Buyer's Guide

Buying Real Estate With Family Members in Quebec: What to Get in Writing

By Georges Matar · July 27, 2026 · 4 min read

Co-purchasing real estate with family members is one of the fastest-growing trends in Greater Montreal as housing costs have risen relative to individual buyer capacity. A parent contributing to their child’s down payment, two siblings pooling resources for a duplex, adult children purchasing a home that their aging parents will occupy, a combination of generations on a single title.

These arrangements can be excellent financial strategies. They can also destroy family relationships if the terms are not clearly defined before the purchase. Here is what to think through before proceeding.

Why Written Agreements Matter Between Family Members

There is a deeply human instinct to resist formalizing relationships with family. It feels distrustful, transactional, and contrary to the warmth of the relationship. That instinct is understandable, and it creates problems consistently.

Family members die. Circumstances change. Someone needs their money back. Someone gets divorced and their spouse has a claim on assets. Someone stops paying their share of the mortgage. Someone wants to sell when others do not.

All of these situations require resolution. A written agreement that was uncomfortable to draft in an atmosphere of goodwill is significantly easier to execute than an improvised resolution in an atmosphere of conflict.

What the Agreement Should Cover

Ownership percentage. The deed of sale will show what percentage each party owns. This should match what each party contributed and what each party’s ongoing obligations are.

Decision-making authority. Who can make decisions about the property? What decisions require unanimous agreement? If one party wants to sell and another does not, how is that resolved?

Cost sharing. How are mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance costs, and unexpected expenses split? Is it proportional to ownership, or is there a different arrangement?

Right of first refusal. If one party wants to sell their share, do the other parties have the right to purchase it before it can be sold to a third party?

Exit triggers. Under what circumstances can one party force a sale? What happens if a party cannot continue to pay their share?

Death and succession. If a co-owner dies, what happens to their share? Does it pass to their estate (potentially creating a co-ownership situation with someone’s spouse or children), or is there a right of survivorship?

In Quebec, these arrangements are typically formalized through a co-ownership agreement (convention de copropriété) drafted by a notary. The cost of having this done properly is trivial compared to the cost of resolving a dispute without one.

The Parental Down Payment Gift

A very common arrangement is a parent providing all or part of a down payment as a gift rather than a co-ownership situation. The parent does not go on title. They simply transfer the funds.

Mortgage lenders in Canada require a gift letter confirming that the funds are a gift, not a loan, because a loan obligation would affect the buyer’s debt ratios. The letter needs to be signed by the donor and typically confirm the family relationship.

From a family harmony perspective, even when the intention is a gift, the understanding should be documented somewhere. What everyone agrees is a gift when relations are good can become contested when relations are not.

The Multiple Generations on Title Situation

When parents and adult children co-own a property together, there are additional considerations:

If the parent has a lower income and higher net worth, their inclusion on the title may assist or complicate financing depending on the lender’s assessment.

If the property serves as the parent’s principal residence, there may be capital gains implications different from those for the children if the property is eventually sold.

Estate planning considerations are significant. A notary with estate planning experience, not just real estate experience, should be consulted.

What to Keep in Mind

Family co-ownership transactions are among the most relationship-sensitive situations in real estate. The standard advice: engage a notary to draft the co-ownership agreement before or simultaneously with the purchase, not after. The conversation about “what happens if” is much more productive before any money has moved.

Planning a family co-purchase? Let’s talk through the structure before you start the search.