Know your lease: Section G

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19 avril 2021Cecilia Marangon
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When signing a new lease for an apartment, landlords must also provide the new tenants with a written notice with the lowest rent paid in the last 12 months and it is usually indicated in section G of the Quebec lease. 

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What does this mean for tenants? 

It means that if the new rent is higher than the lowest rent paid in the previous 12 months, tenants have the right to file at the Tribunal Administratif du Logement for rent fixation within the following timelines: 

  • Within 10 days from signing the lease; 

  • Within 2 months from the signing of the lease, if the tenant didn’t receive notice of the lowest rent paid in the last 12 months; 

  • Within 2 months from the day in which the tenant discovered that the landlord made a false statement about the lowest rent paid in the last 12 months. 

Can every tenant apply for rent fixation? 

There are only four situations in which tenants can’t apply for rent fixation: 

  • Tenant living in a housing cooperative of which they’re members; 

  • Tenant living in low-rent housing; 

  • Tenant living in a new building (less than 5 years old); 

  • Tenant living in a building where no units were rented before. 

What if my landlord doesn’t fill section G? 

Landlords are required to fill section G and it’s within the tenants’ rights to know the lowest rent paid in the last 12 months; you can also try to get in contact with the previous tenant and ask about the rent history of that apartment. 
As for those tenants who are moving out from an apartment, they may lease their copy of the lease somewhere for the new tenants to find. 

As of July 2021, the TAL changed the regulations for apartments which have been vacant for 12 months or more. As stated by the TAL. “at the time of entering into a lease, if no rent was paid during the 12 months preceding the beginning of the lease, the lessor must now give a notice to the new lessee indicating the last rent paid and the date of the payment.” This means there is still a notification requirement of the last rent paid and the date of this payment, even if no one has been living in the unit for the last 12 months or more. More information on this change and what this notice looks like can be found here: https://www.tal.gouv.qc.ca/en/news/notice-to-a-new-lessee

Download our infographic about section g in the Resources section!

If you have questions or want more information about Quebec leases and section G, do not hesitate to contact us at hojo@csu.qc.ca.