Renting a Home Through a Broker in Quebec

A residential lease signed through a broker is governed by the same Civil Code articles as a lease signed without one. What the broker adds is a set of mandatory OACIQ forms, a trust account for the deposit and duties of verification and advice. Here is what landlords and tenants need to know in Montreal, Laval and elsewhere in Quebec, from the brokerage contract to the end of the lease, furnished units included.

General information, not legal advice. This is about long-term residential leases: renting to tourists for 31 days or less falls under a different regime, covered in the short-term rental rules.

Residential rental: what the broker does, and what they do not do

Leasing is no longer reserved to brokers. Since 2018, the OACIQ explains, a person without a licence may act as an intermediary for a lease, as section 2 of the Real Estate Brokerage Act (Loi sur le courtage immobilier) confirms. That person may not, however, present themselves as a real estate broker, a reserved title.

A broker remains bound by the whole Act. According to the OACIQ, a broker’s duties of verification, information and advice are the same as in a sale. The broker coordinates visits, drafts the promise to lease, recommends reading the condo by-laws, obtains when needed the tenant’s consent to check payment habits, and handles advertising. The broker represents the party they signed with and must act fairly toward the other.

What a broker does not do. The OACIQ asks brokers not to give legal advice and to refer the parties to a lawyer or to the Tribunal administratif du logement (Quebec’s rental board, TAL). And in the lease brokerage contract, the landlord declares that they alone are responsible for checking the prospective tenant’s behaviour and payment habits, unless otherwise stipulated.

The lease brokerage contract, on the landlord’s side

For a unit in a mainly residential building of fewer than five dwellings, or in a condominium, sections 23 and 24 of the Act require a written contract on the OACIQ’s mandatory form. It is only formed once signed, and section 26 makes any verbal contract null. With a natural person, that form is the Exclusive Brokerage Contract, Residential Lease (CCL), or its non-exclusive version.

What the CCL provides, clause by clause:

• Term. If no end date is written in, the contract ends 30 days after it is concluded.
• Cancellation. Unless otherwise stipulated, the landlord may cancel without reason, paying any expenses incurred if applicable. Even if stipulated non-cancellable, section 28 of the Act leaves three days to cancel after receiving the signed copy.
• Remuneration. A percentage of the total rent or a flat fee, plus taxes. It is owed if a lease agreement is concluded during the contract, with or without the broker, if the landlord refuses a promise that meets their conditions, or if the lease is concluded within 180 days after the contract ends with someone who showed interest during its term. It is not owed if the lease is not signed through the tenant’s fault.
• Documents. The landlord provides, among other things, proof of the rent paid under the last lease, the declaration of co-ownership and the building by-laws.
• Spouse. To lease the part reserved for the family in a building of fewer than five dwellings, article 404 of the Civil Code requires the written consent of the married or civil union spouse.

Who pays the broker. No law and not the OACIQ sets the rate: it is negotiated and written into the contract. Under the CCL, the landlord undertakes to pay. A tenant who wants their own broker signs a separate contract, an in-house form modelled on the purchase brokerage contract, according to the OACIQ. See also real estate commission in Quebec.

What a landlord may ask an applicant

The Commission d’accès à l’information (Quebec’s privacy watchdog), as summarized by the TAL, draws the line.

A landlord may not turn down an applicant who does not provide the numbers on their ID documents. Applicants may bring their own credit attestation, a letter from a former landlord or proof of regular payments to Hydro-Québec. For a student or newcomer with no history, the TAL leaves it to the parties to agree on documents that show the ability to pay.

Discrimination is prohibited. Sections 10 and 12 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms prohibit refusing housing on grounds such as race, sex, pregnancy, civil status, age except as provided by law, religion, language, ethnic or national origin, social condition or disability. Article 1899 of the Civil Code covers a person who is pregnant or has children, unless the size of the unit justifies the refusal.

The promise to lease and the deposit: only one sum allowed

Article 1904 of the Civil Code is clear. The landlord may require payment in advance of the first rent instalment only, never more than one month. No deposit under any name, and no post-dated cheques. A “furniture deposit” or a “last month’s rent” is no exception.

With a broker, the deposit goes through a trust account. The OACIQ’s Promise to Lease, mandatory whatever the number of units in the building, provides in clause 4.3 for a deposit on the first month’s rent, paid by cheque to the agency or broker in trust, against a receipt. The money stays there until the lease is signed or the tenant takes possession, then it is applied to the rent. If the agreement allows it, the broker may draw their remuneration from it only at that moment, never when the promise is accepted.

Then comes the TAL lease. Its form has been mandatory for every new residential lease since September 1, 1996, whether for a room, an apartment, a condo or a house. The landlord must:

• give the building by-laws before the lease is concluded (article 1894);
• give a copy of the lease within 10 days (article 1895);
• declare in section G the lowest rent paid in the previous 12 months (article 1896). If no rent was paid during that period, the TAL provides a model notice to state the last rent and its date.

The remedies tied to section G are covered in the rental property guide. If you are weighing renting against buying, the rent vs. buy calculator puts both budgets side by side.

Furnished units: what changes, and what does not

The lease says so. Section B of the TAL lease form has a box stating that furniture is leased and included in the rent, followed by a list: appliances, beds, tables, chairs, sofas, dressers. The CCL, for its part, has an inclusions clause, and the items must remain in working order for the term of the lease.

What does not change. The list of excluded leases in article 1892 of the Civil Code does not mention furnished units. Their tenant therefore has, like any tenant, the right to maintain occupancy under article 1936, the same notice periods and the same protection against any deposit.

Two exclusions to know. Article 1892 excludes leases for vacation purposes, and a room rented in the landlord’s principal residence when no more than two rooms are rented there and the room has neither a separate exit nor its own sanitary facilities. Apart from those cases and rooms in a hotel or a health facility, a room is treated as a dwelling, with notice periods of 10 to 20 days.

An inventory protects both parties. Under article 1890, the condition of the property is recorded by a description or photographs; without such a record, the tenant is presumed to have received it in good condition. An item-by-item inventory, photographed and signed at move-in, therefore sets the reference. At the end, the tenant is not liable for normal wear and tear or decay, and must leave the unit free of all movables other than the landlord’s (article 1978).

Furnished sublets. According to the TAL, a tenant who sublets may not charge more than their own rent, apart from the cost of services and reasonable fees for the use of their own furniture. Breaking that rule is an offence punishable by a fine.

During the lease: the deadlines that matter

Assign or sublet. According to the TAL, assignment suits a tenant who is leaving for good; subletting suits one who is away for a few months and remains responsible for the lease. The notice of assignment states the name, the address and the planned assignment date. Since the 2024 amendments, the landlord may refuse an assignment for a reason other than a serious reason, and the lease is then resiliated on the date given in the notice (article 1978.2). A sublet may only be refused for a serious reason. Assignment is free of charge, and the assignee, not being a new tenant, cannot have the rent fixed.

Renewal is automatic. Without a notice of modification from the landlord or a notice of non-renewal from the tenant, the lease is renewed on the same conditions (articles 1941 and 1946). How an increase is calculated is set out in the 2027 rent increase and the TAL rule.

The Tribunal administratif du logement decides, not the broker

Section 28 of the Act respecting the Tribunal administratif du logement gives it exclusive first-instance jurisdiction over applications relating to a residential lease up to the monetary limit of the Court of Québec, as well as renewal, rent fixing and repossession. A dispute between landlord and tenant is therefore settled at the TAL.

A complaint against a broker goes to the OACIQ, which receives requests for assistance and investigation from the public. I am a real estate broker, not a lawyer: on your rights, the TAL, a lawyer or a legal information organization can answer for your situation.

Frequently asked questions

Can the broker ask me for a security deposit? No. Article 1904 of the Civil Code prohibits the landlord from requiring any sum other than the first month’s rent. The deposit in the OACIQ promise to lease is applied to that first month and stays in trust until the lease is signed or the tenant takes possession.

Who pays the broker in a rental? Under the OACIQ lease brokerage contract, the landlord, at a rate no law sets. A tenant who wants to be represented signs their own contract, which then provides for the remuneration.

Does a furnished unit give the tenant fewer rights? No. Furnished units are not excluded from the residential lease regime: the right to maintain occupancy, notice periods and the deposit ban all apply.

I am moving before my lease ends. What should I do? Propose an assignment by written notice: the person’s name and address and the planned date. The landlord has 15 days to reply; if they refuse without a serious reason, the lease ends on that date. The other steps are in the Montreal and Laval moving checklist.

To go further, read should you invest in rental property in Quebec and renting or buying in Greater Montreal.

Are you offering a home for rent in Laval or Montreal, furnished or not, or looking for one? Write to me. We go over the brokerage contract, the promise to lease and the TAL lease before you sign. Service in French, English and Arabic.

Georges Matar

Residential Real Estate Broker · RE/MAX DU CARTIER INC.

Contact Georges