Abandonment CAUTION BEFORE CONCLUDING THAT THE TENANT HAS LEFT THE PREMISES

Note aux lecteurs : Ces articles sont des résumés de décisions rendues dans les affaires citées. Veuillez noter qu'il ne s'agit pas d'une revue de la jurisprudence et que d'autres décisions peuvent être rendues par la suite ou être différentes et changer l'état du droit. C'est également le cas si les faits ne sont pas les mêmes que ceux présentés dans l'affaire mentionnée.

As July 1 approaches, the number of tenants leaving quietly increases sharply. As a landlord, it is important to know the rules surrounding abandonment in order to avoid unfortunate decisions that may have financial and possibly criminal consequences.
Article 1975 of the Civil Code of Québec defines the notion of abandonment.

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26 Jun 2026

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Legal

About the author

Me Jean-Olivier Reed, avocat

Me Jean-Olivier Reed graduated from Collège l'Assomption in legal technology in 1997 and then from the University of Montreal in law in 2001. Member of the bar since 2004, he was a lawyer and building manager from 2004 to 2006.

Lawyer with Messier Soucy lawyers since 2006. He works in real estate law and more particularly in rental law and co-ownership law.

He has written several articles in the newspaper "Le Propriétaire" on various topics dealing with rental law.
He lectures to members of the Quebec Landlords Association on current topics in rental law.