When a landlord takes back an apartment, this is called repossessing.

A landlord can repossess an apartment if he plans to use it for:

• a residence for himself
  
• a residence for his children or his parents
  
• a residence for any other relative or person connected by marriage or civil union, if he is their main source of support. (A person connected by marriage or civil union, in the legal sense, is any person related to the landlord. For example, this can include a mother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, etc., as long as the landlord is the principal source of support for this relative.)
  
• a residence for a spouse from whom he is separated or divorced, but for whom he is the main source of support
  
• a residence for his caregiver if the landlord is an elderly person, but only if his health and safety require it and his family cannot provide him with support

Eviction means obliging a tenant to leave.

Unlike repossession, a landlord can only evict when he wants to divide up the dwelling, demolish it, enlarge it, or change what it is used for. For example, a landlord may want to turn a residential dwelling into an office building.

No. The landlord cannot, unless you agree, repossess your apartment if he owns another one of the same type that is vacant or available for rental on the date fixed for repossession.

The other dwelling must be in the same neighbourhood and have a similar rent.

A landlord who wants to evict a tenant or repossess must notify the tenant:

• 6 months before the lease ends, if the lease is for a set length of time over 6 months
  
• 1 month before the lease ends, if the lease is for 6 months or less
  
• 6 months before the date of repossession or eviction for leases without a set length

The notice of repossession of a dwelling must include:

• the date set for repossession
  
• the name of the beneficiary (i.e. the person moving in) and, where applicable, how the landlord and beneficiary are related

As for an eviction notice, it must indicate the reason for the eviction and the date on which it will occur.

Important! The repossession or eviction could happen at a later date if:

• a court sets a later date at the request of the tenant
  
• if there is an agreement between the landlord and the tenant

Yes.

Repossession

You must notify the landlord whether you agree or refuse to leave within 1 month of receiving the notice. If you do not do this or if you forget to notify the landlord, you are considered to have refused to leave.

If you refuse to leave, you can try to reach an agreement with your landlord. Otherwise, the landlord can repossess the dwelling with the authorization of the Régie du logement. To do this, the landlord must apply to the Régie within 1 month of receiving your refusal or at the end of the time limit for your reply. At the hearing before the Régie, he must demonstrate that he truly intends to repossess the dwelling for the reasons stated in the notice.

Eviction

The rules are different for evictions. As a tenant, you have 1 month from the time you receive the notice of eviction to notify the landlord whether you accept or refuse to leave. If you don’t do this, or forget to do it, you are assumed to have accepted to leave.

If you refuse to leave, you can either try to reach an agreement with your landlord, or apply to the Régie du logement before the end of the 1 month time limit.

So if you want to refuse the eviction, it is very important to notify your landlord and to file an application with the Régie du logement within the time limit. The landlord must prove to the Régie du logement that he truly intends to divide, demolish, enlarge, or change the use of the apartment, as the law allows.

Eviction

The landlord must pay you both compensation equal to 3 months’ rent and reasonable moving expenses.

The 3-month compensation must be paid when the lease ends. The moving expenses must be paid on presentation of supporting documents (receipts, invoices, truck rental contract, etc.).

If you believe that the compensation should be higher than the amount you have received, you can apply to the Régie du logement to have it set the amount.

Repossession

The tenant must apply to the Régie du logement to get compensation for moving costs.

If the Régie authorized the landlord to respossess the apartment or evict the tenant, it can also impose conditions, such as obliging the landlord to pay moving costs or postponing the date the tenant must leave.

If the eviction or repossession was done in bad faith, you can request compensation from the landlord, even if you agreed to the repossession or eviction. You can also apply to the Régie du logement for “punitive damages” against the landlord, which means additional money as punishment for bad behaviour.

Bad faith means that

• that the repossession or eviction was done against the law,
  
• the landlord tried to harm the tenant, or
  
• the landlord acted in an unreasonable way.

If the landlord does not repossess or evict on the scheduled date, the lease is automatically renewed, if you continue to live in the apartment with the landlord’s agreement.

The lease is also renewed if the Régie refuses the repossession or eviction and makes this decision after expiry of the time limit to avoid renewal or modification of the lease.

The landlord has 1 month from the date of the Régie’s decision to ask the Régie to decide on the rent.