Download the PDF: Assignment of lease agreement

Download the PDF: Notice of lease assignment

Download the PDF: Notice of subletting of dwelling

Download the PDF: Response to a notice of assignment of lease - Notice given as from February 21, 2024

Breaking your lease… without breaking the rules!

Contrary to popular belief, a lessee cannot simply break their lease with three months’ notice at any time during the lease and for any reason.

In fact, there are only four specific situations where the lease can be terminated during its term:

• The lessee has been allocated a dwelling in low rental housing.
• They can no longer occupy the dwelling because of a disability.
• They are a senior who has been permanently admitted to a residential and long-term care centre (CHSLD), a seniors’ residence or any other lodging facility where the care and services required by their state of health are provided.
• The safety of the lessee or of a child living with the lessee is threatened because of the violent behaviour of a spouse or former spouse or because of a sexual aggression.

A lessee cannot force the lessor to terminate their lease for other reasons, such as the purchase of a home, divorce, disagreement between joint tenants, formation of a new household, the need for a larger dwelling, financial problems, or moving for work.

The lessee can always try to come to an agreement with the lessor about terminating the lease, preferably in writing.

If there is no agreement, the lessee has two choices: they can assign their lease or sublet their dwelling to another person with the lessor’s consent.

Exceptions

It should be noted that you cannot assign your lease or sublet your dwelling if:

• You are a student renting a dwelling at an educational institution.
• You are a lessee in low rental housing.
• Your dwelling is used as a family residence and the lessor has been notified of this fact by either you or your spouse (married or civil union spouse, not de facto spouse), unless your spouse has given written consent to the assignment or sublet.

Note: In some cases (such as joint tenancy situations), your right to assign or sublet may be restricted.

Assignment vs. subletting: What’s the difference?

If you are a lessee and you want to leave a dwelling, ask yourself whether you want to have the option to return to the dwelling.

If you are leaving temporarily to travel, study or work for just a few months, and your goal is mainly to avoid paying rent for an empty dwelling, then subletting would be a good solution. You remain the lessee, with all of your rights and obligations intact.

If, on the other hand, you are leaving for a job in another city or moving into a new home, and you would rather be released from your lease and its obligations, you’re better off assigning your lease. When you do this, you waive your right to return to the dwelling.

Assignment of lease

Concluding a lease assignment: how to do it?

A very simple template for a conditional agreement, entitled Assignment of lease agreement, is available on the Tribunal administratif du logement’s website. We recommend filling out this template before giving the lessor your Notice of lease assignment.

Before signing the agreement, you must provide the assignee with any relevant information you have and let them know if you have received any notice from the lessor, such as a notice of rent increase.

You cannot exact consideration when you assign your lease; the assignment must be free of charge. Failure to comply with this rule is subject to a fine.

Notice of assignment

You must give the lessor notice of your intention to assign the lease. Such notice must indicate the name and address of the intended assignee as well as the intended date of assignment. This information is mandatory. Of course, you may also provide the lessor with further information, provided that you have the “applicant’s” consent. We suggest using the Notice of lease assignment that is available on the Tribunal’s website or from your local Tribunal office.

Make sure that you can prove the date that the lessor received the notice.

Lessor’s response

The lessor has 15 days from the date of receipt of your notice of assignment to reply. If no response is received within this period, the lessor is deemed to have accepted the assignment.

If the lessor refuses the proposed lessee, they are required to inform you of their reasons for doing so. Their reasons for refusing the proposed lessee must be serious, such as problematic behaviour or an inability to pay the rent. It is therefore a good idea for you to thoroughly vet the “applicant” yourself before proposing them to the lessor.

The lessor may also refuse to consent to the assignment of the lease for a reason other than a serious one. The lease is then resiliated on the date of assignment indicated in the notice sent by the lessee.

Note: the lessor may not refuse to consent to the sublease of the property or the assignment of the lease without a serious reason if the assignment notice was given before February 21, 2024.

Implications of lease assignment

For the assignor

You transfer all your rights to the assignee, including the right to maintain occupancy. You are released from all obligations as of the date of the assignment, and therefore do not have to give notice of nonrenewal of the lease to the lessor.

For the assignee

The assignee is not a new lessee in the eyes of the law, and therefore is not entitled to have their rent fixed by the Tribunal. However, once they become the lessee, they acquire all the rights and obligations of the lease. Since they are also bound by all the terms and conditions of the lease assigned to them, they should obtain a copy of the lease from the assignor.

For the lessor

Once the assignment takes effect, the lessor is bound to the assignee. They must give any notice concerning the lease to the assignee and collect the rent from them. The lessor does not have to sign a new lease with the assignee.

Subletting

How do I enter into a sublet lease?

First, obtain the Tribunal administratif du logement’s mandatory lease form. In the box where the parties are identified, cross out the words “lessee” and “lessor” and replace them with “sublessee” and “sublessor,” respectively, Remember, this lease is conditional on the lessor’s acceptance of the sublet.

Some terms and conditions in the sublet lease may be different from those in the main lease, but they should not contradict the main lease in such a way that the sublessee is given more rights than the lessee already has. For example, if the lessee’s lease states that pets are not allowed, the sublessee cannot be allowed to have pets. However, if the main lease allows pets, the sublet lease can still prohibit them. The same is true for parking spaces and so on.

Note: the lessee who subleases his dwelling may not exact, in addition to the cost of the services offered and reasonable expenses for the use of movable property owned by the lessee, an amount exceeding the rent the lessee pays to the lessor. Failure to comply with this rule is subject to a fine.

Notice of subletting

You must give the lessor notice, in writing, with the name and address of the person who is interested in your dwelling. This information is mandatory. Of course, you may also provide the lessor with further information, provided that you have the “applicant’s” consent. The notice should also include the expected date of the sublet. We suggest using the Notice of subletting of dwelling that is available on the Tribunal’s website or from your local Tribunal office.

Make sure that you can prove the date that the lessor received the notice.

Lessor’s response

The lessor may not refuse to consent to the sublease of the property without a serious reason.

If the lessor refuses, they must inform the lessee of their reasons for refusing within 15 days of receiving the notice; otherwise, they are deemed to have consented.

A lessor who consents to the sublease of the property may not exact any payment other than the reimbursement of any reasonable expenses resulting from the sublease.

Implications of subletting

For the lessee (sublessor)

As the lessee subletting the dwelling, you remain entirely responsible for all of the obligations of the lease.

Before signing any sublet lease, you should give the sublessee a copy of the building rules, if applicable. You should also include all of your main obligations to the lessor (e.g., no smoking) in the sublet lease or include references to these obligations.