As a first-time buyer, are you considering investing in an income property with a family member or friend, with the aim of becoming an owner-occupier?
If so, it’s crucial to understand the rules governing repossession.

According to the Civil Code of Québec (hereinafter: CCQ), any owner has the right to repossess a dwelling, whether for personal occupation or to house his or her ^family1, within the time limit stipulated by law.
However, if you are planning to buy a property in joint ownership with a friend, business partner or family member, repossession becomes impossible.
By law, only two undivided co-owners may repossess a home, and they must be ^spouses2.

But what is undivided co-ownership?
Also known as indivision, undivided co-ownership is a form of ownership in which several people jointly own a property, without any physical division between the co-owners.
For example, when a couple buys a house, they own it jointly, in equal shares, unless otherwise stipulated in the deed of sale.

It is important to note that the landlord cannot evict the tenant under certain conditions, notably when the tenant is 70 years of age or older, has occupied the dwelling for at least 10 years and is income-qualified for low-rental housing.
Such eviction may become possible if the owner-occupier is himself 70 or ^over3.

Performing due diligence :

First of all, it’s important to consult the lease for the apartment affected by the repossession in order to establish the deadline by which the tenant must be notified.
If the lease is for more than six months, a notice of repossession must be sent at least 6 months before the end of the lease.
If the lease is for less than 6 months, the notice period is one ^month4.

An important question arises: must the tenant receive the notice before the six-month deadline, or is sending the notice before that deadline sufficient to satisfy the obligation set out in article 1960 CCQ?
According to a majority trend in case ^law5, it seems that sending the notice of repossession before the deadline is sufficient, even if the notice is received after the deadline.

Indeed, in Mindek v.
Alves, 2018 QCCQ 1812, the Court distinguished between the notion of notice and receipt: ” [24] article 1960 C.C.Q. refers only to the landlord’s obligation to notify the tenant six months before the expiry of the lease, whereas article 1962 C.C.Q. refers specifically to the notion of receipt of the notice of repossession by the tenant”.
The Court rejected the tenant’s claim that he should have received the notice before the 6-month deadline.

The signing of a promise to purchase should always be conditional on verification of current leases.

Don’t hesitate to contact your notary if you have any questions about repossessing your home.

¹ Civil Code of Québec, RLRQ, c.
C-1991, article 1957
² Ibid, article 1958
³ Ibid, article 1959.1
⁴ Ibid, article 1960
⁵ Tsiolis v.
Protcenko, 2019 QCRDL 186; Prendingue v.
Jamin, 2021 QCTAL 16651; Gustama v.
Castro, 2023 QCTAL 27563