5 tips for your lease renewal

As is the case every year, rental owners are entering the lease renewal period. Owners who have signed a lease of 12 months or more must send their notice between 3 and 6 months before the end of the lease. Contracts ending on June 30, 2019 must therefore be renewed between January 1st and March 31st of this year. Here are 5 tips to optimize your renewals and avoid mistakes during this crucial time.

1. When to send your notice?

As mentioned above, tenants who have signed a lease of 12 months or more will have to receive their notice of adjustment between 3 and 6 months before the end of their lease. This window falls to 1 to 2 months before the end of a less than 12 month lease, and between 10 and 20 days for a fixed-term room lease. In the case of an indeterminate lease, the notice must be sent between 1 and 2 months before the proposed change.

The tenant will then have 1 month following the receipt of the notice to contest the increase, or will be deemed to have accepted it if he does not answer within this period.

In the event of a refusal, the landlord will then have 1 month to negotiate with the tenant or, if necessary, file an application for rent fixing with the Régie du logement. If the landlord does not act in time, the lease will be renewed to the previous conditions.

It is therefore important that property owners send their notices of adjustment as soon as possible. They may otherwise have to find a new tenant late in the year, limiting their options.

2. Only the owner can start the rent fixing process

In other words, for property owners who see a drop in their rent according to the calculation of the Régie du logement (because of school tax cuts, for example) it is in their every interest not to go to court in case of refusal from the tenant. The latter will not be able to demand a reduction, and his rent will remain stable.

3. How much to ask?

Unfortunately, there is no universal answer to this question. Each owner can, in fact, ask for the rent increase he wants. However, if the tenant refuses this increase within 30 days of receiving the notice, it will be necessary to negotiate with the latter, or address the issue with the Régie du logement to obtain a final decision. The court will then use its own rent setting criteria: each operating expense will be used to calculate the adjustment.

4. How can I be ensured to win my case at the Régie?

If an owner is obliged to bring his tenant to the Régie du logement, he will have to be prepared to avoid any surprises. Imagine that a tenant has refused his adjustment within the time limits: the owner will have 30 days to address the court. In the meantime he will be able to negotiate a new increase with the tenant, and will have to make available the invoices justifying the increase. If the rent increase is still not accepted after this period, it will be up to the Régie du logement to decide on the owner's request. It is important to note that an owner may request the reimbursement of the opening fees of $ 48 to $ 76. For more information on this possibility, find the related article on page 17.

5. Killing two birds with one stone

Since the procedure requires that the owner obtains proof of receipt of the notice of rent adjustment, nothing prevents him from giving it by hand in exchange for an acknowledgment of receipt signature. This will enable him to explain any new clauses in the building regulations as well as the criteria used in the adjustment (city taxes, work in the building ...). It will also be a good opportunity to provide other documents, such as the RL-31 slips, and to visit the premises to ensure the property is well maintained.