First of July, a new tenant and a lease break

The first of July is fast approaching. Do you have a new tenant who must take possession of your apartment on July 1st, 2019 ? He calls you and tells you that he will not rent it anymore ? What are your recourses ?

If a formal lease has been signed, then the new tenant is required to respect it and you can claim all the rent for the months during which the apartment remained vacant. Warning! However, to do so, you must prove that you have taken all reasonable means to rent the apartment(classified ads, Kijiji ads, newspaper publication, Facebook post, etc.). Indeed, the Civil Code of Quebec requires that a person minimize its damages by taking all reasonable measures to reduce its loss of income. This is an obligation of means.

If no formal lease has been signed and your agreement was only verbal, you have the same rights, but these will be more difficult to prove before a judge.