Temporary occupation of public land

The notion of “temporary occupation” refers to a use of public land that lasts for less than 12 months. Enterprises and industries must first ensure that they are in compliance with current rules in order to obtain a right of temporary occupation.

A temporary occupation licence allows you to occupy public land for a period of less than 12 months. For example, it would allow you to:

• install a mobile home
• temporarily store materials or machinery
• organize an activity
• install measurement or data collection devices

To obtain a temporary occupation licence, you must submit an application to use public land (in French only) (PDF 284 Kb).

The rent payable for temporary occupation of a lot is $50 per month (full month or part of a month), with a minimum cost of $172.46 (including GST and QST). The administration fee for filing an application is $150.62 (including GST and QST) and $150.62 (including GST and QST) for issuing the permit.

If you are a municipality or a non-profit organization, the rent is $172.46 (including GST and QST) for the duration of the permit.

The holder of an temporary occupation licence must comply with the following conditions:

• You cannot build a permanent structure.
• You cannot place a non-functional vehicle on the lot.

The temporary occupation licence entitles you to use public land for a pre-determined period. 

In exchange, you undertake to comply with the following rules, in addition to all current legislation, regulations and by-laws:

• The site may be used solely for the purposes stated on the licence.
• Where applicable, you must obtain all the permits, licences and other authorizations required for your project.
• Upon the expiry of the temporary occupation licence, you must restore the site to its former condition by:
  • removing garbage;
  • removing all buildings, facilities and works from the site;
  • levelling the site if fill or excavation work was carried out.

Please note that other conditions may apply, depending on the type of occupation.