Want to rent out your property? Here’s what you need to know
To earn extra income, renting out a house or condo may be an option.
Being well informed about the rights of landlords and tenants will help you avoid unpleasant surprises. Read on to find out.
Obligations not to be overlooked
All landlords must respect certain rules to ensure that their tenants live in a safe and healthy environment. Fortunately, tenants have certain basic rights.
For example, the unit must be clean, free of mold and mouse-like critters. It must also be quiet. A landlord also undertakes to carry out maintenance and repair work, as required, and to deal with urgent work as quickly as possible.
Good to know!
Of course, landlords can come to their tenants’ homes to carry out work, but they are not allowed to enter without giving them 24 hours’ notice.
If you don’t want your tenants to own pets, that’s your right, but you absolutely must write it into the lease. Mira dogs, for example, which accompany blind people, must be accepted.
What’s more, a landlord has no right to ask a deposit from a new tenant, nor to require payment of several months’ rent in advance (except for the first month when the lease is signed). It is also forbidden to ask the tenant to hand over a series of post-dated checks to pay the next few months’ rent.
When it comes to increasing the rent
If you wish to increase the rent for the next term, it is essential to inform the tenant 3 to 6 months before the end of the term, if the lease is for a fixed term of 12 months or more. The tenant will have the choice of accepting or refusing the increase. If he refuses, he must give notice to the landlord within one month of receiving notice of the change. If necessary, the landlord can apply to the Tribunal administratif du logement to have the rent set. Sample notices and a calculation tool are available on the Tribunal administratif du logement website. Note that a tenant of a dwelling in a building built less than 5 years ago who refuses the increase announced for year 2, 3, 4 or 5, will have to leave the dwelling at the end of the term and will not be able to ask for the rent to be fixed…
What if the tenant wants to leave?
The law stipulates that the tenant can apply to the Administrative Housing Tribunal to have the lease terminated if the landlord fails to meet his obligations and the tenant suffers serious prejudice as a result. If the tenant obtains HLM housing, moves into a retirement home or a CHSLD because of his or her state of health, or can no longer occupy his or her dwelling because of a disability, he or she may terminate the lease two months after sending notice to the landlord, if the lease was for a fixed term of 12 months or more. In this case, the tenant must provide proof of disability, such as an attestation or medical certificate.
Similarly, a lease termination may be obtained if the tenant is experiencing domestic or sexual violence, or if a child living in the dwelling is experiencing violence and his or her safety, or that of the tenant, is threatened.
Ready to rent? Don’t forget to take out specific rental property insurance before you start hunting for tenants!
