Does the notice of repossession have to be sent or received 6 months before the end of the lease?

Landlords wishing to take back a dwelling by July 1, 2021 have only a few days left to send their repossession notice. In fact, they have up to 6 months before the end of the lease to notify their tenants, i.e. December 31, 2020. But what will happen if the tenant acknowledges receipt in January 2021?

Article 1960 of the Civil Code of Quebec, which sets out the time limits for repossessing a dwelling, does not specify whether the notice must be sent or received before the expiry date. It only states that the landlord must "notify" the tenant within the prescribed time limit. Only section 1962 states that the tenant has one month from "receipt" of the notice to inform the landlord of his or her decision.

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

However, the Tribunal administratif du logement has ruled on this situation on several occasions. For the court, the obligation to give notice is fulfilled as soon as the notice is sent. Although waiting until the last minute is never a good idea, as an example, a landlord sending his mail by post on December 31, 2020 will have fulfilled his obligation because he will have started the transmission process. However, he will need to obtain proof of receipt to meet the court's requirements. This logic was confirmed on appeal by the Court of Quebec in 2018.

Moreover, if registered mail is returned to the customer with a note "Unclaimed" several weeks later, it is always the first mailing date that is retained. According to the court, the owner should not be penalized if his notice is returned for a reason that does not concern him.

CORPIQ has already observed a case where, after several unclaimed registered mailings by the tenant, the landlord had to call a bailiff. The latter was able to deliver the notification in February, but since the first notice was sent in December, the landlord was considered to have respected the deadlines.

Therefore, a tenant cannot ignore a registered letter indefinitely, as he could cancel a procedure in bad faith. As for the landlord, he has only 2 obligations: to prove that the mailing was sent on time, and to prove that the tenant received the notice.

Note that this application of the law is also valid for a lease of indeterminate duration or of less than 6 months.

Read the tribunal’s judgment

Duration of the lease	When the notice has to be given
More than 6 months	At least 6 months before the end of the lease
Less than 6 months	At least 1 month before the end of the lease
Unknown	At least 6 months before the takeover date

Read also "Housing repossession: guide to good practices" published in the magazine PROPRIO