Quebec Lease Renewal and Modification Notice: What Landlords Must Know

Quebec residential leases renew automatically. There is no expiry, no end-of-term negotiation, no annual re-signing. Unless someone takes a specific statutory action within a defined window, the lease rolls forward on the same terms for another cycle. This is one of the strongest tenant protections in Canadian law, and landlords who do not understand it lose their options for the entire year.

Automatic Renewal Is the Default

Under Article 1941 of the Civil Code of Québec, a fixed-term residential lease renews automatically at the end of its term on the same conditions — same rent, same duration, same clauses. A landlord cannot insert a clause that prevents this. Any "automatic vacating" clause in a lease is null as a matter of public order.

The only ways to change the terms at renewal are:

1. The landlord sends a modification notice (TAL Form 806A) proposing new conditions
2. The tenant sends a non-renewal notice electing to leave
3. The landlord serves a repossession or eviction notice on a statutory ground

Landlords do not have a unilateral non-renewal right. You cannot simply decide not to renew a tenant's lease. That right belongs exclusively to the tenant.

Sending a Modification Notice

If you want to change the rent or any other lease condition at renewal, you serve a Notice of Rent Increase and Modification of Another Condition of the Lease (TAL Form 806A) within the statutory window:

• 12-month lease or longer: between 3 and 6 months before the lease expiry date
• Lease under 12 months: between 1 and 2 months before the lease expiry date
• Indefinite lease: between 1 and 2 months before the proposed effective date

For the standard July 1 annual lease, this means the modification notice must be served between January 1 and March 31.

The notice must specify every change you propose — the new rent amount, any modified conditions — clearly enough that the tenant understands exactly what is different. Vague or incomplete notices are vulnerable to challenge.

Tenant Response to a Modification

The tenant has one month from receiving the notice to respond. Three outcomes:

Acceptance (written or implied). The tenant agrees to the new terms, either by written response or by silence. For modification notices — unlike repossession notices — silence is deemed acceptance. If the tenant says nothing within one month, the modified terms take effect at renewal.

Refusal with continued occupancy. The tenant refuses the modification but states they intend to stay. The lease renews on the old terms, and you may apply to the TAL for a rent-fixing hearing to determine whether your proposed increase is justified.

Refusal with departure. The tenant refuses and states they will vacate at the end of the lease term. The lease ends on the expiry date.

The Rent-Fixing Process

If the tenant refuses a rent increase and stays, the TAL determines the allowable increase based on its annual calculation method. The TAL publishes rent adjustment guidelines each year that factor in municipal taxes, insurance, energy, maintenance, and capital expenditure. The landlord must submit evidence of actual expense changes to justify the proposed increase.

The TAL's calculated increase is often lower than what the landlord proposed. This is not a negotiation — it is an administrative determination based on documented costs. Landlords who cannot substantiate their expenses get smaller increases.

Common Mistakes

Missing the notice window. If you serve your modification notice one day outside the statutory window, the lease renews on the old terms and you cannot increase the rent for another year.

Confusing modification with repossession. A modification notice changes the lease terms. It does not end the lease. If your goal is to end the tenancy, a modification notice is the wrong form — you need a repossession notice (TAL Form 809A) or an eviction notice on the applicable statutory ground.

Assuming you can refuse to renew. You cannot. The renewal is automatic. Your choices are to modify the terms or to pursue an ending route. There is no middle ground.

The Quebec Tenancy Notice Guide covers the full range of landlord notices — modification, repossession, and eviction — with the deadlines and forms for each.

See more Quebec guides →