Terminate your Lease as a Tenant in Situation of Sexual Violence, Spousal Violence or Violence towards a Child

As a tenant, you can ask to terminate your lease, namely to be terminated, if your safety or the safety of a child living with you is threatened, if:

• you have been assaulted by your intimate partner;
• you have been sexually assaulted, regardless of who is the perpetrator;
• a child living in the dwelling covered by the lease has been victim of violence.

You can terminate your lease even if:

• you never reported a crime (filed a complaint) to the police;
• it’s a sublease. You have the right to terminate a sublease or a lease, because it’s the same conditions.

If you rent but never signed a lease, you can leave your apartment without a need to fill in application forms.

As a tenant, if you have general questions concerning the termination of a lease, see the page Termination of a lease of the Tribunal administratif du logement website.

To get a termination, you must have signed your lease and follow these 3 steps.

1^st step: Have an attestation from a public officer

With this attestation, a public servant or a public officer designated by the ministère de la Justice recognized that terminate your lease is necessary for your safety or the safety of a child living with you.

For example, a prosecuting attorney of the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP), acting as a public officer, can issue the attestation. The prosecuting attorney is a lawyer working for the DPCP.

To obtain this attestation, you need 3 documents.

1) You must fill the form Request for an attestation for the purpose of resiliating a lease on grounds of sexual violence, spousal violence or violence towards a child living in the dwelling covered bye the lease. (PDF 764 Kb)

If needed, you can get a copy of this form at one of these locations:

• a police station;
• a point of service of the DPCP (in French only);
• a Crime Victims Assistance Centre (CAVAC);
• a Quebec Coalition of Sexual Assault Help Centers (RQCALACS);
• a Women’s Shelter for women victim of spousal violence (in French only);  
• an institution in the health and social services network (hospitals, Youth centers, etc.).

The “Oath or Solemn Affirmation” section of the form must be completed and signed by you and a commissioner for oaths. Here us the list of individuals authorized to administer the oath:

• Commissioner for oaths;
  • Search for a commissioner for oaths
• Clerks if a court of justice, assistant clerks, and justices of the peace;
  • Find the courthouse you need to go to
• Mayors, municipal councilors, and clerks or treasurers of a municipality;
• Lawyers and notaries

2) You need to give a copy of your lease.

3) You need to give one of these 2 following documents:

• a copy of your statement to the police, or the police service that handled your case (ex: Sûreté du Québec);
• a document (ex: a letter) supporting your request from a person related to you or the child living with you.

This person could be:

• your physician;
• another health professional that helped you or the child living with you (psychologist, psychiatrist, pediatrician);
• a person working for an institution in the health and social services network (hospitals, Youth centers, etc.);
• a professional from a victim service organization: CAVAC, CALACS, Women’s Shelter.

To have this attestation, send these 3 documents to the nearest DPCP’S point of service (in French only) of your home.

A prosecuting attorney will respond your request quickly.

He could ask to meet you. The prosecuting attorney could also communicate with a person named in your request or a professional in contact with you to get more information.

If the decision rendered is a refusal, the prosecuting attorney will send you a ‘’Attestation Refusal ‘’. You can ask questions about this refusal if you want to.

You live in Montreal and you are victim of spousal violence?

You can also send your attestation to the Montreal’s municipal court at:

If you have any question, you can communicate with the DPCP’s point of service or the Municipal court to talk with a public officer.

Public officers designated (in French only) (PDF 632 Kb)

2^nd step: Fill a Notice for the purpose of resiliating a lease

Once you received an Attestation from a public servant, fill theNotice of termination of a lease because of spousal violence, sexual violence or violence towards a child.

If you can’t get the Form online, you can have it at an office of the Tribunal administratif du logement.

If needed, consult the Tribunal administratif du logement to get more information on this notice.

3^rd step: Giving the Attestation and the Notice to your landlord

Send to your landlord:

• the Notice of termination of a lease because of spousal violence, sexual violence or violence
• the Attestation of the public officer.

Use a method of transmission that allows you to receive proof of receipt of these 2 documents by the owner.

Termination of a lease takes effect 2 months after the Notice of termination is sent to your landlord.

If the lease is for an indeterminate term or a term of less than 12 months, the termination takes effect one month after the notice is sent.

The delay can take less than one month if the apartment is leased back, or if the parties (landlord, signatory) agree on a date.

You may obtain up to 2 months rental and moving fees from the Direction de l’Indemnisation des victimes d’actes criminels (IVAC) following your request to terminate your lease because of sexual violence, spousal violence or violence towards a child living in the dwelling covered by the lease.

Communicate with the IVAC to know if you are eligible to the compensations and the amount you could obtain.

You are entitled to emergency financial assistance if you are the victim of sexual or spousal violence.

This assistance will allow you:

• to quickly leave a dangerous environment if your safety, or the safety of your dependents, is threatened;
• to obtain medical care related to the violence suffered;

To know how to obtain emergency financial assistance