Noise, smoke, mould: tenant remedies in Quebec

Your remedies as a tenant when the peaceful enjoyment of the premises is nothing more than words in the lease.

For eight months, Sophie has not been able to sleep in her apartment in Vieux-Gatineau. The upstairs neighbour comes home at two in the morning, turns on his music, drags furniture around. The smell of smoke seeps through the baseboard heater in her bedroom. She has raised it three times with her landlord, who shrugs: “I’m not the one making noise.” And now a brownish stain is spreading in the corner of the bathroom. Sophie is thinking of withholding her rent to get heard. That would be the worst possible decision. Here is what the law offers her instead.

What the landlord owes you: peaceful enjoyment

The landlord’s central obligation fits in one sentence: he must provide you with peaceful enjoyment of the dwelling for the entire term of the lease (article 1854 of the Code civil du Québec, Quebec’s Civil Code), and deliver a dwelling in good habitable condition (article 1910 C.c.Q.). Peaceful enjoyment, in everyday terms, is the right to feel at home: to sleep, work and have guests without being disturbed beyond reason.

It is not a guarantee of absolute silence: an apartment building comes with normal sounds — footsteps, a door, a child. The law sanctions the disturbance that goes beyond what a reasonable neighbour should have to put up with, and that persists.

The landlord is not responsible for everything: he does not answer for a disturbance caused by a complete stranger (article 1859 C.c.Q.). But as soon as the troublemaker is another tenant of the same building, the picture changes.

The noisy neighbour, smoke and cannabis

Every tenant must behave so as not to disturb the normal enjoyment of the other tenants (article 1860 C.c.Q.). If he fails to, the landlord may apply to have his lease terminated.

And what about you, disturbed by a neighbour in the building? Article 1861 C.c.Q. is your best tool. You must first report the disturbance to the common landlord. If it persists, you may obtain, depending on the circumstances, a reduction of rent or the termination of the lease. You may also recover damages from the landlord, unless he proves that he acted with prudence and diligence. That is the heart of the regime: a landlord who sits on his hands answers for the disturbance; one who sends a formal notice, documents the situation and sues the offending tenant protects himself.

Smoke follows the same logic. Nothing prevents a landlord from including a “no smoking” clause in a new lease. During the lease, he must go through a notice of modification at renewal. One historical exception is worth recalling, because it explains many leases still in force: section 107 of the Loi encadrant le cannabis allowed landlords, between October 17, 2018 and January 15, 2019 only, to unilaterally add a ban on smoking cannabis to an existing lease. The tenant could refuse only for medical reasons, within 30 days; absent a refusal, the ban was deemed written into the lease. That window closed long ago, but the clauses it created remain valid.

It is also prohibited to smoke cannabis in the common areas of buildings with two or more dwellings, on pain of a fine. And even a tenant who is allowed to smoke at home remains bound not to disturb his neighbours, medical cannabis included. A real debate persists before the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL), Quebec’s rental board: how far does the right to privacy in one’s own home yield to the neighbour’s comfort? It is always a question of degree and of evidence.

Major work: the notice, the evacuation and the indemnity

A non-urgent major repair or improvement cannot begin until the landlord has given you notice (article 1922 C.c.Q.). The notice must state the nature of the work, its start date, its estimated duration, the evacuation period if any, the indemnity offered and any other conditions likely to seriously reduce your enjoyment of the premises (article 1923 C.c.Q.).

The time limits: at least 10 days before the work begins, or three months before an evacuation of more than one week.

If a temporary evacuation is requested, you have 10 days to accept or refuse. Your silence counts as a refusal, and it is then up to the landlord to apply to the Tribunal within 10 days; there, he must show that the work, the conditions and the need to evacuate are reasonable (article 1928 C.c.Q.). If you accept the evacuation but consider some conditions abusive, it is up to you to apply to the Tribunal within 10 days. The application is heard urgently and suspends the work, unless otherwise decided.

Two frequent traps: the landlord cannot raise the rent mid-lease on account of the work, and he must carry it out between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., unless otherwise agreed. Outside an emergency, 24 hours’ notice is required before any visit or intervention (article 1931 C.c.Q.).

Mould and unfit dwellings: the strong remedies

A dwelling is unfit for habitation when its condition poses a serious threat to the health or safety of the occupants or the public, or when it has been declared so by a court or the competent authority — a municipal inspector, for example (article 1913 C.c.Q.). A serious infestation or a documented fungal contamination can lead there.

Two powerful remedies then open up. You may abandon the dwelling, provided you notify the landlord of its condition before leaving or within the following 10 days; you are then relieved of paying rent for the period during which the dwelling is unfit, unless its condition results from your own fault (article 1915 C.c.Q.). And either party may apply for termination of the lease (article 1972 C.c.Q.).

A word of caution: expert evidence is king. A professional’s report or a municipal inspection notice carries infinitely more weight than a photo taken on a cellphone.

The way forward: document, send a formal notice, apply

First reflex, and the most important: never stop paying your rent. A tenant who withholds rent puts himself in default and exposes himself to termination. The law provides a way out instead: asking the Tribunal for permission to deposit the rent with the Tribunal, on 10 days’ notice to the landlord stating the reason (article 1907 C.c.Q.).

Next, keep a logbook: date, time, duration, nature of the disturbance. Add recordings, photos and the names of witnesses willing to attend the hearing. No evidence, no case.

Then send a written formal notice (mise en demeure), describing the problem, making a specific demand and allowing a reasonable time to comply — ten days is generally considered sufficient. Send it by a means that leaves a trace: bailiff, registered mail, or email with acknowledgment of receipt. Keep a copy.

Finally, file an application with the Tribunal. Depending on what you claim, your file will be classified differently: an order compelling the landlord to perform his obligations is treated as an urgent case, termination of the lease as a priority case, a simple claim for damages or a rent reduction as a general case. A file that clearly alleges a risk to health or safety is systematically placed in the urgent category: so draft your grounds with care.

A final word on harassment. No one may harass a tenant in such a way as to limit his peaceful enjoyment of the premises or to induce him to leave the dwelling (article 1902 C.c.Q.). Abusive visits, cut-off services, intimidation, work deliberately dragged out: the harassed tenant may claim punitive damages on top of ordinary compensation. Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms also allows them in cases of unlawful and intentional interference.

Key takeaways

The landlord must provide you with peaceful enjoyment of the premises; when the disturbance comes from another tenant, he must step in.
Report the disturbance in writing before anything else: it is the gateway to your remedies.
Never stop paying your rent; instead, ask for permission to deposit it with the Tribunal.
For major work, insist on the full notice: 10 days, or three months if the evacuation exceeds one week.
Document everything — logbook, photos, witnesses, expert report — then send a formal notice with a ten-day deadline.
Your remedies add up: rent reduction, damages, termination and, in cases of harassment, punitive damages.

Noise, Smoke, Mould: When a Rental Becomes Unlivable

What the landlord owes you: peaceful enjoyment

The noisy neighbour, smoke and cannabis

Major work: the notice, the evacuation and the indemnity

Mould and unfit dwellings: the strong remedies

The way forward: document, send a formal notice, apply

Key takeaways

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