An owner of a condo can choose to rent it to a tenant and the two of them will sign a lease for this purpose. In doing this, the co-owner is using his property by renting it to another person to generate rental income. However, the declaration of co-ownership governing the building may restrict the rights of co-owners to keep domestic animals inside their private portions in the form of a building bylaw establishing the rules of enjoyment of the private portions by the co-owner in accordance with article 1054 of the Civil code of Quebec (C.c.Q.).
The declaration of co-ownership binds the co-owners, their successors and the people who signed it and it takes effect towards them from the time of its registration according to article 1062 of the C.c.Q.
Article 1057 C.c.Q. stipulates that the building bylaws may be set-up against a tenant or the occupant of a private portion once a copy of the bylaws and any amendments to it are provided to him by the co-owner or, if he fails to do so, by the syndicate. Therefore, the tenant must respect the building bylaws to the same degree as the co-owner himself, but in order to do so he must be given a copy. However, it may happen that a tenant signs a lease with a co-owner without being given a copy of the building bylaws, and without the lease containing similar conditions: the co-owner may forget to provide a copy of the building bylaws to the tenant at the time of signing the lease, and may fail to include a clause stating that animals are prohibited, or only allowed under certain conditions, such as the type and number of animals, as well as their size. On the other hand, the co-owner cannot grant more rights to the tenant than he has himself: if the building bylaws prohibit animals, or restrict their size, the tenant must respect the bylaw to the same degree as the co-owner would.
When the tenant occupies the premises and fails to respect the building bylaws governing animals, the syndicate can, after having notified the co-owner, demand the cancellation of the lease of the private portion when its violation by the tenant causes serious harm to a co-owner or to another occupant of the building according to article 1079 of the C.c.Q. The Rental Board has jurisdiction in such circumstances. However, what happens when no measurable harm is caused and it's just simply a case of a failure to respect the building bylaw, such as when an animal isn't a nuisance, but exceeds the weight limit imposed by the bylaw?
In our opinion, the syndicate would be unable to obtain the cancellation of the lease, but would be able to impose on the co-owner the sanctions allowed under the declaration of co-ownership: application of a penalty clause, if one exists, which imposes a financial penalty on the tenant who doesn't respect the declaration. When no financial penalty clause exists, the syndicate will have to take the case to court by means of an introductory motion and permanent injunction to force co-owner to respect the declaration of co-ownership.
The co-owner will be all the more at fault when the declaration of co-ownership obliges him to provide a copy of the building bylaws to the tenant, and doesn't do so. Here is where we often find the crux of the problem: if the co-owner signs a lease with a tenant without giving him a copy of the building bylaws, or including substantially similar conditions in the lease (example: a clause prohibiting dog heavier than a specified weight) this will cause harm to the tenant and diminish their enjoyment of the rented premises if he must be separated from the animal. The tenant could even argue that he would not have signed the lease if the co-owner had brought these conditions to his attention. A legal battle between the co-owner and his tenant will probably ensue in the form of a claim by the tenant for damages and in reduction of the rent, or possibly to cancel the lease.
If the co-owner fails to give a copy of the building bylaws to the tenant, the syndicate can do it in his place. Once the tenant is in possession of a copy of the building bylaws, he will have to respect it from that time on. The tenant will probably defend himself by saying that he isn't bound by them because he wasn't aware of their content at the time of signing the lease. This argument probably won't be of any help to him because of the legal principle of the relative effect of contracts: the lease is binding on the tenant and the co-owner, but doesn't concern the syndicate of co-ownership, which has the right to enforce the declaration of co-ownership at any time. Consequently, the tenant will have to take legal action against the co-owner if he believes that he has been harmed by the co-owner's failure to provide him a copy of the building bylaws.
When the tenant in a condo has a domestic animal
