Living in a private seniors’ residence (PSR)
Choosing to live in a private seniors’ residence (PSR) is an important step. Whether you’re a resident or a caregiver, understanding your rights and how the PSR operates are essential to your peace of mind. As a resident or caregiver, you have the power to act and improve the quality of life and well-treatment in senior retirement complexes.
The Association des Comités de Résidents Officielle du Québec (ACROQ) is here to inform and support you in your daily life. Membership as a resident member or caregiver member is free.
Support for PSR residents
A senior living community offers a safe environment that helps seniors maintain their independence through a variety of services and activities. Available leisure activities also help reduce isolation and build social connections in welcoming common areas. PSRs are subject to Québec’s housing laws and regulations, as well as the specific regulations tied to their certification. ACROQ provides several useful resources to help ensure your PSR respects your rights as a resident or caregiver.
Support for caregivers
The role of a caregiver is essential to ensuring seniors’ well-being. Whether you’re involved on a daily basis or provide regular follow-up, ACROQ offers tools and information to help you collaborate with the managers of your loved one’s private seniors’ residence.
Useful resources about living in a PSR
To help you in your daily life, we offer various guides and documents related to life in a private seniors’ residence:
FAQ: answers to frequent questions about living in a PSR
1. How long do we have to demand to know the amount of rent from the former tenant, mandatory information in section “G” of the lease?
If your landlord has not complied with section “G” of the lease, you can request that the rent be fixed at the TAL. The deadline for this process depends on the situation:
- In most cases, the new tenant must do so within 10 days of signing the lease.
- If the owner has not provided the latest rent, the new tenant must make their request within two months of the start of the lease.
- If the landlord wrote false information about the last rent, the new tenant must make the request within two months of knowing that this information was false.
I invite you to look: https://educaloi.qc.ca/actualites-juridiques/section-g-chien-garde-hausses-excessives/ . The Éducaloi site is full of information on various legal subjects, including RPA housing.
You can also consult a Complaint Assistance and Support Center (CAAP). You will find the contact details for your CAAP on the website https://fcaap.ca/.
2. I was hospitalized for more than 44 days. I want to know if I can get a refund for the 30 dinners per month that are included in my lease?
The easy answer is NO! When you signed your lease and voluntarily added your meals to your monthly bill, you entered a contract.
Can your PSR use a little compassion? A hospitalization is different from a stay of a few months in “Florida” for example. Added to this is the problem of the amounts calculated for the “Home Support” subsidy, your meals being included in this subsidy.
3. Where can I find the list of rights and obligations of PSR residents?
On our website in our “LIVING IN RPA” file, you will find several information on the rights and obligations of residents.
We invite you to consult the Useful resources about living in a PSR section of this page for the three brochures offered by the Administrative Housing Tribunal (TAL).
A first brochure “SIGNING A LEASE IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE FOR SENIORS” is a simple and practical guide to inform future tenants of their rights and obligations.
A second brochure entitled: “BEING A TENANT IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE FOR SENIORS”, informs tenants of their rights and obligations.
Finally, a third brochure “GOOD UNDERSTANDING THE LEASE AND ITS SCOPE” is a practical guide for operators of private seniors’ residences. Although this brochure is intended for RPA operators, residents can gain relevant information from it.
Note that there is great diversity from one RPA to another regarding the “RIGHTS” and “OBLIGATIONS” of residents (tenants). You must therefore take the time to study the different clauses of the proposed lease and the welcome document (RPA regulations which are part of the lease). There may sometimes be clauses that are questionable, some could even be illegal.
I invite you to look at the Éducaloi website (https://educaloi.qc.ca/ ) which is full of information on various legal subjects including RPA housing. You can also consult the CAAP website at https://fcaap.ca/.
4. My RPA requires payment for landline telephone and cable television in my lease. I do not need these services because I use a mobile (cellular) phone only. My RPA refuses to remove these two services from my lease. Are appeals possible?
You raise a common problem in our RPAs. The Civil Code of Quebec, in article 1900, al. 2 specifies the freedom of choice of personal services and declares ineffective a clause in the lease imposing a service. Unfortunately, many RPAs ignore the Civil Code of Quebec and impose services. I refer you to a decision of the TAL which could apply in your case: https://citoyens.soquij.qc.ca/php/decision.php?ID=63B7C040372361C3EBCFC71C80B55561.
5. Can an RPA manager request to receive the agendas and minutes of our committee meetings (RLC)?
It is good practice for managers to receive this information. Let us not forget that an RLC is a win-win tool for mutual collaboration in order to create good treatment in our living environments. Moreover, your residents should be aware of the minutes of your meetings by posting them on the bulletin board reserved for the RLC after their adoption. This is different from managers who require to see the texts of a RLC before their publication. Managers do not have the power of censorship, the RLC is autonomous.
Become an ACROQ member
Membership with ACROQ is free. By becoming a member of ACROQ as a resident in a private seniors’ residence (PSR), as a caregiver, or by registering a residence life committee (RLC), you’re actively working to promote well-treatment and to make your voice heard to improve the quality of life in PSRs.