If a lease for a property is well regulated with a pre-determined form, it is quite different for a lease of premises rented for recreational purposes.
In Quebec, for over 50 years, the form published by the Rental Board is mandatory for any lease agreement between the landlord and the tenant of a residential property. What about the lease of a cottage?
Thus, a tenant, after renting a cottage, contacts the Rental Board* to obtain authorization to deposit her rent there, following a claim for punitive damages against the landlord. During their first meeting, the tenant wanted to temporarily rent the cottage, located in Sainte-Marguerite-du-Lac-Masson, for a period of two weeks. The landlord demanded that she rent it for a one-month period, specifying in writing in the lease agreement that the usage was only for recreational purposes. After the first month has passed, two leases are signed for two additional one-month periods, under the same conditions.
During the first hearing before the Board, the landlord raises a "preliminary objection" stating that the administrative tribunal, being the Board, does not have jurisdiction to hear a case concerning a lease for recreational purposes.
The judge recalls that the Court of Appeal has defined that "the concept of recreation notably includes that of a stay for rest, vacation, or recreation in the countryside or a place of pleasure. It refers to a place where one sporadically or repeatedly resides for recreational purposes (even for a long period of time), but which does not constitute the tenant's domicile or habitual residence."
Considering the explanations of the landlord and his requirements, and since the tenant was fully aware that the rental was only temporary and that she could be evicted at the end of each rental period, the judge declares that the Board does not have jurisdiction to hear the case and rules in favor of the landlord. The judge also emphasizes that the landlord's actions, refusing to allow the tenant to bring her furniture and perform renovations, also support the qualification of a recreational lease.
If a lease for a residential property is well regulated with a predetermined form, it is quite different for a lease of premises rented for recreational purposes. Indeed, the latter is not subject to any of the special rules of a residential lease set out in the Civil Code of Quebec. Since the signing of a cottage lease is the prelude to a vacation, it is normal that anything goes, or almost anything, because no rules exist.
* Rental Board 246208 28 20151116 G and 1872873
