On October 17, 2025, the Ombudsperson, Marc-André Dowd, sent a letter to the Minister Responsible for Housing, Sonia Bélanger. In this letter, he comments on three draft regulations respecting residential leases:
- The draft Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the criteria for the fixing of rent
- The draft Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting the mandatory content of a notice of modification of the lease of a dwelling
- The draft Regulation to amend the Regulation respecting mandatory lease forms and the particulars of the notice to a new lessee
A previous version of the first draft regulation provided for the suppression of a criterion specific to the calculation of increases in the costs of services of a personal nature – meals, nursing, etc. – provided to the lessee of a dwelling situated in a private seniors’ residence (PSR). To this effect the Protecteur du citoyen is happy to find that the concerns it expressed have been heard. In the current version of the draft regulation, the criterion has been reintroduced. The Protecteur du citoyen thus will monitor the impacts of the use of this criterion on control of the prices of services provided in PSRs, as provided in the follow-up of its 2016 special report.
Moreover, according to the Protecteur du citoyen, a passage of the draft regulation is worth clarifying. It proposes to make a change to avoid any confusion at the time the applications to fix or adjust the rent are analyzed.
Concerning the other two draft regulations, the Protecteur du citoyen is satisfied with the advances they propose. They will enable lessees to better understand the increase in their rents. They will also be better protected and informed, especially those residing in a PSR. Lessors will also have access to more information on their rights and obligations.
Letter about three draft regulations respecting residential rents (PDF, 139 KiB, in French only)
