Modifying a public land lease

To modify, cancel or make any other change to a public land lease, you must comply with certain conditions.

If you wish to terminate the renewal of your lease, you must send a written notice of non-renewal within 30 days of receiving the payment notice for the rent, which is sent to you at least 30 days before the lease is due to be renewed.

What to do

If you wish to cancel your lease, you must send a written notice.  If the lease is managed by a delegate RCM, you must contact the RCM concerned directly. See the list of delegate RCMs for contact information.

In both cases, you must comply with the following rules:

1. Send a written notice of non-renewal or cancellation of the lease.
2. Pay all the amounts owing.
3. Remove all constructions and improvements from the site.
4. Restore the site to its proper condition.
5. Complete and sign the release declaration form that you will receive from the government after sending your notice of non-renewal or cancellation.
6. Send your declaration form, by email or by mail, to the coordinates below.

If you have taken out a mortgage on an immovable built on leased public land, and you have sent the mortgage creditor’s contact information to the lease management organization, the creditor will receive a copy of the notice of non-renewal or cancellation.

If the lessee dies, you may ask for the lease to be cancelled if you are the heir or liquidator of the estate. In this case, you must:

• Comply with the rules governing cancellation of a lease as if you were the lessee.
• Clear all signs of occupation from the lot.
• Pay any rent that is owing.
• Continue to pay the rent until the lot has been cleared.

You may also apply for a lease transfer. Documents to prove that you are the heir or liquidator of the estate may be required with the notice of cancellation or transfer application.

The following documents may be required:

• Declaration of transmission of an immovable through succession
• A copy of the will
• A copy of the death certificate
• The deed of sale

A new lease will then be signed with the new lessee, and the rent will be reviewed in accordance with the rules in force at the time.

In case of bankruptcy, you must inform the receiver that you have a lease for public land. An application to cancel the lease must be made in order to terminate your lease, and you must comply with the requirements applicable to bankruptcy.

The rent and interest that you owe to the lease management organization will be paid in accordance with the provisions of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act . If a written notice of cancellation is not sent, and if the rent is not paid, the lease management organization may take steps to cancel or ensure non-renewal of the lease.

If the receiver sells the buildings that have been erected on the leased lot, the lease management organization will transfer the rights to the purchaser. Before the lease is transferred, however, the rent must be paid for the months following the date on which the lessee declared bankruptcy. The lease management organization may also transfer the lease to the receiver for the period during which he or she is responsible for administering the lessee’s property. In both cases, a new lease will be signed, and the rent will be reviewed in accordance with the regulations in force at the time.

Documents to prove the receiver’s quality and the transfer of your property may be required, including:

• A copy of the receiver’s notice of appointment
• A copy of the property transfer filing
• A copy of the notice of sale by court order

As the lessee, you can take out a mortgage on the buildings erected on your public lot. You are responsible for informing the lease management organization that a mortgage has been taken out or closed, and you must provide contact information for the mortgage creditor. The gouvernement du Québec will not check the public registers to see whether or not a mortgage has been taken out.

If your creditor exercises its recourses on the immovables during the term of the lease, the management organization will transfer the lease to the creditor or purchaser of the buildings, in accordance with the rules governing lease transfers.

Documents may be required to prove the mortgage creditor’s standing, including:

• A copy of the prior notice to exercise the recourse
• A copy of the notice of sale by court order
• A copy of the deed of sale 

If you have leased a public land vacation lot, you can, exceptionally, apply to relocate the lease in either of the following two situations:

• Your lease does not comply with the current legislation and regulations.
• Your lot is not safe (e.g. landslide, flooding, etc.).

To do this, you must complete an application to use public land  (in French only) and check the box indicating that you wish to modify a current right.

The conversion of a rough forest shelter lease to a private vacation lease is temporarily suspended. 

You must contact us by e-mail or by post as quickly as possible to inform us of your new address.

Do not forget to include one of the following numbers in your correspondence:

• Customer number (e.g. 12345678-AA)
• Transaction or file number (e.g. 123456-00-000).

To modify your public land lease, you must complete an application form to use public land (PDF 248 Kb) (in French only).

If your lease is managed by a delegate RCM, you must use the modification application form provided by it (see the list of delegate RCMs for information on where to send the form).

The following situations may require a modification to the lease:

• An expansion or reduction of the lot size
• A change of intended use
• The addition of one or more clauses

To be eligible, the lease modification must comply with the government’s various plans and with local land use planning by-laws.

A lease modification require a rent review, especially where it involves a change of lot size or a change of use.

If your application is accepted, a new lease will be issued and you must pay the following amounts:

• An administrative fee for issuing the lease of $446.10 (including GST and QST)
• The first year’s rent

The unused portion of rent already paid for your former lease will be credited to your account.

Example: Your former lease covers the period from January 1 to December 31, and you have already paid the rent for the full year. When your application for a modification was accepted, a new lease was issued on July 1. This means you will obtain a credit for your new lease equivalent to the six unused months.

If you wish to obtain a lease for an additional lot, over and above your main public land lot, you must submit an application to use public land (PDF 248 Kb) (in French only).

For your application to be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:

• You are already leasing a lot on public land.
• The additional area requested must not exceed 1,000 m², which is the maximum authorized size for an additional lot.
• The additional lot must not be adjacent to the main lot.

The following leasing conditions apply to all additional lots:

Construction

You cannot build a dwelling on an additional lot. You may, however, install an uninhabitable building such as a garage or shed.

Rent

The annual rent for an additional lot is equal to 6% of its market value, and cannot be less than $128. The minimum rent is adjusted on April 1 of each year, based on the variation in the consumer price index (CPI).

Sale

Sites leased as additional lots cannot be sold.

For additional information, please see the guidelines for the sale of lands in the domain of the State for vacation, principal residence and other personal uses (PDF 383 Kb) (in French only).