Movable property
Article 905 of the Civil Code of Québec stipulates:
“Things which can be moved are movables,” whether they move on their own or require an outside force to be moved.
Examples include table, chair, couch, bed, dresser, picture frame, stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer, etc. Caution should be exercised as sometimes property that is normally immovable may be movable (kitchen island, dishwasher on wheels, etc.). Animals also fall into this category. Therefore, if they are not specifically included in the sale of immovable property that is part of a farm, they will be excluded.
Article 906 of the Civil Code of Québec also states that waves or energy are movables, as long as they are harnessed and put to use by man.
And lastly, article 907 states:
“All other property, if not qualified by law, is movable.”
Sale or purchase of real estate
Movables that are not mentioned in the inclusions are not part of the transaction.
Permanent heating, electrical and lighting systems are automatically included in the sale, as is any equipment that forms an integral part of the immovable. There is no need to mention them unless they are excluded from the sale.
In accordance with the Civil Code of Québec, the legal warranty applies to the movables included in the sale, unless such warranty is excluded by convention.1 Consequently, it is important to note that mandatory forms BCS, BCU and BCD (clause 4.4) and PP, PPU and PPD (clause 11.5) automatically provide that the included movable property mentioned is “sold without legal warranty of quality, at the buyer’s own risk, but must be in working order at the time of delivery of the IMMOVABLE.”
The legal warranty is a guarantee of both ownership and quality of the movable. Despite the exclusion of this warranty of quality mentioned in the above paragraph, the seller still guarantees the right of ownership.
1 Art. 1732 C.C.Q.
For more information, see the following articles:
Inclusions and exclusions as part of a sale – How to prevent misunderstandings
Identifying inclusions and exclusions
Mobile homes
There are three types of transactions involving mobile homes:
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If the mobile home being sold is on land that is also for sale and owned by the same owner:
the broker must use the mandatory forms Brokerage contract – Sale and Promise to purchase. -
If the mobile home is being leased and is on land also owned by the lessor (single owner) or if land destined to receive a mobile home is being leased:
the broker must use the mandatory forms Exclusive brokerage contract – Residential lease, Promise to lease – Residential, Counter-proposal – Residential lease and Amendments – Residential. -
If the mobile home is being sold or leased and is on leased land (two separate owners):
the broker must use the forms Exclusive brokerage contract – Sale – Mobile home situated on leased land and Promise to purchase – Mobile home situated on leased land.
Considering that a mobile home can be characterized as movable property, it is possible that no title of ownership has been published in the Land Register. Moreover, unlike the Land Register, the Registre des droits personnels et réels mobiliers (RDPRM) does not allow for the publication of ownership titles. In this case, the only way for the broker to have access to the title of ownership of the mobile home is to obtain it from the seller.
For more information, including regarding the characterization of a mobile home as movable or immovable property, see the explanatory leaflet relating to the brokerage contract for a mobile home situated on leased land, accessible on this page: Brokerage forms
Source: C.C.Q. art. 1996-2000.
