La loi vos droits

Tenants

Finding a dwelling

Apartment-hunting season has officially opened and you’re in the middle of the fray. After visiting a number of places, you realize that many landlords are asking you to reveal personal information, such as the name of your employer, your social insurance number, the type of job you have – even your bank account number!

In this Infosheet, Éducaloi explains common practices encountered before signing a lease, some of which are against the law. Éducaloi also explains your rights and recourses when it comes to finding a dwelling.

What rights do I have when visiting a dwelling?

You have the right to ask any question you wish about a dwelling. The landlord must inform you of any defects or problems in the apartment (for example, trouble with plumbing, hot water, electricity, heating, etc.).

Visiting dwellings in the daytime is often a good idea. This way, you will be able to see any deterioration or defects that would be difficult to spot at night.

You can contact the current tenants and ask them about the condition of the dwelling, their rent, and heating and electricity costs. In addition, you can obtain free information about the current electricity costs for the dwelling by calling customer service at Hydro-Quebec.

What information can a landlord ask me for before I sign a lease?

According to the Civil Code of Québec, any person creating a file on you is only entitled to the information that is required in the circumstances. With regard to renting an apartment, the only pertinent information required to sign a lease is your name, your address, the name and address of your present landlord, and what you are currently paying in rent.

Any other information is considered private. This includes your SIN (Social Insurance Number), your passport number, your bank account number, a pay stub, the name and phone number of your employer, etc.

If a landlord asks you to divulge private information, you can refuse to answer his questions and deny him access to such details. The landlord may claim that this information is his only way of determining whether you are solvent (able to pay your rent). However, this reasoning does not justify an infringement on your right to privacy.

To prove your solvency, you can give the landlord a reference letter from your current landlord. You can also show him bills and receipts from your telephone and electricity accounts to prove that you always pay.

Nevertheless, landlords have the final say. He may refuse or threaten to refuse to rent the dwelling to you if you fail to divulge the requested information. Unfortunately, this type of behaviour is common practice among many landlords. If this happens, you can provide the landlord with the information necessary to sign the lease and inform him that you have a legal right to privacy.

What can I do if a landlord refuses to lease a dwelling to me because I did not provide him with personal information?

If a landlord refuses to rent a dwelling to you because you decline to provide him with information other than your name, address, the name and address of your current landlord, and your current rent, he has violated your right to privacy. This right is protected by the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, so you have a recourse: you can file a complaint with the the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse. The Commission can order that the infringement of your right cease and grant you compensation for any prejudice you may have suffered. You have two years from the time your right to privacy was violated to file the complaint, which must be written and signed by you.

My landlord asked me to sign an agreement to rent. What happens if I sign?

An agreement to rent is also called a lease form. It is a form that states that the landlord promises to rent the dwelling to you once he has verified that you meet certain criteria. In a sense, he is reserving the dwelling for you while he checks out your background. Signing an agreement to rent is a common and legal practice in residential leasing.

The landlord might, for example, ask for your former landlord's contact information to check whether you were a good tenant. He might also contact your employer to find out about your job, your salary, and your solvency. Keep in mind that the landlord will carry out the investigation according to his own criteria. That means that one landlord might consider a potential tenant to be solvent, while another might decide that he is not.

The lease form includes information such as the rent, the address of the dwelling, the services that are included with the dwelling, the names of the potential tenants, etc.

It is not necessary that this agreement take any specific form. The landlord can decide what it will look like, but the agreement must be clear. For example, the agreement to rent might simply be a regular lease (the mandatory form that you’ll often see for sale) filled out and signed only by the potential tenant. The landlord will then sign the lease if he is satisfied with the results of his inquiry.

Once the landlord accepts you as a tenant, the agreement to rent automatically becomes a lease. The landlord must check out your solvency within a reasonable period (usually a few days), so that you’re not waiting too long for an answer.

But be careful! If you have signed a lease form, don’t sign another lease; the lease form is binding. You risk finding yourself with two leases and two rents to pay!

How can I cancel an agreement to rent?

By signing an agreement to rent, you are agreeing to sign an actual lease after the landlord has checked your solvency.

You can try to contest the validity of a lease form on the same grounds as a lease by lodging a complaint with the Régie du logement. Keep in mind, though, that the Régie will only have jurisdiction to hear your complaint once your agreement to rent becomes a lease. The Régie does not have jurisdiction to hear a complaint regarding an agreement to rent that never turns into a lease (i.e. because the landlord decided that the potential tenant did not fulfill the necessary conditions).

To contest the agreement to rent, you must prove that you signed it without free and enlightened consent. Invalid consent can arise if the landlord pressured you to sign it, if you did not understand the nature and effects of the contract, if you were threatened into signing it, if there was an increase in the rent compared to the previous tenants, etc.

If the landlord clearly explained the effects of the lease form, and you consented to signing it with full knowledge of its implications, you cannot contest its validity.

For more information on the Régie du logement, please consult our Infosheet, Hearings before the Régie du logement  (http://www.educaloi.qc.ca/en/loi/tenants/65/).

Can I refuse to give a security deposit when renting a dwelling?

The law prohibits landlords from demanding that you pay a deposit, before or after signing the lease, for the keys, the use of a garage, normal wear and tear or potential damage to the dwelling or property, potential damage to furniture, etc. The only advance payment that can be demanded is payment for the first month's rent. Even then, the landlord can only ask for it when you sign the lease.

If you have already paid an amount for which the landlord had no right to ask, you can request compensation from the Régie du logement. If you kept your receipt for the deposit, it will be much easier to prove your case.

Useful Links :

1. Régie du logement website  [http://www.rdl.gouv.qc.ca]