How to send a demand letter by certified email

You've written your demand letter (mise en demeure): on your own, with the help of a legal clinic or a lawyer, and now you need to send it with proof of receipt. Here's how to use certified email to do it quickly and at a fraction of the usual cost.

Why certified email?

Sending a demand letter requires proof that the recipient actually received it. Traditionally, that meant registered mail (2 to 3 business days, about $14.59 before taxes) or a bailiff ($75 and up). Certified email offers a faster alternative with no trip, at a price comparable to registered mail.

In Quebec, section 31 of the Act to establish a legal framework for information technology (LCCJTI) provides that a technology-based document is presumed transmitted when the action marking the beginning of its route to the recipient is performed by the sender. The Act recognizes the legal value of documents transmitted electronically, provided their integrity is preserved.

Certified email generates a timestamped proof report confirming the sending, the delivery to the recipient's server, and the digital fingerprint of the document. That report can be presented as evidence before a court or tribunal, including the Tribunal administratif du logement.

What you'll need

To send a demand letter by certified email with Locato, you need two things:

• Your demand letter in PDF format: written by you, a lawyer, a legal clinic, or generated with an online tool.
• The recipient's email address: ideally one that person uses regularly and that you've already corresponded with.

It matters that the recipient has consented to receiving communications by email, whether explicitly (previous email exchanges, a clause in the lease) or implicitly (regular communication by email). If you've never emailed this person, consider also sending a copy by registered mail as a backup.

Steps to send with Locato

The process takes a few minutes:

1. Upload your PDF. Go to the sending page and upload your demand letter in PDF format (50 MB maximum). If you start from one of our free templates, your letter arrives there already attached.
2. Enter both email addresses. Yours, where you receive the tracking link and proof report, and the recipient's.
3. Confirm and pay.Check the recipient's address, then complete the $14.99 payment.
4. Sending and proof of receipt. The certified email is sent to the recipient. You receive a timestamped proof report in PDF that you can download and keep.

What the proof report contains

The proof report generated by Locato includes the following:

• The exact date and time of sending
• Confirmation of delivery to the recipient's mail server (SMTP response)
• Detection of the email being opened, when possible
• The digital fingerprint (SHA-256 hash) of your PDF document, which proves the document was not altered
• The identity of the sender and the recipient

This report gathers what the presumption of receipt in section 31 LCCJTI rests on of technology-based documents. Keep it safe: it will be part of your file if you ever need to bring an application before the Tribunal administratif du logement or any other court.

When to choose another sending method

Certified email is suitable for the vast majority of demand letters between tenants and landlords. There are, however, situations where another method may be preferable:

• Very large amounts · If your claim runs to several thousand dollars, service by bailiff offers the strongest proof and removes any doubt about receipt.
• No consent to email· If you've never communicated by email with the recipient and nothing in your lease provides for electronic communication, send by registered mail or bailiff.
• A recipient likely to dispute everything · If you expect the recipient to deny having received the document, a bailiff who delivers it in person provides irrefutable proof.

For a more detailed comparison of sending methods, see our article Certified email vs registered mail.