Civil Code of Québec, 1991

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Section 2711 is repealed.

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If a hypothec charges a claim against a third person and that claim is itself secured by a registered hypothec, it must be published by registration; the creditor must also give the debtor of the hypothecated claim a copy of a certified statement of registration.

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Either the creditor or the grantor may bring an action to recover a hypothecated claim, but must implead the other.

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A creditor may satisfy the delivery-and-holding requirement for constituting a movable hypothec with delivery on a monetary claim by obtaining control of the claim, if the listed conditions are met.

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A creditor may obtain control of certain monetary claims held by the grantor of the hypothec or by the grantor against a third person.

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2713.3. A creditor obtains control of a monetary claim that the grantor of the hypothec has against him if the grantor has consented to the claim’s securing the performance of an obligation towards the creditor. 2015, c. 8, s. 361.

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A creditor gets control of certain monetary claims if the claim concerns a financial account credit balance or money transferred to secure an obligation, and the creditor has a control agreement with the third person and the grantor. A creditor also gets control of such a claim if the creditor becomes the account holder.

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The third person does not have to enter into a control agreement with the creditor, and does not have to confirm such an agreement, unless the grantor requests confirmation.

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This section defines “financial account” and lists who counts as a person maintaining one.

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A creditor may withdraw the grantor’s right at any time, and no notification or registration formality is required for publication purposes.

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This section sets priority rules for movable hypothecs involving monetary claims controlled by a creditor.

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A natural person who does not operate an enterprise may grant a movable hypothec with delivery effected by control of monetary claims only on claims that may be encumbered without delivery under the prescribed conditions.

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A ship-charging movable hypothec is effective only if the ship is not registered at publication; a hypothec may also cover cargo or freight of a registered ship, but is subject to other persons’ rights.

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For certain securities and security entitlements, the delivery requirement for creating a movable hypothec with delivery may be satisfied if the creditor obtains control under the referenced Act.

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A secured creditor who obtains control of securities or security entitlements gets priority over other movable hypothecs on the same property.

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A movable hypothec with delivery in favour of a securities intermediary has priority over other hypothecs on the same security entitlements.

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A movable hypothec with delivery over registered securities has priority over any movable hypothec without delivery on the same securities.

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A natural person who does not operate an enterprise may grant a movable hypothec with delivery only on certain securities or security entitlements, except where the securities are represented by a certificate.

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Unless the grantor and creditor agree otherwise, a creditor with a movable hypothec on securities or security entitlements may sell/transfer them or grant a movable hypothec on them to a third person.

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Certificates of securities do not need to be negotiable for hypothecary delivery to be validly made by physical delivery and holding.

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A hypothec is treated as floating if its effects are suspended until default and a notice of default and crystallization is served; the floating character must be expressly stated in the act.

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2716. A floating hypothec has effect only if it was published beforehand and, if immovables are charged, only if it was registered against each of them. It may not be set up against third persons except by registration of the notice of

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A condition or restriction in the constituting act about the grantor’s right to alienate, hypothecate, or dispose of charged property is effective between the parties before crystallization.

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A floating hypothec on more than one claim takes effect against the debtors when the notice of crystallization is registered, if the notice is published as required for public notice under the Code of Civil Procedure.

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2719. By crystallization, a floating hypothec has the effects of a movable or immovable hypothec with respect to whatever rights the grantor may have at that time in the charged property; if the property includes a universality, the

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A grantor’s sale of an enterprise cannot be set up against the holder of a floating hypothec; the same rule applies to a merger or reorganization.

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2721. A creditor holding a floating hypothec that charges a universality of property may, from registration of the notice of crystallization, take possession of the property to administer it in preference to any other creditor having

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If several floating hypothecs exist on the same property, crystallizing one lets the creditors holding the others register their own notice of crystallization at the registry office.

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If the debtor’s default has been remedied, the creditor must require the registrar to cancel the notice of crystallization.

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2724. Only the following claims may give rise to a legal hypothec: (1) claims of the State for sums due under fiscal laws, as well as certain other claims of the State or of legal persons established in the public interest, specially

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State and public-interest legal hypothecs may charge movable or immovable property, but they take effect only when registered.

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A legal hypothec for construction or renovation work cannot be used to charge any immovable other than the one concerned.

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A legal hypothec for people who worked on constructing or renovating an immovable continues for 30 days after the work ends, even if it was not published.

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The hypothec secures the increase in value given to an immovable by work, materials, or services supplied or prepared for the work.

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2729. The legal hypothec of a syndicate of co-owners charges the fraction of the co-owner who has defaulted for more than 30 days on payment of his common expenses, and has effect only from registration of a notice indicating the nature of

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2730. Every creditor in whose favour a judgment awarding a sum of money has been rendered by a court having jurisdiction in Québec may acquire a legal hypothec on the movable or immovable property of his debtor. He may acquire it by

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Except for certain public-interest legal hypothecs, the court may act on the owner’s application to change what property the hypothec charges, reduce the properties covered, allow substitute security, and cancel the hypothec’s registration.

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A creditor who has registered a legal hypothec may follow it on certain movable property, except property alienated in the ordinary course of an enterprise.

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A hypothec does not remove the grantor’s or possessor’s rights in the charged property, and they may dispose of it, subject to the hypothecary creditor’s rights.

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The grantor and successor must not damage the hypothecated property, except through normal use or necessity. If the creditor suffers a loss, the creditor may recover compensatory damages up to the amount of the claim, even if the claim is not yet liquid or due.

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Hypothecary creditors may go to court to have their hypothec recognized and to interrupt prescription, even if their claims are not liquid or due.

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The creditor of a movable hypothec with delivery must take whatever steps are necessary to preserve the charged property and may not use it unless the grantor permits it.

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The creditor collects the fruits and revenues of the hypothecated property.

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If an issuer redeems shares of a legal person’s capital stock for cash, the creditor who receives the price must treat it as revenue.

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The creditor is not liable for loss of hypothecated property caused by superior force, age, perishability, or normal authorized use.

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The grantor must repay the creditor for disbursements made to preserve the property.

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The grantor may not recover possession of the hypothecated property until the obligation is performed, unless the creditor abuses the property.

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An heir who has paid only their share of a debt may not demand their share of hypothecated property until the whole debt is paid, and an heir of the creditor who receives their share of the debt may not return the hypothecated property if that would prejudice an unpaid coheir.

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A creditor holding a hypothec on a claim must collect the revenues and capital falling due while the hypothec is in effect, and must give an acquittance for the sums collected.

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2744. The creditor may, in the act constituting the hypothec, authorize the grantor to collect repayments of capital or the revenues from the hypothecated claims as they fall due. 1991, c. 64, a. 2744.

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The creditor may withdraw the authorization to collect at any time, but must notify the grantor and debtor and register the withdrawal.

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While the hypothec is in effect, the creditor is not required to start judicial proceedings to recover the capital or interest of the hypothecated rights, but must tell the grantor within a reasonable time if there is any irregularity in payment of sums due on those rights.

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The creditor must remit to the grantor any amount collected beyond the debt for capital, interest, and costs.

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Creditors may use only the hypothecary rights in this chapter to enforce and realize their security.

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Creditors may not exercise hypothecary rights until the period set out in article 2758 for surrender of the property has expired.

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Earlier ranking creditors have priority over later ranking creditors when exercising hypothecary rights.

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A creditor may exercise hypothecary rights even if the property is in someone else’s hands.

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If hypothecated property later becomes subject to a usufruct, the hypothecary rights must be exercised against both the bare owner and the usufructuary at the same time, or notice must first be given to the person not initially targeted.

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A creditor whose hypothec covers more than one property may choose whether to exercise hypothecary rights against the property at the same time or one after another.

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If certain secured creditors are owed against only one of several charged items, the creditor’s hypothec is divided when multiple items are sold under judicial authority and the proceeds are enough to pay the claim.

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The holder of a floating hypothec may not exercise hypothecary rights until the notice of crystallization is registered.

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Section 2756 is repealed.

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A creditor who wants to exercise a hypothecary right must file prior notice at the registry office with proof of service on the debtor and, where applicable, the grantor and any other person targeted by the right.

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A prior notice for exercising a hypothecary right must state the debtor’s default, any right to remedy it, the claim amount, the type of hypothecary right, and a description of the charged property, and it must demand surrender of the property before the notice period ends.

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2759. A creditor holding a hypothec on securities or security entitlements within the meaning of the Act respecting the transfer of securities and the establishment of security entitlements (chapter T-11.002) may sell the securities or

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A voluntary sale or transfer of property subject to a hypothec cannot be set up against the creditor if it occurs after the creditor has filed a prior notice, unless the buyer assumes the debt with the creditor’s consent or a sufficient sum is deposited.

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A debtor, a person subject to a hypothecary right, or another interested person may stop enforcement by paying what is owed or fixing the stated omission or breach and paying the costs.

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A creditor who has given prior notice of exercising a hypothecary right cannot claim indemnity from the debtor except for interest owing and incurred costs.

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2763. Surrender is voluntary or forced. 1991, c. 64, a. 2763.

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2764. Surrender is voluntary where, before the period indicated in the prior notice expires, the person against whom the hypothecary right is exercised abandons the property to the creditor in order that the creditor may take possession of

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A court may order surrender when it finds the claim exists, the debtor is in default, surrender was refused voluntarily, and there is no valid cause for objection.

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If the creditor’s good faith or ability to administer or sell the property is challenged, the court may order the creditor to provide security.

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A court may order surrender of property before the prior notice period ends on the creditor’s application if collection is at risk or the property may rapidly decline in value.

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A creditor who has obtained surrender of the property has simple administration of it until the hypothecary right is actually exercised.

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A person subject to a hypothecary right who is not liable for the debt becomes personally liable if they do not surrender the property within the time set by the judgment.

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A person against whom a hypothecary right is exercised must surrender the movable property if the person has a prior claim based on a right to retain it, but only subject to that priority.

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A person facing enforcement of a hypothecary right may ask for the creditor to sell the property, and must surrender the property only if the creditor gives security for full payment of earlier-ranking claims.

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Real rights may revive after surrender unless they have been cancelled.

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2773. A creditor who holds a hypothec on the property of an enterprise may temporarily take possession of the hypothecated property and administer it or generally delegate its administration to a third person. The creditor or the person to

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Taking possession of property does not affect the lessee’s rights.

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Taking possession ends when the creditor’s claim is paid, the right is defeated, or a prior notice of another hypothecary right is published; bankruptcy does not end it.

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When possession ends, the creditor must render account and return the property, unless a prior notice of another hypothecary right was published.

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A creditor who has obtained payment through administration must remit any surplus to the person against whom the hypothecary right was exercised, after paying the debt, administration expenses, and possession costs.

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If the debtor has already paid half or more of the hypothec-secured obligation when the creditor’s prior notice is registered, the creditor must get court authorization before taking the property in payment, unless the person against whom the right is exercised has voluntarily surrendered the property.

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Later ranking hypothecary creditors or the debtor may require the creditor to stop taking the property in payment and instead sell it, but only after registering notice and covering the creditor’s costs and sale expenses.

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A creditor required to sell must proceed, unless it chooses another allowed option or the court authorizes taking the property in payment.

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If default is not remedied or payment is not made within the time allowed for surrender, the creditor may take the property in payment in the stated circumstances.

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Taking property in payment extinguishes the obligation.

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A creditor who takes property in payment becomes its owner when the prior notice is registered, and takes it free of hypothecs published after his own. Real rights created after that registration cannot be set up against the creditor without his consent.

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A qualifying creditor may sell the charged property, but only after obtaining surrender of the property.

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The creditor must sell the property without unnecessary delay, at a commercially reasonable price, and in the best interest of the person against whom the hypothecary right is exercised.

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A creditor who sells property himself must tell the buyer that he is acting as the owner’s representative at the time of sale.

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A creditor using a call for tenders may use an invitation or a public call, and must include enough information for interested persons to submit offers on time and at the right place.

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A creditor conducting an auction sale must hold it at the date, time, and place stated in the notice of sale, and must inform any interested person who asks about the measures taken.

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The creditor first applies sale proceeds to costs, prior claims, and then the creditor’s claim. If other creditors have rights, the seller must account to the competent court clerk and pay over the remainder; if not, the seller must do so to the owner within 10 days and remit any surplus.

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An acquirer takes property subject to real rights registered when the prior notice was registered, with stated exceptions.

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The court controls a judicial sale by choosing who conducts it, setting the sale conditions and charges, stating the sale method, and possibly setting an upset price; the seller must be independent and qualified.

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A creditor may not require that a sale be subject to the creditor’s hypothec.

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The person in charge of selling the property must, on request, tell interested persons what steps have been taken and follow the cited rules for sales under judicial authority.

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2794. Sale under judicial authority purges the real rights to the extent provided by the Code of Civil Procedure (chapter C-25.01). 1991, c. 64, a. 2794; I.N. 2014-05-01; I.N. 2015-11-01; 2014, c. 1, s. 803; I.N. 2016-01-01 (NCCP).

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Hypothecs end if the charged property is lost, changes in nature, is withdrawn from commerce, or is expropriated, when the event concerns the property as a whole.

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A movable hypothec may continue as an immovable hypothec if the property is registered in the land register, even after the property’s nature changes.

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2797. A hypothec is extinguished by the extinction of the obligation whose performance it secures. In the case of a line of credit or in any other case where the debtor obligates himself again under a provision of the act constituting the

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A movable hypothec ends no later than 10 years after registration, or after a notice giving effect to or renewing it is registered. A pledge ends when detention terminates.

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An immovable hypothec ends no later than 30 years after registration, or after registration of a notice that gives it effect or renews it.

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A syndicate of co-owners’ legal hypothec on a co-owner’s fraction ends three years after registration unless the syndicate preserves it by filing an action against the defaulting owner or registering a prior notice of exercise of a hypothecary right.

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If a hypothecary creditor takes the hypothecated property in payment, later ranking creditors’ hypothec is not extinguished unless the act voluntarily made and accepted, or the judgment of surrender, is registered.

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2802. Hypothecs are also extinguished by the other causes provided by law. 1991, c. 64, a. 2802; I.N. 2014-05-01.

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A person asserting a right, or claiming that a right is null, modified, or extinguished, must prove the facts supporting the claim.

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2804. Evidence is sufficient if it renders the existence of a fact more probable than its non-existence, unless the law requires more convincing proof. 1991, c. 64, a. 2804.

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Good faith is presumed unless the law expressly requires proof of it.

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2806. No proof is required of a matter of which judicial notice shall be taken. 1991, c. 64, a. 2806.

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Courts must take judicial notice of the law in force in Québec, but certain unpublished statutory instruments, applicable international treaties and agreements not embodied in a text of law, and customary international law must be pleaded.

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Courts must take judicial notice of facts that are generally known and cannot reasonably be questioned.

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A court may take judicial notice of the law of other Canadian provinces or territories, and of a foreign state, if that law has been pleaded.

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The court may take judicial notice of disputed facts when the parties are present or have been duly called, and may also make any necessary observations and go to the scene if needed.

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A fact or juridical act may be proved by writing, testimony, presumption, admission, or real evidence.

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2812. Copies of statutes which have been or are in force in Canada, attested by a competent public officer or published by an authorized publisher, make proof of the existence and content of such statutes, and neither the signature or seal

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2813. An authentic act is one that has been received or attested by a competent public officer in accordance with the laws of Québec or of Canada, with the formalities required by law. An act whose material appearance satisfies such

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2814. The following documents in particular are authentic if they conform to the requirements of the law: (1) official documents of the Parliament of Canada or the Parliament of Québec; (2) official documents issued by the government of

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2815. A copy of the original of an authentic act or, where the original is lost, a copy of an authentic copy of such an act is authentic if it is attested by the public officer who is its depositary. 1991, c. 64, a. 2815; I.N. 2014-05-01.

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A copy of a document can be authentic if certified by the document’s depositary public officer, or by the Keeper of the Archives nationales du Québec when the document was deposited or filed there.

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An extract from an authentic act is itself authentic if the act’s depositary certifies it and the extract includes its issue date and key details about the original act’s execution.

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2818. The recital, in an authentic act, of the facts which the public officer had the task of observing or recording makes proof against all persons. 1991, c. 64, a. 2818.

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A notarial act is authentic only if all parties sign it; if they cannot sign, their declaration or consent must be given before a signing witness.

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An authentic copy proves it matches the original and replaces the original; an authentic extract proves it matches the part reproduced.

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Improbation is required only to contradict the recital in an authentic act about facts the public officer was tasked to observe.

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A document or copy issued by a competent foreign public officer may serve as proof, and the officer’s quality, signature, or the original document need not be separately proved in the stated cases.

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A power of attorney made outside Québec under a private writing can serve as proof against all persons if a competent public officer certifies it after verifying the mandator’s identity and signature.

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Certain acts, copies, and powers of attorney may be deposited with a notary, and the notary may issue copies of them.

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If a foreign public officer’s act, copy, or certified power of attorney is contested, the person relying on it must prove it is authentic.

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A private writing is a writing that sets out a juridical act and bears the parties’ signatures.

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A signature means a person affixing their name or a distinctive mark used to signify consent to a writing.

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A person who relies on a private writing must prove it.

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2829. A private writing makes proof, with respect to the persons against whom it is proved, of the juridical act which it sets forth and of the statements of the parties directly relating to the act. 1991, c. 64, a. 2829; I.N. 2014-05-01.

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A private writing is not proof of its date against third persons, but its date may be established against them by any means.

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2831. An unsigned writing regularly used in the ordinary course of business of an enterprise to evidence a juridical act makes proof of its content. 1991, c. 64, a. 2831.

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A non-authentic, non-semi-authentic writing relating to a fact may be admitted into evidence as testimony or as an admission against its author, subject to this Book’s rules.

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A domestic paper that states payment was received, or says an entry replaces a missing title for the beneficiary of an obligation, is proof against its author.

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A creditor’s unsigned, undated release noted on the debt title or a copy kept in the creditor’s possession can be used as proof against the creditor.

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A person who relies on an unsigned writing must prove that it comes from the person claimed to be its author.

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Writings covered by this section may be contradicted by any means.

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A writing counts as proof regardless of medium, unless a law requires a specific medium or technology.

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2838. In addition to meeting all other requirements of the law, the integrity of a copy of a statute, an authentic writing, a semi-authentic writing or a private writing drawn up in a medium based on information technology must be ensured

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A document’s integrity is established when its contents can be shown not to have been altered and to have been kept complete, with a medium that is stable and durable enough for the information.

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A document’s integrity does not have to be proved just because of its medium or communication technology, unless the person challenging its admission shows, on a preponderance of evidence, that the document’s integrity was affected.

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A document may be reproduced by copying it in the same or similar technology, or by transferring its information to a different technology.

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2842. A certified copy is supported, if necessary, by a statement establishing the circumstances and the date of the reproduction, attesting that the copy contains the same information as the reproduced document and indicating the means

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Testimony must be given by deposition in a judicial proceeding, unless the parties agree otherwise or law provides otherwise.

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A single witness may give testimony. A child may be allowed to testify without taking the oath if the judge is satisfied the child does not understand the oath, is mature enough to relate the facts, and understands the duty to tell the truth. A judgment cannot rest on that testimony alone.

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The court decides how much probative force to give testimony.

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A presumption is an inference the law or a court draws from a known fact to an unknown fact.

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A legal presumption is attached by law to certain facts and can exempt a person from having to prove anything else.

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A judgment has res judicata only for the same object, cause, parties, and qualities; a class action judgment also binds parties and group members who did not opt out.

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If presumptions are not established by law, the court considers only serious, precise, and concordant presumptions.

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2850. An admission is the acknowledgment of a fact which may produce legal consequences against the person who makes it. 1991, c. 64, a. 2850.

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An admission may be express or implied, but it cannot arise from silence alone except where the law provides otherwise.

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An admission made by a party to a dispute, or by an authorized mandatary, is proof against that party if made in the proceeding where it is used. It cannot be revoked unless it is shown to have been made through an error of fact.

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An admission generally may not be divided, unless one of the listed exceptions applies.

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An apology is not an admission, and it cannot be used in evidence or to affect fault, liability, prescription, or insurance coverage entitlements.

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