What's the difference between transferring and subletting your apartment?
Once you sign a lease in Quebec, you’re locked in for life. Just kidding! You are locked in for your leasing period, which is then automatically renewed for up to 99 years. In order not to renew your lease, you have to send a notice of non-renewal – generally – 3-6 months before the end of your lease.
But 3-6 months is a long time, you might change your mind, you may have been too busy to send the notice or maybe you denied your rent increase (for the love of your community, PLEASE deny your rent increase.)
Didn’t send the notice of non-renewal within the appropriate time frame but still want to move? We’ve got you covered. Here are 2 ways you can move out and leave your lease legally:
1) Transfer your lease
Transferring your lease (also known as assigning your lease) is when you literally give another tenant your lease. This process can be done at any time throughout the lease. When you assign your lease, you forfeit any attachments and obligations to this lease, which means you cannot return.
In order to transfer your lease, you must find a reliable tenant, send a “Notice to assign” document to your landlord with the prospective tenant’s information. Next, you wait 15 days for the landlord’s reply after which you will sign the ”Assignment of lease agreement” document with the new tenant. There is no need for anyone to sign a new lease! This is why the “Assignment of lease agreement” document is very important. This document realeases you from you contractual obligations to the dwelling and the landlord. The new tenant accepts your dwelling as is, with all the conditions of your lease, including the price of the rent.
2) Sublet your lease
Subletting your dwelling is when you temporarily leave your home and rent it out to someone else.
This process can also be useful for when you’re going home for the summer, you’ve already sent your notice of non-renewal but want to leave earlier, or you’re just not quite ready to fully let go of your lease yet. Subletting makes you like a mini-landlord since you rent an apartment from the landlord and someone rents an apartment from you! This makes you still responsible to your landlord for the upkeep of the apartment and any communication – but there’s someone who is also responsible for the apartment to you. Sublets have a specific duration of time and also their own set of contracts. If you are subletting out your apartment, you have to send a notice of sublet with your tenants information to your landlord at least 15 days before the sublet is to take place and you sign a LEASE with your tenant (that’s right, an official Quebec Lease! This allows you to outline everything the tenant is responsible for including bills, furniture, etc.)
Maybe this is a lot of info on subletting, if you need more help you can check out these links.
http://likehome.info/?s=subletting
And if you still need someone to look over your situation – reach us out to hojo@csu.qc.ca
NB: A subletting agreement is different than an Occupancy agreement. Contact us for more information!