Retired tenants and landlords face distinct legal situations. Our dedicated programme addresses the specific rules, protections, and assistance available to you.
Why a Dedicated Programme
When you retire, several aspects of your rental situation change in ways that are not always obvious. Your income level may affect your eligibility for housing assistance programs. If you are over 65 and on a modest income, the law places specific restrictions on a landlord's ability to give you notice.
At the same time, retired landlords may find themselves navigating the complexities of managing a rental property on a fixed pension income, dealing with non-payment situations, or considering whether to sell a property that is currently occupied.
Our retiree programme addresses these situations directly. We do not use the same general workshop content and add a retiree section. The programme is built from the ground up around the questions and situations that retired participants actually face.
Key Topics
Under the Loi du 6 juillet 1989, tenants aged 65 or over whose resources fall below a certain threshold benefit from specific protections against eviction. A landlord wishing to give notice must meet particular conditions or offer alternative accommodation. We explain exactly how this works.
Retirement income affects how housing assistance is calculated. APL and ALS eligibility is assessed on the basis of resources including pension income. This session explains how to understand your current entitlement, what changes in circumstances must be reported, and how the CAF processes these situations.
If you are a tenant and wish to make adaptations to your home for accessibility or health reasons, the law governs what you can do without the landlord's permission and what requires their agreement. We cover the relevant provisions and the ANAH assistance programs available for such works.
Lease renewals in later life come with specific considerations. We explain the conditions under which a lease can be modified at renewal, the rules on rent increases for protected tenants, and what to do if a landlord proposes changes you believe are not lawful.
Navigating a dispute when you are on a fixed income requires understanding which processes are free, which involve costs, and how long each takes. We explain the conciliation pathway and the tribunal judiciaire process in terms that are accessible and practical.
Managing a rental property in retirement presents its own set of questions: how to handle a non-paying tenant when you depend on rental income, what your obligations are regarding property maintenance, and how the law treats the sale of an occupied property. This module addresses the landlord perspective specifically.
Programme Format
The retiree programme is structured to be accessible regardless of prior familiarity with legal or administrative processes.
Key Legal Provision
Article 15 of the Loi du 6 juillet 1989 provides that a landlord cannot give notice to a tenant aged 65 or over whose resources are below the threshold set annually by decree, unless the landlord can offer equivalent alternative accommodation in the same geographical area.
This protection applies regardless of the reason the landlord wishes to end the tenancy, including sale of the property or personal use. The landlord themselves must also be under 65 and above the income threshold for the rule to apply. These conditions create a complex set of circumstances that our workshop navigates clearly.
It is worth noting that this protection does not make the tenancy permanent. It creates an obligation on the landlord to take specific steps before the notice can be valid. Understanding exactly what those steps are, and what recourse exists if they are not followed, is the focus of the relevant section of our retiree programme.