# Quebec housing — the Civil Code articles themselves

**The statutory layer.** Every article below is quoted or closely paraphrased from the **actual text** of the *Civil Code of Québec* on [LégisQuébec](https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/ccq-1991) (English content, retrieved **2026-07**), cross-checked against the **TAL's own citation map** at [Rights and obligations of the lessee](https://www.tal.gouv.qc.ca/en/being-a-lessee/rights-and-obligations-of-the-lessee). Éducaloi's plain-language capsules cite no articles — this file is the missing citation layer for the rest of this skill.

Lease law lives in **Book Five (Obligations) → Title Two (Nominate Contracts) → Chapter Four: Lease**, arts **1851–1978.4**:
- **arts 1851–1891** — leases *in general* (apply to dwellings too)
- **arts 1892–1978.4** — **special rules for leases of dwellings** (Division IV)

> Retrieved 2026-07. The Code is amended regularly — **verify on LégisQuébec before relying on any of it.** This is source text, not legal advice.

## The scope articles — what counts as a "dwelling" lease

**Art. 1892** — the lease of a **room**, a **mobile home**, or **land for a mobile home** counts as the lease of a dwelling. Then the paragraph that matters most here:

> "The provisions of this section **also govern leases relating to the services, accessories and dependencies attached to a dwelling**, a room, a mobile home or land, and to services of a personal nature provided by the lessor to the lessee."

The section **does not apply** to: (1) a dwelling leased as a **vacation resort**; (2) **a dwelling in which over one-third of the total floor area is used for purposes other than residential purposes**; (3) a room in a **hotel establishment**; (4) a room in the lessor's **principal residence** (per the article's conditions).

**Art. 1893 — the dwelling rules are mandatory (public order).**

> "A clause in a lease of a dwelling which is inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the second paragraph of article 1854 or articles **1856** to 1858, 1860 to **1863**, 1865, 1866, 1868 to 1872, 1875, 1876 and 1883 **is without effect**."

That's why "void clauses" exist: a lease cannot contract around these. **1856 and 1863 are both on the list.**

## The core obligations (general lease — arts 1851–1891)

| Art. | What it says |
|---|---|
| **1851** | Lease = a contract giving the lessee **enjoyment of property for a time, in return for rent**. Term is fixed or indeterminate. |
| **1854** | The lessor must **deliver the property in a good state of repair in all respects** and provide **peaceable enjoyment** throughout. He must also **"warrant the lessee that the property may be used for the purpose for which it was leased and to maintain the property for that purpose throughout the term of the lease."** |
| **1855** | The lessee must **pay the agreed rent** and **"use the property with prudence and diligence."** |
| **1856** | **"Neither the lessor nor the lessee may change the form or destination of the leased property during the term of the lease."** |
| **1857** | The lessor may verify condition, do work, and have the property visited by a prospective lessee/acquirer — **"bound to exercise his right in a reasonable manner."** |
| **1858** | Lessor warrants against **legal disturbances**; the lessee must notify him first. |
| **1859** | Lessor generally **not** liable for a third person's disturbance — **but may be** where that third person is **another lessee** of the property. |
| **1860** | The lessee must **not disturb the normal enjoyment of the other lessees**, and answers for people he allows access. |
| **1861** | A lessee disturbed by another lessee may get a **rent reduction or resiliation**, if he notified the common lessor and it persists — plus **damages**, unless the lessor proves he acted with prudence and diligence. |
| **1862** | The lessee answers for **loss to the property** unless he proves it wasn't his fault (or that of people he allowed access). For fire, he's liable only if the **fire is proved due to his fault**. |
| **1864** | The lessor makes **all necessary repairs except minor maintenance repairs**, which fall to the lessee — **unless they result from the age of the property or superior force**. |
| **1865** | The lessee must **allow urgent and necessary repairs**. The lessor may require him to vacate temporarily — but **if the repairs are not urgent he must first get the court's authorization**, which fixes protective conditions. |
| **1866** | A lessee aware of a **serious defect or deterioration** must inform the lessor **within a reasonable time**. |
| **1890** | At the end, the lessee hands the property back **in the condition received**, but is **not liable for aging, fair wear and tear, or superior force**. Condition may be established by a **description or photographs**; **if it wasn't, the lessee is presumed to have received it in good condition.** |
| **1891** | At the end, the lessee removes **constructions, works or plantations** he made; if removal would damage the property, the lessor may keep them by paying their value, or compel removal and restoration. |

### ★ Art. 1863 — the remedies article (what a landlord can actually get)

> "The nonperformance of an obligation by one of the parties entitles the other party to apply for, **in addition to damages, specific performance** of the obligation in cases which admit of it. He may apply for the **resiliation of the lease where the nonperformance causes serious injury to him** or, in the case of the lease of an immovable, **to the other occupants**. The nonperformance also entitles the lessee to apply for a **reduction of rent**…"

Three things follow: **specific performance** (an order to comply) is the primary remedy; **resiliation requires serious injury**; and the lessee's mirror remedy is a **rent reduction**.

## Dwelling-specific articles (Division IV)

| Art. | What it says |
|---|---|
| **1911** | The lessor delivers the dwelling **in clean condition**; the lessee **keeps it so**. After the lessor's work, he restores it to clean condition. |
| **1912** | Breach of a **legal obligation on safety and sanitation** of dwellings — or of **minimum legal requirements for maintenance, habitability, safety and sanitation** — gives rise to **the same remedies as a breach of the lease**. (This is the hook for municipal by-laws.) |
| **1913** | **"The lessor may not offer for rent or deliver a dwelling that is unfit for habitation."** Unfit = **"in such a condition as to be a serious danger to the health or safety of its occupants or the public,"** or so declared by a court/competent authority. |
| **1930** | Once the **lessee** gives notice of non-renewal or resiliation, he must allow **visits and the posting of signs**. |
| **1934** | **No lock or device restricting access may be installed or changed without the consent of *both* parties.** The court may order access. |
| **1978** | At the end of the lease, the lessee **removes all his movable effects**. |

*(The TAL also cites art. 1912 par. 1 for the tenant's duty to respect safety/sanitation laws, and arts 1890–1891 for the condition on leaving.)*

## The TAL's own summary of the lessee's obligations — with citations

Straight from the TAL page (their article map, which is why it's useful):

- Pay the agreed rent on the agreed date — **1855**
- **Use the dwelling with prudence and diligence** — **1855**
- **Not change the form or destination of the dwelling** — **1856**
- Maintain it in clean condition — **1911**
- Respect safety and sanitation laws — **1912 par. 1**
- Make the lesser maintenance repairs in certain cases — **1864**
- Allow urgent and necessary repairs — **1865**
- Allow verification, visits by a prospective acquirer/lessee, signs, and work — **1857, 1930 ff.**
- **Not change the locks** — **1934**
- Not disturb the normal enjoyment of other lessees or the lessor — **1860**
- Inform the lessor of a serious defect or deterioration — **1866**
- At the end: remove movable effects (**1978**) and leave it in the condition received (**1890, 1891**)

## ★ Applying this to a "you're using it as a workshop" notice

This is the article chain a change-of-use dispute actually runs on. Laid out as **what the Code says**, not as advice on any particular case:

1. **Is the garage even covered by the dwelling rules?** **Art. 1892 para. 2** says the dwelling section **also governs leases relating to the "services, accessories and dependencies attached to a dwelling."** A garage leased together with the dwelling reads naturally as an **accessory or dependency** — which would put it inside the residential regime (and its protections), not outside it.
2. **The duty itself is art. 1856** — *"Neither the lessor nor the lessee may change the form or destination of the leased property."* Note it binds **both parties**, and per **art. 1893** a lease clause **cannot override it** in either direction.
3. **What is the "destination"?** The Code doesn't define it. **Art. 1854** obliges the lessor to warrant the property "may be used for **the purpose for which it was leased**" — so the destination is fixed by **what the lease actually leased the space for**, which makes the lease's own wording central.
4. **What could a landlord actually obtain?** Per **art. 1863**: **specific performance** (an order to comply) plus damages; **resiliation only if the nonperformance causes *serious injury*** to him or **to the other occupants**. A demand letter is not a remedy — **only the TAL can grant one**, and the TAL can order compliance or grant time to comply instead of terminating.
5. **The 1/3 exclusion cuts the other way.** **Art. 1892(2)** removes a lease from the dwelling rules where **over one-third of the total floor area is used for non-residential purposes** — a scope test about the *dwelling's* floor area, not a licence to reclassify a garage.

**What the Code does *not* settle** — and I won't pretend otherwise: whether **personal, non-commercial hobby use** of a garage amounts to changing its **destination**, where the line sits between "storing personal effects" and "operating an atelier," and what counts as **serious injury** under 1863. Those turn on **TAL case law and the specific lease wording**. That's the question for a *comité logement* or a lawyer — and now you know the exact articles to put to them.

## Where to read the real thing

- **[LégisQuébec — CCQ](https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cs/ccq-1991)** — the official consolidated text (toggle FR/EN).
- **[CanLII](https://www.canlii.org/en/qc/)** — the Code plus TAL and court decisions interpreting it.
- **[TAL](https://www.tal.gouv.qc.ca/en/being-a-lessee/rights-and-obligations-of-the-lessee)** — their obligation/citation map.
- See **[[quebec-civil-code]]** for how the Code is structured and how to navigate/cite it generally.