Should the notice of repossession be

Landlords wishing to repossess a dwelling by July 1, 2020 only have a few days left to send their notice of repossession. Indeed, for one-year leases ending on June 30th, they have up to 6 months before the expiry of the lease to notify their tenants, i.e. December 31, 2019. But what will happen if the tenant acknowledges receipt in January 2020?

Article 1960 of the Civil Code of Québec, which sets out the time limits for repossession, does not specify whether the notice must be sent or received before the deadline. It is only stated that the landlord must "notify" the tenant within the prescribed time limits. Only Article 1962 specifies that the tenant has one month from the "receipt" of the notice to inform the landlord of his decision.

This lack of clarity often leads to a recourse at the Régie du logement. Indeed, some tenants who do not wish to leave their dwelling and who received a notice during the month of January use this alleged breach of the law to contest.

However, the Régie du logement has ruled on this situation on several occasions. For the court, the obligation to give notice is fulfilled as soon as it has been sent. Thus, owners sending their notice by mail on December 31, 2019 will have fulfilled their obligation, because they will have started the transmission process. However, they will need to obtain proof of receipt to comply with the Régie's requirements. This logic was confirmed on appeal by the Court of Québec in 2018.

In addition, if the registered mail is returned with an "Unclaimed" mention several weeks later, the first sending date is always retained. For the Régie, landlords should not be penalized if the notice comes back for a reason that is not their fault.

CORPIQ has already observed a case where, after several registered mailings not claimed by the tenant, the landlord had to call in a bailiff. The latter was able to deliver the notification in February, but as the first letter was sent in December, the owner was considered to have met the deadlines.

Therefore, a tenant cannot ignore a registered letter indefinitely, as it could annul a procedure in bad faith. As for the landlord, only 2 obligations must be met: prove that the notice was sent on time, and prove that the tenant received the notice.

It should be noted that this application of the law is also valid for a lease of indeterminate terms or those of less than 6 months.

Read the Régie's judgment " Read the judgment

Term of the lease	When the notice has to be given
More than 6 months	At least 6 months before the end of the lease
6 months or less	At least 1 month before the end of the lease
Indeterminate	At least 6 months before the date of the takeover