Still on the subject of the new habitation policy that the Quebec government is working on we would like to touch upon lease transfers this month. 

A tenant can currently sublet or transfer his lease to someone else. With the concept of subleasing the tenant remains responsible for the lease until the end of the lease. A few years ago a legislator modified the Quebec Civil Code to allow a tenant to transfer his lease to someone else and liberate him of all responsibility once the procedure is over.

If a tenant wants to transfer his lease all he has to do is give a written notice to the landlord with the new tenant's information. The landlord has 15 days to respond after the reception of the notice, if the landlord fails to respond within 15 days then the notice is considered accepted. The Quebec Civil Code indicates that the landlord cannot refuse the lease transfer without a serious motive. If the landlord refuses the tenant he must then explain his motives for refusing the transfer with the delay of 15 days.

This way of operating causes several problems. First, the interpretation for the reasons why  a landlord would refuse a lease transfer. Then there is a new phenomena on the rise called lease trafficking. This is when a tenant asks the new occupant for a sum of money in exchange for his apartment.

One of the proposed solutions other than the total abolishment of this concept is including a third option when receiving a lease transfer notice. This option would be an addition to the ones already existing that would still allow to accept or refuse a notice.

We propose that the landlord have a choice whether to terminate the tenant's lease and refuse without a serious motive. This solution respects the existing law because the tenant can sill be completely liberated from his lease and this solution also solves the problem of lease trafficking which according to us is an unacceptable situation.

In our next edition will will touch upon security deposits paid by the tenant to the landlord to ensure the preservation of the apartment. We are always open to your comments and suggestions at info@apq.org

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