Renoviction and North Shore Plex: What Loi 31 Actually Changes for Owners

The term "renoviction" entered the public debate because some landlords were using renovation notices as a pretext to evict tenants and re-let at market rates. Quebec's response: Loi 31, in effect since February 21, 2024, reversed the burden of proof. Today it is the landlord — not the tenant — who must prove that the work genuinely requires the unit to be vacated. Here's what it means for a North Shore plex owner who genuinely needs to renovate.

Opinion column by the ImmoMulti Team. Facts are sourced; opinions are our own.

Loi 31: The Burden of Proof Reversed onto the Landlord

Before Loi 31, the onus was on the tenant to prove that the landlord was acting in bad faith when invoking major renovations to evict them. This was often difficult to demonstrate, and some landlords took advantage of that asymmetry. Since February 21, 2024, the dynamic has completely flipped.

Now it is the landlord who must demonstrate to the Rental Housing Tribunal (TAL) that:

• The planned work is truly major and necessary for the building
• It is technically impossible or unreasonably dangerous to carry it out while the tenant occupies the unit
• The work cannot reasonably be completed within a timeframe compatible with tenant occupancy

A vague reference to "major renovations" is no longer sufficient. The landlord must present concrete documentary evidence: detailed quotes, engineer or architect reports, building inspection reports, permit applications. The bar is deliberately high. Combined with the broader context of housing policies bearing down on the small plex landlord, Loi 31 makes genuine major renovation projects significantly more complex to plan.

At the same time, the law also abolished the automatic right to sublet that previously existed for tenants, which is a legitimate balance for landlords — but that doesn't change the burden of proof for renovictions.

Indemnities: 3 to 24 Months Depending on Tenant Seniority

Even where a renoviction is legally valid — meaning the landlord succeeds in demonstrating to the TAL that the work requires vacancy — the owner must pay a substantial indemnity to the departing tenant. The scale is set by law and varies based on how long the tenant has occupied the unit:

These are statutory minimums. The TAL can order higher amounts if relocation is particularly difficult for the tenant — for example, if they are elderly, have a disability, or if the local market makes it exceptionally hard to find equivalent housing. For a plex where rents are at $1,200 per month and the tenant has lived there for 20 years: that's a minimum $21,600 indemnity, per unit.

This cost is on top of the work itself, legal fees, delays, and the risk that the TAL rejects the application entirely. To understand how deferred maintenance affects the sale price of a plex, the math is often unfavorable to the owner who wants to renovate to sell at a higher price.

The Moratorium Until June 6, 2027

On top of Loi 31's general requirements, Quebec put in place a specific moratorium on renovictions, in effect until June 6, 2027. During this period, the TAL applies particularly strict scrutiny to all eviction notices for major renovations. Even legitimate applications face heightened examination of the evidence and the owner's good faith.

The moratorium was put in place because Quebec recognized that the housing crisis made any eviction — even a legitimate one — particularly damaging for affected tenants. The government wanted to give itself time to monitor the effects of Loi 31 before lifting this additional layer of protection.

Practical implication for a North Shore plex owner: between now and June 2027, any renoviction plan — even one with solid legal grounds — will face an extra layer of scrutiny at the TAL. Delays will be longer, costs higher, and the outcome more uncertain than in a "normal" regulatory environment.

Renovation Calculator — Income PropertyEstimate the real cost of renovating your plex before deciding whether to proceed or sell

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🎭 Devil's Advocate: Is Renoviction Ever Legitimate?

Yes, clearly — and it's important to say so. The goal of Loi 31 was to prevent abusive renovictions, not to prevent all major renovation projects. A landlord who genuinely needs to replace a failing electrical system, repair a crumbling foundation, or gut a fire-damaged unit has a real and legitimate need to vacate the space. The law doesn't deny that need — it requires proof of it.

For a truly legitimate renovation project, with proper documentation — a structural engineer's report, detailed quotes, a building permit, a realistic timeline — a genuine application to the TAL is not impossible. It is more complex, more expensive, and longer than it used to be. But it is not forbidden. There is a real difference between an owner who wants to modernize a dilapidated building and one who invokes "renovations" to get rid of a long-term tenant and re-let at triple the rate.

The problem — and the legitimate frustration of many small plex owners — is that the law applies uniformly, without distinguishing well-intentioned owners from opportunists. A landlord dealing with the habitability and maintenance burden that now falls entirely on landlords is now caught in a double bind: you must maintain, but evicting to renovate has become nearly impossible.

The Verdict: Renovate with Tenants in Place, or Sell

Our practical conclusion: for the vast majority of North Shore plex owners, attempting a renoviction in 2026 is not a viable strategy. The proof required, the mandatory indemnities, the moratorium until 2027 and the risk of TAL rejection combine to make this path financially and legally risky — unless you have an exceptional case with rock-solid documentation.

The realistic options are:

• Renovate with tenants in place: certain work can be done without requiring tenants to vacate. It's less convenient, often more expensive, but legally simpler. The distinction between renoviction and repossession for owner-occupancy is worth reviewing, as these are two different regimes.
• Wait for natural turnover: when a tenant voluntarily leaves, take the opportunity to renovate the unit. Less dramatic, but legally risk-free.
• Sell the building as-is: if the renovation is large-scale and cannot wait, selling to a buyer who will continue the same use — or to a direct buyer like ImmoMulti — gets you immediate liquidity without having to navigate the TAL process.

To fully understand the financial impact of deferred maintenance on your building's value, read our analysis of how deferred maintenance affects plex sale price. And if owner-occupancy repossession is also on your radar, our guide on repossession on the North Shore in 2026 covers that separate regime.