Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ), if the form needs to be modified, why not update it. It is true that the form was revised in 2015, the draft regulation amending the Regulation respecting mandatory lease forms and the particulars of the notice to the new tenant came into force on February 24, 2015.
The Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) would like to see some small changes that will have a big impact:
• Adding a section on smoking prohibition in the dwelling: to clarify this important agreement regarding the use of the dwelling;
• A warranty clause of the lease that would specify that the surety is maintained when the lease is renewed. While the APQ provides a separate form to achieve the same result, inclusion would be simpler and remove ambiguities for all;
• Change the format of the lease to letter format rather than legal format and add space for additional clauses.
The Association des Propriétaires du Québec (APQ) has asked to be heard during the special consultations on Bill 31 in the Autumn of 2023 and we will also ask for these changes.
A new lease form on the horizon?
