How to break a lease in Quebec if your apartment is uninhabitable

As thousands of people across the province of Quebec settle into their new dwellings a week after moving day, a pair of unlucky Montreal roommates discovered their new LaSalle apartment was already inhabited — by cockroaches.

As soon as they moved in to the small, two-bedroom apartment Sunday, they realized the bugs were crawling on the walls and across the floors, and had set up in the fridge and the cupboards.

The bug infestation is something the roommates said they didn't notice when they toured the apartment complex on Juliette Street last month. 

They didn't sleep a wink that first night, and they haven't slept much since.

"This is just insane," Tomasina Labillois told CBC News. "I can't live like this."

But can they break their lease?

The building's landlord, Peter Mariani, says he has an exterminator visit the 18-unit apartment complex every month to keep the cockroaches at bay.

That's a common practice in Montreal, he said, because not every tenant maintains a clean living space.

In this case, Mariani said the incident fell on a holiday — moving day in Quebec is July 1, which is also Canada Day — but he sent an exterminator in that same day. "I did what I am supposed to do," he told CBC News.

If Quebec's rental board tells him that Labillois and her roommate have the right to break their lease and get a refund, Mariani said that "nobody is stopping them."

Whatever happens, the case raises some important questions, namely: can a renter in Quebec break a lease and recover expenses when they feel a dwelling is uninhabitable?

Ted Wright says you can.

Tenants can break a lease and even sue a landlord for expenses, but there are several steps to take, said Wright, the coordinator of the Westmount Legal Clinic and a housing consultant.

First step: Notify the landlord

The first thing a renter must do is notify the landlord, Wright said, and then "call the City of Montreal because they take this stuff seriously."

He advised tenants to quickly collect evidence, such as photos, videos and witnesses who would be willing to testify in court.

He recommended speeding the process up by sending a registered letter — by bailiff, if possible — to the landlord, demanding the apartment be cleaned up.

If that doesn't happen, the tenant should make it clear: "I'm out of here and I'm taking my furniture and I am going to sue you for all the costs," Wright said.

The process of recovering your losses can take more than a year at Quebec's rental board, the Régie du logement, he said.

To avoid problems in the first place, Wright urged renters to carefully inspect apartments and talk to other tenants about the building. Hidden issues, such as cockroach infestations, are common in Montreal apartment complexes, he said.

Renters can take their case to court

A Régie spokesperson, Denis Miron, said renters in Quebec can refuse to take possession of a unit or, if they already live there, abandon it if they feel the dwelling is unfit for habitation.

However, like Wright, Miron said the first step is to advise the landlord. 

If the landlord disagrees with the renter's request to break the lease and get a refund, he or she must then go to the Régie to fill out an application, and the case will then go to court.

It's up to the renter, Miron said, to meet the burden of proof.

"The lessee will really have to prove to a judge that the apartment was unfit for habitation."