CORPIQ reviews the highlights of Bill 31 on the topic of housing

With the big annual move on July 1 only a few days away, I'd like to talk to you about last week's tabling of Bill 31 in the National Assembly. The purpose of this bill is to review certain provisions of the laws governing the residential rental sector.

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As you know, for several years now, CORPIQ has been advocating major changes to the laws governing the rental sector, changes that have long been awaited by all of you. I will now have the opportunity to present the changes proposed by the government in this bill. I won't hide from you the fact that CORPIQ was disappointed when the bill was tabled last Friday (June 11, 2023), because it does not include several elements that landlords had hoped for.

Allow me, firstly, to outline some of the changes proposed in Bill 31. For starters, Bill 31 revises the provisions of Section F of the lease, which allows landlords to raise rents outside the recommendations of the Tribunal administratif du logement, for the first five years following the construction of a dwelling. In the interests of transparency, the government will now require landlords signing a new lease to indicate the amount of the increase for the first five years, to avoid unpleasant surprises for tenants. Bill 31 therefore proposes that the law be amended in this respect.

Secondly, with a view to modifying the rules surrounding evictions in Quebec, the government is proposing a reversal in its bill. Thus, when a tenant fails to respond to an eviction notice, he or she will, if the bill is adopted, be presumed to have given notice of refusal of eviction. It will then be up to the landlord to assert his rights before the Tribunal administratif du logement.

In Bill 31, the government is also revising the conditions governing compensation when a tenant is, for example, evicted. Previously, the minimum was three months. However, if a tenant has lived in the same dwelling for 20 years, he or she could receive up to 20 months' rent as compensation. This change, along with the previous two, is what Bill 31 advocates.

There are also elements relating to lease assignment, a situation that many landlords are currently facing in Quebec. Under the bill, landlords will be able to release their tenants when they want to leave. This means releasing them from all their responsibilities, including the lease. Under the bill, landlords will be able to recover a lease when it is abandoned by a tenant who has served a notice to quit.

Another important change concerns representations before the Tribunal administratif du logement. Many of you told us that you had difficulty finding a representative, and the bill provides that you, as a landlord, will be able to designate another person to represent you when cases are brought before the Tribunal. CORPIQ has been asking for this for several years, because this situation often led to files being postponed or put pressure on owners who had several units under management. The government is therefore reviewing the whole issue of mandataries before the Tribunal administratif du logement.

Finally, I have summarized the main changes contained in Bill 31. CORPIQ will have the opportunity to express its views on this bill at the hearings scheduled for late summer or early fall. I'm sure you'll agree that, although there is some good news in this bill, there is still a lot of disappointment on the part of landlords about what is not in the bill. For example, there is no mention of the modernization of Quebec's rental housing stock, or of the abolition of Section G of the lease. Nor is there any mention of the security deposit, an important element for many landlords in minimizing risk, or even of the regulations for setting annual rents and annual adjustments. Investments in major works and the calculation method are therefore not reformed in this bill. This leaves us wanting more.

I won't hide the fact that we will continue to make representations to the government in this regard over the coming months. We're also counting on you to support us. We're pleased that the government wants to make a certain number of changes in the rental housing sector, but in our opinion, we need to go even further to better support the entire network of rental landlords in Quebec.

So, thank you for listening, we'll keep you posted in the coming weeks, and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us. Remember that this bill is under consultation, so it doesn't apply right now. You cannot interpret these proposals as a fact today. The government plans to pass it before the holiday season, so we'll obviously be following up and getting back to you in the coming months on this.