Cancellation or modification of a lease

Responsibility: Régie du logement du Québec

If you are the liquidator of a succession or the heir of a deceased tenant, you must cancel the lease of this person. Within six months of the death, you must send a written notice by registered mail to cancel the lease three months later. In addition, you must pay three months' rent to the landlord from the time of your notice.

Special rules apply if the deceased was a tenant and did not live alone. You can find out more by contacting the Régie du logement.

Note: If the tenant was living in a nursing home, hospital or other government facility licensed under the Act respecting health services and social services, the services provided end without notice or formality upon the death of the tenant. In the case of private facilities, you must respect the terms of the lease.

When a tenant or landlord dies or when a cohabitation ends, the lease for a dwelling is not terminated. Depending on the situation, different rules apply.

DEATH OF THE TENANT

If a tenant dies, the person who was cohabiting with him or her can become a tenant in title by notifying the landlord. If the person who was cohabiting with the tenant does not give notice to the landlord within the required time, the liquidator of the estate, or an heir, can terminate the lease. The same applies to a tenant who was living alone at the time of his death.

For the property (furniture, objects, clothing, etc.) of a deceased person who leaves no legal heirs, see the following fact sheet: Unclaimed Estates: Claim Process

TERMINATION OF COHABITATION (DIVORCE, SEPARATION, ETC.)

A tenant's spouse or common-law partner, parent or relative who has been living with the tenant for at least 6 months is entitled to continued occupancy and becomes a tenant when he or she continues to occupy the dwelling unit that he or she occupied with the tenant and notifies the landlord. If the landlord has been notified that the dwelling is being used as a family residence, the spouse who is a tenant of that family residence cannot sublet, assign his or her right, or terminate the lease without the written consent of the spouse.


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