What to Do When Damage Is Caused by a Tenant?

When a tenant causes damage to a property, the landlord may find themselves in a difficult situation. What are the options for being compensated for damage caused by a tenant? Bloc Solutions examines the legal remedies and preventive measures available to landlords.

What are the obligations of the tenant?

• The tenant must return the rental unit in its original condition.
• The tenant must remove any modifications or additions that can be taken out.
• The tenant must remove their furniture and other personal belongings.

Examples of observed damages:

• The apartment is left in an unsanitary condition: trash prevents seeing the floor’s color, attracting vermin.
• Part of the rental unit is destroyed: large holes in the walls, broken cabinets, parts of the countertop are torn out.
• All rooms reek of cigarette and cannabis smoke: however, the lease specifies that it is a non-smoking apartment.
• The floors are entirely scratched, and moldings are chewed: whether pets were allowed or not, they may have caused damage.
• The tenant has left all their furniture and personal belongings in the rental unit.

What charges can you claim from your former tenant?

Generally, it is possible to claim financial compensation for all damages directly resulting from the problematic situation. Unfortunately, legal fees or time spent assembling your legal case cannot be claimed from the tenant.

Here are examples of charges you can claim:

• Costs incurred for deep cleaning of the premises.
• Costs incurred for major repair or renovation work (excluding minor repairs needed to make the rental unit rentable again).
• Costs for emptying the premises.
• Storage fees for furniture and personal belongings left on the premises.
• Time loss for hours spent cleaning, emptying, repairing, or delegating these tasks to a third party.
• Stress, disturbances, and other inconveniences caused by the situation.
• Loss of income from being unable to rent the property during the corrective work.

What possible remedies? According to Article 1855 of the Civil Code of Québec, the tenant is obliged to use the leased property with prudence and diligence during the lease term, use it reasonably and not excessively, and not act in a way to deteriorate the leased property or harm its conservation. Despite preventive efforts and repeated warnings, it unfortunately happens that a tenant causes damage to the rental unit and incurs additional costs for the property’s restoration. What remedies can a landlord then use to recover the incurred costs?

First, send a formal demand letter to your former tenant. In this formal letter, you should clearly explain the grievances, explicitly request the desired compensation, and give a specific deadline for action. Do you want to simplify your life and send a convincing formal demand letter? Send a formal demand letter through a lawyer! If the damages are minor, you can minimize your costs by drafting the formal demand letter yourself.

The next step will be to file a claim with the Rental Board (Tribunal Administratif du Logement). Your claim will eventually be heard by a judge at a hearing, after which the judge will decide whether to accept your claim in whole, in part, or to reject it. In case of recourse to the Rental Board, it is important to prepare the case well before the hearing to prove that the claimed damages result from the tenant’s fault and the abnormal wear and tear of the rental unit during the tenant’s occupancy.

Better Safe Than Sorry

To avoid facing an unpleasant situation, measures exist to choose the right tenant. One of these measures is to conduct a pre-rental investigation to ensure the prospective tenant does not have a negative history.

Conduct your pre-rental investigations directly from the Bloc Solutions platform. Save time and money by avoiding double entry of a candidate’s information. Part of this investigation checks if the candidate has a record with the TAL, and you can also add a request for rental reference from the previous landlord.

Disclaimer: The information on this website is general in nature and should not be interpreted as legal advice. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information made available to you, and we encourage you to contact a lawyer for advice on your particular situation.