Article 1978.1 C.c.Q.: The assignment date required in the notice

If the notice of assignment provided for in article 1870 concerns a lease of a dwelling, it must indicate the date of assignment fixed by the lessee.

Civil Code of Québec, art. 1978.1 C.c.Q.

What this article means

Added by Bill 31 (2024, chapter 2), article 1978.1 requires one more particular in an assignment notice where it concerns a lease of a dwelling: the date on which the tenant intends to assign the lease. Article 1870 already required the name and address of the proposed assignee; the date now joins them.

This apparently administrative requirement has become the pivot of the whole assignment mechanism. It is the date article 1978.2 picks up: if the landlord refuses consent for a reason other than a serious one, the lease is resiliated on the assignment date stated in the notice. In other words, the date the tenant writes in themselves determines when they are released.

A notice that omits this date is incomplete under the law. Since article 1898 provides that a non-conforming notice may not be set up against the addressee, forgetting the date can strip the notice of all effect, including the 15-day period in article 1871 whose silence counts as consent.

What it means for you

If you are a tenant

Always state the intended assignment date in your notice: it has been mandatory since Bill 31, and it is what sets the day you are released if the landlord refuses without a serious reason (art. 1978.2 C.C.Q.).

Choose it carefully: too close and it leaves the landlord little room to answer within their 15 days; too far out and it keeps you bound longer. The TAL's official form has the box. Keep proof of when the notice was sent and received.

If you are a landlord

Check that an assignment notice you receive actually states the intended assignment date: it has been a mandatory particular since Bill 31. That date is not neutral for you, since it will become the date the lease is resiliated if you refuse consent for a reason other than a serious one.

Your 15 days to give reasons for a refusal run from receipt of the notice (art. 1871 C.C.Q.), and your silence counts as consent. Reply in writing and keep proof of the date.

Related articles

• Article 1870 C.c.Q.: The right to sublet or assign your lease
• Article 1871 C.c.Q.: The landlord's refusal: serious reason and the 15-day deadline
• Article 1872 C.c.Q.: Reasonable expenses for a sublet or assignment
• Article 1978.2 C.c.Q.: Refusing an assignment without a serious reason: resiliation by operation of law (Law 31)
• Article 1873 C.c.Q.: The effects of assigning a lease
• Article 1876 C.c.Q.: A subtenant's recourse against the landlord
• Article 1944 C.c.Q.: Ending a lease after a long sublet