9 months of rent in advance are not enough to convince the landlord

A candidate, who claimed to earn $ 56,000 annually and offered to pay nine months of rent in advance, has failed to convince the property owner to accept the lease assignment

In this story, the tenant requested the termination of his lease at the Régie du logement, claiming that the landlord had no serious grounds to refuse the proposed candidate. Even though the notice provided by the lessee was compliant, it was not possible for the landlord to check the information of the potential assignee, since it was incomplete and contradictory. The candidate, who sent his information by fax, had not filled a rental application in due form, nor met the property owner. Therefore, the latter could not confirm the total amount of the applicant's income, its source or its characteristics.

Jurisprudence shows that the motives of the landlords must be based on the quality of the transferee, his refusal being based in particular on his inability to pay or his insolvency. Thus, the judge explained in his ruling that the landlord had serious grounds to refuse the transfer proposal submitted by the tenant […] and that his demands were reasonable. » He finally added that the case was not simple for the landlord to administer, especially since the assignee was operating through an agent, which caused significant delays that cannot be attributed to the landlord. »

Caution in regards to «invisible» assignees

CORPIQ urges landlords who do not meet with a potential transferee to exercise extreme caution. Even if the information seems sufficient and the credit check looks conclusive, there is no evidence that suggests that this information belongs to the person who will reside in the apartment. Therefore, it is best to validate that the information belongs indeed to the candidate by verifying his photo identification; otherwise the landlord could be exposed to unnecessary risks.