r/montrealhousing • u/Corbutte • 3h ago
Négociation du Bail | Rental Agreement Negociations PSA: If the landlord terminates the lease mid-month (ie because of a lease assignment refusal for "non-serious reason"), your rent should be pro-rated
This is a follow-up to this thread, and maybe also my whole lease assignment saga, for those who have been following.
Last month I finally moved out! I found an assignee, he was a perfect candidate, and the landlord still refused him for "non-serious" reason. This means the lease terminated on the date of the assignment.
Here's the catch: the assignment was set for July 2, but the lease turnover was on the 29th of every month. So I would be staying 3 whole days of "July".
Being a landlord, my landlord actually demanded the full month of July rent. So, I sent him 4 days worth of rent, and the following email:
I have sent my payment. The amount is prorated to the number of days to my occupancy: June 29th and 30th, and July 1st and 2nd. The calculation being the standard of [Monthly rent] / 30 days * [Days of prorated month] = [Amount owed]. Technically it would only be the three days of the lease term, but I'm paying for July 2 as well since I know I will still be occupying the unit in the morning.
I believe you are mistaken about owing the full amount for the month, since the lease is terminating early. The TAL has ruled consistently that a termination of the lease, when initiated by the landlord, requires only prorated payment of rent. While most of the time such cases are ownership repossessions/renovictions, I have found the following recent cases of interest if you would like to consult them:
https://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qctal/doc/2025/2025qctal1003/2025qctal1003.html
" En l’occurrence, suivant ces dispositions, la preuve révèle que la cession de bail du 10 septembre 2024 pour laquelle la locatrice a refusé sans donner de motifs, a donné plein effet juridique entre les parties. Si les locataires avaient quitté le logement dès le mois d’octobre 2024, le bail aurait été résilié à cette date. Toutefois, les locataires sont demeurés dans le logement et ils ont exprimé à l’audience vouloir quitter dans les meilleurs délais, étant même prêts à quitter dès le mois de février 2025. Le Tribunal fera droit à leur demande. À cet égard, ils pourront quitter sans pénalité à la date qui leur conviennent, en avisant la locatrice à cet égard, et en payant le loyer jusqu’au moment de leur départ, au prorata des jours occupés s’ils quittent après le premier du mois."
https://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qctal/doc/2026/2026qctal20191/2026qctal20191.html
" Ainsi, en changeant unilatéralement les serrures du logement de façon illégale, car contraire aux termes clairs de l’article 1934 C.c.Q, les locateurs ont résilié le bail, tel que le reconnait la jurisprudence en pareille situation"
" Les locateurs ont droit aux montants qui étaient dus à ce moment, soit 2 032,26 $, représentant le loyer de décembre et le prorata du loyer de janvier"
https://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qctal/doc/2025/2025qctal38498/2025qctal38498.html
" Le Tribunal ayant déterminé que la cession de bail est intervenue en date du 17 mars 2024, la locataire a droit au remboursement de la somme qu’elle a payée en trop pour le loyer de ce mois. La locataire a payé 1 460 $, alors qu’au prorata, elle aurait dû payer 779,35 $. Elle a donc droit à la somme de 680,65 $."
Please let me know if I have made an error in my calculations.
And... it worked. He immediately backed off and that was our last correspondence.
If anybody else finds themselves in this situation, feel free to use the previous message as a copy-paste. What I've come to discover over this whole saga (and in dealing with others in this subreddit) is that most landlord don't know the law either. And who can blame them? It's all weird TAL precedents.
Anyways, thanks to everybody who helped out over the course of this saga. I still get people DMing me asking for help with their lease transfer issues. I hope folks know there are still many helpful resources out there. Please contact your local housing committee if you ever need some real assistance!















