New law outlaws lease transfer
Tenants used to be able to arrange a lease transfer, one of the few ways we’ve been able to limit rent increases, but a new CAQ bill rules that option out. The minister says tenants can’t be allowed to control rent increases.
Update: The minister responsible for this bill is a real estate agent. She feels she’s fixing an unfair loophole in the law.
Fred 08:34 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
its mostly to restrain the Airbnb overtake and also preventing getting rogue tenants or non-insured
Tim S. 09:00 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
I don’t know about that interpretation: from the minister, as quoted in the article:
«Cette histoire là de cession de bail ou de magasinage de baux entre locataires, c’est une entrave au droit de propriété des propriétaires», ajoute France-Élaine Duranceau
Kate 09:07 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
I’ve been following a Facebook apartment swap group for a long time (from curiosity, although I’m not looking for a new place myself). It’s a low-key, beneficial group where people can find a place to live at a reasonable price – reading between the lines, often couples that are either linking up or going their separate ways. Of course the CAQ is squarely on the side of the landlords.
anton 09:10 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
Perhaps to the CAQ, its an incentive to go buy a place.
Kate 09:46 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
If they were doing anything to help people buy, perhaps.
steph 10:00 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
Rent increase rules apply to new leases as much as renewed leases.
A new lease should always include the amount of the previous rent. This amount can always be contested at the TAL and the landlord will have to show up to prove the amount is correct.
The government should create a lease registry. (I’m sure there’s an app for that already!)
Jaye 11:44 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
I had to do a lease transfer because I bought a house. The landlord wouldn’t let us out of the lease (our rent was more than $150 less than other units at that point), and I certainly didn’t want to be responsible for a sublet.
We had offered months of advance notice, offered to pay a couple of months penalty … but no deal. We’d had to renew the lease 6 months ahead (January), and bought a place in February with a move in date in late June.
I hope those people did a lease transfer when they were done with the place. No sympathy.
jeather 12:50 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
I think the “presumed to agree to the eviction if you don’t reply” change is a good one, surrounded by bad ones. Though at least if the landlord refuses a lease transfer, they need to let you out of the lease instead. Not great because no one will know the old lease amounts, but at least that particular loophole isn’t there.
Jonathan 16:01 on 2023-06-11 Permalink
It’s strange. Basically she is saying that rent control is abusive. If we had a system that actually kept landlords accountable to the law then tenants wouldn’t care about transferring a lease.
If the minister thinks rent transfers are abusive then she is also de facto saying that the control around rent increases is also. This is a major ideological shift and it’s very very worrying.
Em 09:51 on 2023-06-12 Permalink
Transferring a lease is among the best tools out there to ensure an apartment rent stays affordable. It is a huge loss to renters to have that limited.