June 4, 2022 — Bill 96 (An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec) was adopted by the National Assembly of Québec on May 24, 2022 (Vote: 79 in favor, 29 against, 0 abstentions) and assented to on June 1, 2022. This bill amends around twenty laws and regulations, including the Civil Code of Québec. It represents a major reform of the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101), which was originally enacted in 1977. Bill 96 introduces various legislative changes across several sectors of activity, including those relating to the Québec State and society as a whole. Its purpose is to protect and promote the French language.
New Version of article 1060
At the heart of this linguistic reform lies divided co-ownership, as article 1060 of the Civil Code of Québec now reads as follows:
«The declaration and any amendments to the act constituting the co-ownership or the description of the fractions are filed exclusively in French at the Land Registry Office. The declaration is registered in the land register under the registration numbers of the common portions and the private portions. The amendments are registered under the registration number of the common portions only, unless they directly affect a private portion. However, amendments to the by-laws of the immovable must be made expressly, in minutes or in a resolution in writing of the co-owners, and it is sufficient for such amendments to be filed in the register held by the syndicate in accordance with article 1070. The amendments must be made exclusively in French.modifications »
The changes to the statutory text are highlighted in yellow.
However, it remains permissible to present to the land registry office an act that amends or corrects a declaration of co-ownership originally drafted in English and published before the sanction of Bill 96 (June 1, 2022). For more details on this amendment, readers are invited to consult CondoLegal’s commentary on article 1060.
Preliminary contract and Information Note (in French)
Article 55.1 of the Charter of the French Language now provides that the preliminary contract and the information note must be written in French, unless the parties have expressly chosen to contract in another language. This express intent must appear in a clear clause within the contract and related documents. The preliminary contract is the pre-contract by which the builder or developer of a building undertakes to sell, to a natural person acquiring it for their own occupation, a residential immovable either built or to be built. It specifies, among other things, the price and conditions under which the sale will take place. The information note complements the preliminary contract. It must be provided by the builder or developer to the buyer when the sale concerns a fraction of a divided co-ownership in a residential building.
Register and co-ownership documents
The law provides that the syndicate must keep a register available to the co-owners and communicate various documents to them in the course of managing the co-ownership (for example, notices convening meetings of co-owners). Article 1070.1.1, introduced into the Civil Code of Québec by Bill 96, now stipulates that the documents forming part of the register and those sent to co-owners must be written in French. This new provision, reproduced below, thus requires every syndicate of co-owners to use the French language in the administration of a co-ownership:
1070.1.1. The register and documents kept at the disposal of the co-owners, as well as any document drawn up by the syndicate for a co-owner, must be drawn up in French.
The Office québécois de la langue française sees to the application of the first paragraph as if it were a provision of the Charter of the French language (chapter C-11).
Penal Sanctions
À la suite de l’adoption de la Loi sur la langue officielle et commune du Québec, le français, les sanctions pénales pour une infraction à celle-ci seront revues à la hausse. Les amendes en cas de violation de la Loi se situent maintenant entre 700 $ et 7 000 $ pour les personnes physiques et entre 3 000 $ et 30 000 $ pour les personnes morales. Les montants minimal et maximal de ces amendes prévus sont portés au double pour une première récidive et au triple pour toute récidive additionnelle. Des amendes supplémentaires s’appliqueront pour chaque journée où l’infraction se poursuit. En outre, les dirigeants et administrateurs d’une personne morale ou d’un autre groupement (quelle qu’en soit la forme juridique) verront leurs amendes doublées par rapport au montant visant les particuliers.
Following the adoption of the Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, penal sanctions for infractions have been increased. Fines now range between $700 and $7,000 for natural persons and between $3,000 and $30,000 for legal persons. The minimum and maximum fines are doubled for a first repeat offence and tripled for any subsequent offence. Additional daily fines apply for each day the offence continues. Moreover, the officers and directors of a legal person or any other type of organization (regardless of its legal form) face fines that are double those applicable to individuals.
Civil Sanctions
Various civil sanctions are also provided for under the Act. For example, in the case of an adhesion contract or a consumer contract, any clause not written in French will be deemed incomprehensible, unless the contract was drafted in another language at the express request of the adhering party.
Montreal, June 4, 2022
