Eviction

Eviction is an exception to the tenant’s right to remain in their rental housing. It allows the landlord to force a tenant to leave so the landlord can carry out a major project. However, as of June 6, 2024, the situations where a landlord can do this are very limited.  

What is eviction?

 As mentioned above, eviction is an exception to a tenant’s right to remain in their rental housing as long as they wish, known as the “right to remain in the premises” in legal terms.

A landlord has the right to evict a tenant to carry out the following major projects:

• To demolish the apartment (for example, to build condominiums).
• To change the use of a unit in a private seniors’ residence, if the landlord has received legal approval to stop operating the unit as part of a private residence for seniors.

A landlord can only evict a tenant to carry out a specific project. For example, a landlord cannot evict a tenant simply to carry out renovations to the apartment. This is sometimes called a “renoviction” and is often followed by a big rent increase for the new tenant.

It’s also important to note that, when a landlord takes back an apartment to live in it, or house a family member, this is not considered an “eviction” in legal terms, but rather a repossession, which follows a different set of rules.

Special protections for seniors 

Seniors benefit from special protections regarding evictions. Except when the reason for eviction is demolition of the apartment, a landlord cannot evict a tenant or their spouse if the following three conditions are met:

• they are 65 or over,
• they have lived in the apartment for 10 years or more,
• their income is no higher than 125% of the maximum income that would qualify them for low-rental housing.

When the owner of a private seniors’ residence, or other type of housing, wants to change the use of a unit, they must also offer the tenant the option to sign a new lease before evicting them.

The eviction notice 

The landlord must send a written notice to the tenant to evict them.  

If the eviction is related to a demolition project that will be assessed by a municipal demolition committee, this notice must respect the municipality’s rules and deadlines. 

For all other evictions, this notice must contain:   

• the date of the eviction,  

• the reason for the eviction, and 

• the Civil Code articles about special protections for seniors, except if the reason for eviction is demolition. 

If the building was a private residence for seniors, or other type of housing for seniors, the notice must include the Civil Code articles with the rules for changing the use of this type of housing. 

The landlord must also respect certain deadlines: 

The landlord can use the Notice of eviction form provided by the TAL.

Compensation 

At the end of the lease, the landlord must pay the tenant three months worth of rent if the tenant has rented the apartment for three years or less.

 The compensation is calculated based on the amount corresponding to one month of rent for every year the tenant has rented the apartment if it’s been longer than three years. The total amount can’t exceed 24 months of rent.

The landlord must also pay for all reasonable costs involved in the move, such as boxes and truck rental, mail forwarding, transfer of hydro and internet accounts, etc.

These costs must be paid once the tenant provides proof of the expenses, such as bills, receipts, or contracts.

The tenant’s options 

A tenant can accept or refuse the landlord’s request. If the tenant accepts, they simply have to follow the conditions set out in the eviction notice. If the tenant wants to refuse, they must know what steps to take based on their situation.

If the reason for the eviction is to demolish an apartment, these steps depend on who will assess the demolition project. If it’s the TAL, the tenant must file an application with the TAL within one month of having received the eviction notice. If the authority is instead a municipal demolition committee, the tenant must send a notice to the clerk of the municipality within 10 days of having received the demolition notice. If the tenant does nothing, they are considered to have accepted the eviction.

In the case of an eviction for a reason other than demolition, the tenant must inform the landlord whether they accept or not, within one month of having received the eviction notice. If the tenant doesn’t answer, they are considered to have refused the eviction notice.

If the tenant refuses the eviction notice or doesn’t answer, and the landlord wants to go ahead with the eviction, the landlord must get approval from the TAL. The landlord must file an application with the TAL within one month of the tenant’s refusal or the tenant’s deadline to reply.

For more information on procedures at the TAL, see our article Hearings at the Tribunal administratif du logement.

Possible outcomes 

If the TAL or a municipal demolition committee approves the eviction, it can also impose just and reasonable conditions for the eviction. The tenant has the right to the moving costs and compensation described above and can also ask the TAL for a higher amount if they have suffered damages. If the tenant requests this, they must prove the damage was due to the landlord’s fault.  

If the TAL or a municipal demolition committee refuses the eviction, or the landlord does not go ahead with the project by the set deadline, the lease will continue as planned and may be automatically renewed. In that case, the landlord can apply to the TAL to set the rent within one month after the decision to refuse the eviction, the date the eviction was supposed to take place, or the deadline for demolishing the apartment. 

When does the eviction take place? 

If the tenant accepts the eviction, it usually takes place on the date indicated in the eviction notice. It can also happen on a different date if the landlord and tenant agree to this. 

If the tenant refuses the eviction, the TAL or a municipal demolition committee will confirm the eviction date in its decision. The eviction date may be the date in the notice or a later date. When the reason for eviction is demolition, the eviction can only happen after one of these two things, whichever comes latest: 

• the end of the lease, 
• three months after the demolition is approved. 

No matter what, the lease is automatically renewed if the tenant continues to occupy the apartment with the landlord’s permission after the date the eviction was supposed to happen.  

Bad faith evictions 

Landlords act in bad faith when they evict someone for an illegal reason, under false pretenses, to harm a tenant, or when they act unreasonably.

An example of a bad faith eviction would be a landlord who says they are evicting someone to enlarge the apartment, but instead sell it to be converted into a condominium without enlarging it.

If a tenant believes the landlord acted in bad faith, they can ask the TAL for compensation for any damages they suffered due to the eviction. An example is the increase in rent for their new apartment compared to the apartment they were evicted from.

However, the landlord will not have to pay the tenant compensation if they can prove that they acted in good faith.

The tenant can receive compensation for bad faith eviction even if they accepted the eviction. They have three years from the date they learned of the bad faith to apply for damages at the TAL.

The TAL can also order landlords to pay punitive damages, which means extra money as punishment for acting in bad faith. To be awarded punitive damages, the tenant must prove that the owner acted in bad faith, no matter when the eviction notice was sent.