Article 1906 C.c.Q.: Rent Adjustment Clauses Without Effect

A clause in a lease with a fixed term of 12 months or less providing for an adjustment of the rent during the term of the lease is without effect. A clause in a lease with a term of more than 12 months providing for an adjustment of the rent during the first 12 months of the lease or more than once during each 12 month period is also without effect.

Civil Code of Québec, art. 1906 C.c.Q.

What this article means

Article 1906 prohibits certain rent adjustment clauses during the term of the lease. In a fixed-term lease of 12 months or less, any clause providing for a rent adjustment during the term is without effect. The rent agreed at the outset cannot be raised mid-term by a mere clause of the lease.

For leases longer than 12 months, the article also frames adjustments: a clause providing for an adjustment during the first 12 months, or more than once during each 12-month period, is without effect. A long-term lease therefore cannot provide for rent increases more often than once per 12-month period.

This article protects the stability of the rent during the lease. A clause to the contrary is "without effect," meaning it does not apply even if it was signed. Rent changes go instead through the notice of modification at renewal (article 1942), not through mid-term adjustment clauses.

What it means for you

If you are a tenant

If your lease contains a clause providing for a rent increase or adjustment mid-term (for example, an automatic hike halfway through a one-year lease) article 1906 renders that clause without effect. You are not bound to pay such an increase, even if the clause appears in the lease you signed.

Legitimate rent increases go through a notice of modification sent at the renewal of the lease (article 1942), which you can respond to. If your landlord claims a mid-term adjustment based on a clause, you can point them to this rule and, if needed, apply to the TAL (Tribunal administratif du logement).

If you are a landlord

Article 1906 prevents you from including mid-term rent adjustment clauses in the lease: in a lease of 12 months or less, such a clause is without effect; in a longer lease, no adjustment during the first 12 months nor more than once per 12-month period.

To change the rent, use the notice of modification at renewal (article 1942) instead, respecting the prescribed deadlines. Inserting an adjustment clause contrary to article 1906 will have no effect and may be set aside by the TAL (Tribunal administratif du logement).

Related articles

• Article 1941 C.c.Q.: Automatic Lease Renewal
• Article 1942 C.c.Q.: Notice of Modification to the Lease
• Article 1945 C.c.Q.: Tenant's Deadline to Respond to a Notice of Modification
• Article 1947 C.c.Q.: Having the Rent Set by the Tribunal
• Article 1950 C.c.Q.: New Tenant: Right to Have the Rent Set
• Article 1953 C.c.Q.: Criteria for Setting the Rent
• Article 1955 C.c.Q.: New Building Under 5 Years Old: Clause F
• Article 1946 C.c.Q.: Tenant's Right to End the Lease When No Notice of Modification Was Received
• Article 1938 C.c.Q.: Right to Stay for a Spouse, a Relative, or After a Death