The Execution Date Depends on the Date on which the Tenant Becomes Aware of the Decision

This summer, a Court of Quebec judge reminded a rental company that in order to determine the moment of execution of a decision, it is not the date of signature on the decision that matters, but rather the date on which the condemned party becomes aware of it.

In this case, the landlord has obtained an order forcing tenants to pay him, within 15 days of the decision, the sum of $6,700 in rent, with the legal rate of interest, plus the additional indemnity referred to in Article 1619 of the civil Code of Quebec. Otherwise, the lease is terminated.  

The decision was delivered on December 21. Not having been paid, the landlord has sent an eviction notice on January 7. However, the defendants argue that they have only been notified of the decision on December 31. Therefore, according to their statement, they have until January 14 to pay the sum of $6,700. This is what the judge also believes. Given that the payment was done on or around January 14, the eviction notice was invalid.

CORPIQ notes a dangerous jurisprudential trend that is drawn by the judges, since the law does not say that the computation of the period begins when the decision is acknowledged, but rather the opposite. In this specific case, the Court of Quebec followed the example of the jurisprudence in article 92 of the Régie du Logement law which sets at 30 days the period for an appeal. The judge interpreted it in the manner which he considers «coherent», meaning that those 30 days start from the time the decision is acknowledged. Yet, if coherence is required, the legislation clearly states that the request must be filed at the Court Registry «within 30 days of the date of the decision»…

CORPIQ fears that the Court of Quebec’s interpretation carries the risk that the defendant would delay in bad faith the time of him becoming aware of the decision which in itself is something that is difficult to prove. And while we wait, the damage continues.