Information for tenants of apartment/house during COVID-19

As of March 26, 2020

Apartment visits: Prime Minister François Legault spoke on the subject during his press briefing on March 24th to strongly recommend that landlords stop letting people visit apartments until April 13th.

Repairs: If it is urgent repairs, ask your landlord to make sure that all the people who come to work respect all the recommended hygienic conditions.

If the repairs are not urgent, talk to your landlord to postpone it.

If you have reason to fear for your health, you can refuse the repairs.

Extermination: If your house requires the intervention of exterminators, ask the exterminator about the products used and the measures to be taken.

Be sure to follow the instructions and preventive measures if you have to leave the dwelling for a few hours because of the products used for the extermination.

Unfortunately, your municipality or city may have stopped sending inspectors during the pandemic period. If you have an urgent problem such as a rat infestation, try to contact the appropriate authorities to find a solution.

Payment of rent: If you have problems paying your rent due to the loss of your job or income, please refer to the special assistance provided for this purpose and detailed in the employability section of our tips.

You can also try to talk to your landlord and explain your situation.

Rental Board: The Rental Board suspends its hearings and housing evictions as long as a state of health emergency is declared. Only hearings relating to matters raising a risk to the health or safety of a person and those relating to the issuance of an order for access to housing are maintained. The Rental Board will also no longer provide in-person services. All individuals who used to provide information in person are now helping to provide telephone information and to process applications and questions online. For the duration of this period, all procedures can be filed online.

Repossession of a dwelling | Eviction : You cannot be evicted during the state of emergency caused by the pandemic (unless the unit has been re-rented to another tenant before March 17 and your presence prevents them from taking possession of the premises).

Sub-leting: The tenant may take back the unit for which he or she has signed the lease, with 10 days' notice, even if the subletting agreement provides for a later date.

Cleaning point of entry and common areas: It is recommended that common areas in buildings be cleaned. However, your landlord is under no obligation to do so.

For more information, you can consult this document that was written by lawyers (in french only) : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EB0nTKNJJXesh8txqPJTt0s2clYySTAZfR8l3PWzYvI/edit?fbclid=IwAR05igro1ftxLL5lMqZwBu0E-epE4HMiToKIhgkdvk47eVtuR6t9A6AYbic