How do you sell a house without a real estate broker in Quebec?

Can you sell your own house in Quebec without a broker?

Yes. Section 1 of the Real Estate Brokerage Act defines a brokerage contract, for a sale, as the client asking the other party to act as intermediary with people who might buy, and possibly to bring about an agreement of wills. A contract by which the intermediary receives no remuneration is not a brokerage contract under the Act (Real Estate Brokerage Act, section 1). Section 2 says that, except for the persons named in section 3, no one may be the intermediary to a brokerage contract for the sale or purchase of an immovable without a broker’s or agency licence, or a special authorization from the OACIQ. A person who contravenes that may not claim or receive remuneration for the intermediary’s work (Real Estate Brokerage Act, section 2).

An owner who sells without asking anyone to be that intermediary is not the person section 2 licences. If you pay a person or a business to do that intermediary work, section 1 makes the agreement a brokerage contract, and section 2 is the licence rule. The OACIQ’s seller guide says that carrying out the transaction alone, or with the help of an assistance business, is a choice, and that in both cases you act without the protective net of the Real Estate Brokerage Act (Before you sell: how to prepare, page in French).

A person who holds the licence may be that intermediary. On a brokerage sale, the OACIQ says the seller’s broker has to verify what could adversely affect a party, and disclose it. That duty belongs to the licence holder. Selling without one does not move the duty onto you, and it does not mean someone else does the check. This page does not rank the two paths. It says what remains if you do not sign the contract.

What does a private seller still have to do?

The price, the papers, what you say about the house, the people you agree to let in, and the promise you accept or refuse. Section 1 describes that dealing with interested people as the intermediary’s work under a brokerage contract. Without the contract, it stays with you. The Act does not set how many visits you hold, or on what day.

For a price, Quebec’s page on a property’s history, updated 30 October 2026, says you can consult the Index des immeubles of the land register to learn, for example, the sale prices of properties in the same neighbourhood. You need the lot number, you open a client account, and the consultation is charged. The page does not state the fee in that sentence (Consulter l’historique d’une propriété, page in French). The municipal assessment is a different figure from the price you ask (Is my municipal assessment what my house is worth in Montreal?).

Article 1719 says the seller hands over the titles of ownership in their possession and, for an immovable, a copy of the act of acquisition, of any previous titles, and of any certificate of location in their possession (Civil Code of Québec, article 1719). The papers a file usually gathers are listed on What documents do I need to sell a house in Quebec?. The Ordre des arpenteurs-géomètres du Québec says the seller normally provides a certificate of location, that no statute or regulation makes one expire, and that the Chambre des notaires and the OACIQ tell their members to require one less than 10 years old even when the property seems unchanged. A lender, or a careful notary, may require a recent certificate that shows the property as it is. It is generally at the seller’s expense unless the promise says otherwise. An addition, a garage, a pool, a shed, a fence or a hedge is a change for which a new certificate would be required (Vente ou achat d’une propriété, page in French).

Is the seller’s declaration required when there is no broker?

On a brokerage sale, yes, in the case the OACIQ names. The form Déclarations du vendeur sur l’immeuble is obligatory for the sale, by a natural person, of a chiefly residential immovable of fewer than five dwellings, including one held in divided co-ownership or in undivided ownership. It is filled out with the broker and annexed to the brokerage contract. If that seller refuses to give the information or to sign, the broker cannot represent them for the sale. For five dwellings or more, a chiefly commercial property, land with no building, or a seller that is a legal person, the OACIQ says the form is not obligatory and strongly recommends it (Le CV de la propriété, page in French). The copy of the form read for this page is marked V24, June 2022, and its note says it is used when a brokerage contract for the sale is entered into with an individual (Déclarations du vendeur, form DV, PDF).

If you are selling on your own and the buyer has a broker, that page is different. The OACIQ tells the buyer’s broker that, where you refuse to be represented by a broker of your choice, the broker completes the declarations form with you. You record what you know, in good faith and to the best of your knowledge. If you will not complete it before the promise to purchase, the promise should include a condition that you provide the declarations within a stated time (Buying from a seller who is not represented by a broker).

If neither side has a broker, the OACIQ rule that makes the form obligatory does not apply, because it is a rule for brokerage sales. You may still put what you know in writing. What still binds you is the Civil Code. Article 1726 warrants that the property and its accessories are, at the time of the sale, free of latent defects which render it unfit for its intended use, or which so diminish its usefulness that the buyer would not have bought it, or would not have paid so high a price, had they known. The seller is not bound for a latent defect the buyer knew, or for an apparent defect, which is one a prudent and diligent buyer can see without an expert (Civil Code of Québec, article 1726).

What does the promise to purchase bind you to?

Article 1396 says an offer made to a determinate person becomes a promise to enter the proposed contract once that person clearly indicates they will consider the offer and reply within a reasonable time, or within the time stated. A mere promise is not the contract itself. When the beneficiary accepts the promise, or takes up the option, both parties are bound to enter the contract, unless the beneficiary enters it immediately (Civil Code of Québec, article 1396). Article 1397 says a contract made in violation of a promise can be set up against the beneficiary of the promise, who keeps a claim for damages against the promisor and against the person who contracted in bad faith. The same rule applies to a first-refusal agreement (Civil Code of Québec, article 1397).

The Chambre des notaires says that once a purchase offer is signed and accepted, it is very difficult to change or cancel, and that, contrary to a common belief, an offer to purchase is a contract. A bilateral promise binds both parties. A refusal to sign the deed can lead to an action for the transfer of title, and the judgment can stand in place of the deed. A notary can draw the offer, the counter-offer and the promise, and should record the essentials: the conditions, an accurate description and what else is included, each side’s obligations, the price and how it is paid, the deposit kept in trust, the conditions and warranties, the documents, and the dates for an inspection, the hypothec, the deed, occupation, and which party bears which costs. The Chambre warns that a standard form can commit you to a non-refundable deposit, to deadlines, to giving up a warranty, or to buying when you thought you could step back (Purchase offer and preliminary contract).

Éducaloi, writing to the person who makes the offer, says that in principle you cannot cancel it: the offer is itself a contract by which you undertake to buy. If it states a time for the seller to accept or refuse, you cannot withdraw while that time runs. If it states no time, you can withdraw until it is accepted. You can also withdraw if you tell the seller before the seller receives the offer. A clause can allow a withdrawal after an inspection, and Éducaloi says that clause normally requires a serious problem, not any reason (Annuler une offre d’achat, page in French). How long the steps take after that, from the promise to the signing, is a separate page (How long does it take to sell a house in Quebec?).

What does the notary do, and who pays the transfer duties?

Éducaloi says the notary advises the buyer, the lender and the seller, without taking sides. The notary examines the title, so as to see that the seller owns the property and has the right to sell it, drafts the deed of sale from what the offer already says, and publishes the deed at the land register. The money passes through the notary’s trust account, and creditors who have a right against the property are paid before the seller receives the proceeds. A hypothec must be signed before a notary (Immobilier : le rôle du notaire, page in French). The Chambre des notaires says the same thing in its own words: a real-estate hypothec has to be in an authentic act executed by a notary, or the hypothec is invalid. Notaries act without bias. This page does not add a rule those pages do not state about a deed with no hypothec.

On the same offer page, Éducaloi says the promise can name who chooses the notary and who pays. By default the buyer chooses, and the buyer pays the notary’s fee and the costs tied to the deed. The seller may have to pay some costs, such as the cancellation of the seller’s own hypothec. The seller may choose their own notary where the buyer and the lender pay only part of the price before possession, and those services are still at the buyer’s expense (Faire une offre d’achat : 6 choses à vérifier, page in French).

The transfer duty is a different bill. Quebec’s page on financing and taxes, updated 23 October 2026, says it must be paid to the municipality by any new owner of an immovable on that municipality’s territory. A new owner can be exempt in some cases, including a value under $5,000 or a transfer between relatives. Selling without a broker does not move the bill (Financement et taxes, page in French). Montreal’s own calculation is on Who pays the Montreal welcome tax?. Other costs at the signing, apart from this question, are on The real costs of selling a house in Quebec.

The Chambre des notaires also says an owner has to be authorized to sell. Selling without that right threatens the validity of the sale and can lead to a civil claim. Written consent of the spouse, or of the partner in a parental union, is required when the sale concerns a family residence. A tutor may need authorization to sell a minor’s property. In some cases a sale of cultural property, or of agricultural land, needs a prior authorization. The sale of an immovable that is part of a housing complex needs the authorization of the Tribunal administratif du logement. The notary is the person that page says will tell you which authorization applies and take the steps to obtain it.

Which Civil Code duties still apply with no broker?

The warranty of quality in article 1726, already quoted, does not depend on a brokerage contract. Article 1727 says that if the property perishes because of a latent defect that existed at the time of the sale, the loss is borne by the seller, who must restore the price. If the loss results from superior force, or from the buyer’s fault, the buyer deducts the value of the property in the condition it was in at the time of the loss (Civil Code of Québec, article 1727). Article 1728 says that if the seller knew of the latent defect, or could not have been unaware of it, the seller must restore the price and also make reparation for the injury the buyer suffered (Civil Code of Québec, article 1728).

Article 1729 states a presumption for a sale by a professional seller: a defect is presumed to have existed at the time of the sale if the property malfunctions or deteriorates prematurely compared with identical property, or property of the same type. The presumption is rebutted if the defect is due to improper use by the buyer (Civil Code of Québec, article 1729). Article 1730 binds the manufacturer, any person who distributes the property under their name or as their own, and any supplier, including an importer, to a seller’s warranty (Civil Code of Québec, article 1730). The article names those persons. It does not name the owner who sells their house.

Article 1733 says a seller may not exclude or limit liability unless they have disclosed the defects they knew, or could not have been unaware of, and that affect the right of ownership or the quality of the property. An exception may be made where a buyer buys at their own risk from a seller who is not a professional seller (Civil Code of Québec, article 1733). The Chambre des notaires says a sale without the legal warranty is possible when a clause in the contract provides for it, that the clause has to be drafted so it is not ambiguous, and that sellers can never avoid their personal liability. A promise that simply has no inspection condition is not that clause. How the clause is written is the subject of Selling a house as-is in Quebec.

Can you sell directly to one private buyer?

Yes. That is one way to sell without a broker. You are not asking an intermediary to find a buyer. The difference between finding the buyer yourself and selling to one buyer who already takes the house as it stands is on Sell without an agent, or sell directly. If a brokerage contract is already signed, read it before you accept another buyer. Whether you may still sell on your own is written in that contract.

Bruce Malcolm buys houses himself on the Island of Montreal and nearby. He does not hold a broker’s, an agent’s or an appraiser’s licence. There is no inspection and no commission. An offer with no inspection condition does not, by itself, set aside the legal warranty of quality. You say what you know about the house when you send the address. The signing date is the one you choose once the notary can sign. Sending the address opens a conversation (send the address). The form does not commit you.