Quebec Repossession Notice Template: How to Write and Fill It Correctly

There is no need to draft a repossession notice from scratch. The Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) publishes an official model form — TAL Form 809A — and using it is the safest way to ensure your notice contains every element the law requires. Improvised letters or generic templates downloaded from the internet routinely fail at the TAL because they omit mandatory statutory language.

Where to Get the Official Form

TAL Form 809A is available free from the TAL website (tal.gouv.qc.ca) as a downloadable PDF. It is published in both French and English. Use the current version — the TAL updates form language periodically to reflect legislative changes, and an outdated form that omits post-Bill 31 tenant response rights can invalidate your notice.

What the Form Requires

TAL Form 809A walks you through each required field, but understanding what the TAL expects in each one matters more than simply filling blanks:

Landlord identification. Your full legal name exactly as it appears on the land title in the Registre foncier du Québec. If there are co-owners, every owner must be named and must sign. A notice signed by only one of two co-owners is defective.

Tenant identification. Every person named on the lease must be listed. If the lease names both spouses, the notice must be addressed to both. Serving one and omitting the other is grounds for dismissal.

Dwelling address. The full civic address including the unit number. Vague descriptions ("the upstairs apartment") are insufficient.

The legal ground. The form is given under Article 1960 of the Civil Code of Québec; the substantive repossession right is under Article 1957, with Article 1958 setting the co-ownership restriction. Do not attempt to combine grounds (repossession plus eviction) on a single form — each route has its own notice requirements.

The beneficiary. Name the person who will occupy the dwelling and state their relationship to you: yourself, your parent, your child, another relative/person connected by marriage or civil union for whom you are the principal source of support, or a spouse for whom you remain the principal source of support after separation, divorce, or dissolution of a civil union. If the beneficiary is not one of these categories, you do not have a legal basis for repossession.

The repossession date. This must be the lease expiry date (or, for an indefinite lease, the date you intend repossession to take effect). It cannot be a date mid-lease.

Statutory information for the tenant. TAL Form 809A includes mandatory text explaining the tenant's right to refuse within one month, the consequence of silence (deemed refusal under Bill 31), and senior tenant protections under Article 1959.1. Do not delete or alter this text.

Common Errors That Invalidate a Notice

Wrong form. Using TAL Form 815A (eviction for subdivision, enlargement, or change of destination) when you mean repossession, or vice versa. The two are not interchangeable.

Late service. A notice for a standard 12-month lease must reach the tenant at least six months before the lease expiry date. For the typical July 1 annual lease, that deadline is December 31 at the latest. One day late and the lease automatically renews.

Missing signatures. Every landlord on title must sign. A notice with a missing co-owner signature is defective even if the other co-owner handled the property exclusively.

Naming an ineligible beneficiary. A sibling or in-law may qualify if they fall within the statutory relationship categories and you are their principal source of support. A friend does not qualify merely because you support them. The TAL rejects notices where the stated beneficiary falls outside the statutory list.

Using a custom letter instead of the form. The TAL has no obligation to accept a notice that does not follow the official format. Even if your letter contains all the required information, the adjudicator may reject it for failing to include the mandatory statutory tenant information language.

After You Complete the Form

Fill in the form, sign it, and serve it on the tenant within the statutory notice window. Keep a copy for your records. The method of service matters — registered mail with signature, personal delivery with a signed acknowledgement, or service through a judicial bailiff. Whichever method you choose, retain the proof: you will need it if the tenant refuses and you file with the TAL.

The Quebec Tenancy Notice Guide provides the complete notice-to-hearing workflow, including service method requirements and the deadline calculations that determine whether your notice is valid.

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