Housing · Canada
Québec lease assignment vs sublet after the 2024 TAL changes: a money guide
Québec tenants still forward 2019 assignment advice: the lessor needs a serious reason to refuse, so you can hand a below-market lease to a friend. For notices from 21 February 2024, a lessor may also refuse for a reason other than a serious one — and the lease then ends on the assignment date you named. That is a different money outcome. You may not get to transfer the cheap rent. You can still get out without paying the rest of the term.
This is a date-aware TAL reading framed as early-exit savings. It is not legal advice.
Disclosure: There is no natural affiliate product in a TAL assignment explainer. Saving Optimizer does not claim TAL, clinic, or landlord-software partnerships. Use official forms and, if needed, a licensed advisor.
Key takeaways
- Assignment: you leave if it completes. Sublet: you stay on the hook. Do not charge more rent or a “lease fee.”
- Notices from 21 February 2024: 15 days to reply with reasons, or deemed consent (TAL-828A / assignment pages).
- Serious refusal → lease continues. Other refusal → lease resiliated on the date in your notice.
- Below-market sitting rents (Q2 2026 Montréal paid 2-bed $1,360 vs ask $1,820) change lessor incentives.
- Paying out a remaining term is the expensive path. A clean notice is the cheap one even if they refuse the person.
Assignment vs sublet: who stays on the hook
Assignment replaces you on the lease. Sublet is temporary; you remain the lessee if the subtenant stops paying or damages the dwelling. Choose assignment when you are not coming back. Choose sublet when you are — a semester away, a work trip — and you trust the person. Informal “my cousin will stay” with no notice is how you stay on the hook and still surprise the lessor.
What changed in February 2024 for assignment refusals
Bill 31 (2024, chapter 2) amended the Civil Code so a lessor can terminate the lease after a notice of assignment, and so a lessee cannot require consideration for a transfer or sublet above the rent they pay. TAL’s English assignment page and the “Response to a notice of assignment — notice given as from February 21, 2024” form state the split:
- Refuse for a serious reason (for example, inability to pay, problematic behaviour) → the lease continues.
- Refuse for a reason other than a serious one → the lease is resiliated on the date of assignment in the lessee’s notice.
Older posts that say “they cannot refuse without a serious reason” are describing the pre-21 February 2024 notice world. Do not follow them.
Notice forms and the 15-day landlord response window
Give notice of intention to assign with the name and address of the intended assignee and the intended date. TAL suggests their notice template. The lessor has 15 days from receipt to reply with reasons; otherwise they are deemed to have accepted. Use a method that proves receipt. Put the assignee’s complete file beside the notice so a “serious reason” fight, if it happens, is about facts.
When refusal that is not “serious” can end your lease
This is the 2024 money lever. If the lessor does not want this assignee but also does not have a serious reason — they simply want the dwelling back to re-rent at asking — they can refuse on that basis and you still leave on your date. You do not get to transfer the cheap lease. You also do not pay six more months of empty rent. Name a realistic date. If you need the unit through the month you are moving, do not put yesterday on the form.
How below-market rents change landlord incentives
StatCan Q2 2026 (Daily, 9 Sep 2026): Montréal asking two-bed $1,820, paid sitting $1,360. A lessor who can lawfully end the lease and list at asking has a reason to refuse assignment without calling it “serious.” That is the design. Your counter is still a clean notice and a date. If you wanted to sell the cheap rent to a friend, 2024 reduced that path. If you wanted to leave without paying the term, 2024 still offers an exit — just not the transfer you read about in 2019.
Cost comparison: assignment, sublet, or paying out the term
| Path | What you likely pay |
|---|---|
| Pay the empty term | $6,800 plus the new city’s rent |
| Assignment accepted | $0 after the date (you leave the lease) |
| Refused, not “serious” | Rent through the date you named — then done |
| Sublet, then they vanish | You are still the lessee |
Practical checklist and official form links
- Decide assign vs sublet (are you coming back?).
- Download TAL notice of assignment / sublet and the 2024 response form (TAL-828A) so you know what they will tick.
- Vet the person. Do not charge them extra rent or a transfer fee.
- Serve the notice with name, address, date. Prove receipt. Start the 15-day count.
- If deemed consent or accepted: keys, utilities, no leftover “deposit” fight (you generally should not have given one — 1904).
- If refused: read whether they claimed a serious reason. Clinic or TAL if you disagree. If they claimed another reason, calendar the end date.
Bookmark TAL’s assignment and sublet page and the summary-decisions page. English Canada assignment advice (including our Ontario guide) does not apply on this side of the river.
Sources & date stamps
- TAL, Assignment of a lease or subleasing — 15-day reply; serious vs other refusal; notices from 21 February 2024. Used 20 Sep 2026.
- TAL-828A-E (2024-05) — Response to a notice of assignment of lease.
- Bill 31 (2024, chapter 2) — lessor may terminate after assignment notice; no consideration / no sublet above the rent paid.
- Statistics Canada, The Daily, 9 Sep 2026 — Montréal Q2 2026 asking 2-bed $1,820; paid $1,360.
Frequently asked questions
What changed for Québec lease assignments in February 2024?
For notices given from 21 February 2024, a lessor may refuse assignment for a serious reason (lease continues) or for a reason other than a serious one (lease is resiliated on the assignment date in your notice). They have 15 days to give reasons or they are deemed to have consented. Pre-21 February 2024 notices followed the older “serious reason only” refusal story.
Does assignment take me off the hook?
Yes, if it completes: the assignee takes the lease. A sublet leaves you responsible. Do not treat a silent Facebook roommate as either.
Can I charge the next person a fee or a higher rent?
Bill 31 / Civil Code changes prohibit requiring consideration for transferring a lease and prohibit subleasing for more than the rent you pay. This is not a ticket market.
What if the lessor ignores my notice?
Fifteen days after they receive it, silence is deemed consent. Use TAL notice forms so the date and contents are clean. Confirm on tal.gouv.qc.ca.
Is this legal advice?
No. Use TAL forms and, if needed, a clinic or lawyer. Outcomes depend on dates and what you wrote.