A promise to purchase is a legally binding contract where the buyer agrees to buy the property under specified conditions. As such you should read it very carefully before committing, even if your realtor has already committed. Here are 6 things that you absolutely must pay attention to in order to avoid problems.
1. Is the seller the true owner?
As property prices increase throughout Quebec, we are seeing more and more cases of title fraud. This is when someone who is not the true owner impersonates the owner and sells or mortgages a property without the real owner’s knowledge or consent. Before you sign the promise to purchase, you should make sure that the seller is the true owner of the property. To do this, you can ask the seller to show you identification. You can then, search the Quebec land registry and verify that they are the actual owner.
Moreover, if the seller is married or in a common-law relationship, their spouse may need to consent to the sale before it can proceed. This is because, under Québec law, the spouse may have legal rights to the property, especially if it is the family home. To avoid delays or complications at the notary, you should obtain the spouse’s written consent as soon as you sign the promise to purchase.
2. Does the promise to purchase describe the property you intend to buy?
When you fill in the promise to purchase, you need to give the exact property that you want to buy. In Quebec, the government divides property into lots, and assigns each lot its own lot number (or cadastral number). If you know the address, you can lookup the lot number on the Quebec Land Registry. You will input this information in Clause 3 of the promise to purchase. In addition to this, the promise to purchase includes two other important Clauses.
The first appears in Clause 7: the Buyer’s Declaration, where you state the date you visited the property. Later in the document, the seller agrees to deliver the property in the same condition as when you visited it. Make sure you enter the correct date, since this ensures that the seller is legally responsible for maintaining the property’s condition from the day of your visit until the day that you physically move in.
The second appears in Clause 10.1.7, where the seller declares that they sell the property with a legal warranty. This means that the seller guarantees that they own the property and ensures that no latent (hidden) defects exist in it. If a serious defect appears after the sale, this gives you legal recourse against the seller. You can enforce this protection only if the defect existed at the time of sale and a reasonable buyer could not have discovered it, even after a normal inspection.
This protection against hidden defects covers you unless the seller explicitly sells the property without legal warranty, which you can verify in Clause 12. However, even then, the seller remains responsible for defects they knowingly concealed.
3. Are the payment terms clear?
Clause 4: Price and deposit and Clause 5: Method of payment, allow you to set the purchase price and your method of payment. Your offer must clearly state your purchase price, your financing conditions, how your deposit will be handled if you cancel the offer, and whether the seller includes GST and QST in the selling price.
3.1 How to complete your financing conditions?
In Clause 6: New Hypothecary Loan, you agree to take all necessary steps to obtain the financing required to complete the transaction. In this clause, you must specify the loan amount, the maximum interest rate you are willing to accept from the lender and the loan term. This number should match the number that you include in Clause 5.
Financing details are critical since, if the lender can only offer financing at a higher rate than the one stated, you may withdraw from the purchase. As such, setting the rate too low can make your offer look unrealistic to the seller. Meanwhile, setting the rate too high can result in significantly higher monthly payments after the purchase.
For example, you might state that you need the lender to provide $350,000 at a maximum interest rate of 5%, to repay it over 25 years. In this case, you are agreeing to borrow $350,000 and to pay this back in monthly instalments of $2,035.62 over a 25 year period. However, if you agree to an interest rate of 9%, you will be paying $2,897.92 per month (more than $800 more).
3.2 How to complete your deposit conditions?
In Quebec, you do not need to make a deposit however, it can make your offer stand out when there are multiple offers. If you decide to offer a deposit, then the statement is that the buyer provides a deposit in good faith, and the real estate agency or broker that you are working with holds it in trust. The broker holds the deposit until closing, then applies it to the purchase price.
When you agree to make a deposit, you must pay it within 72 hours. Should you fail to pay, the seller can contact you within five days to demand payment. Failing to pay after this step voids the promise to purchase and releases the seller from the obligation to sell the property to you.
3.3 How to complete your taxes conditions?
The government taxes some real-estate transactions in Quebec with both federal GST and provincial QST. This applies especially when you buy a newly built property directly from the builder or purchase a property that the builder has substantially renovated. In clause 4.2, you must enter the combined GST and QST that the government applies to your property.
As of 2026, this will add 14.975% to the purchase price. For instance, if you are buying a property for $750,000, you will need to pay an extra $112,312.50 in GST and QST. This brings your total purchase price to $862,312.50.
4. Are the terms of sale well specified?
You must include all essential conditions in the promise to purchase for the sale to complete. You can also specify the conditions under which you will cancel or renegotiate the offer if the seller or buyer fails to meet an essential condition. For example, a well-drafted clause can allow you to reduce the purchase price or withdraw from the offer if the pre-purchase inspection reveals a serious issue.
You must also use the promise to purchase to state your intention to verify certain documents, where applicable. This should include (as a minimum):
- The certificate of location
- The declaration of co-ownership (if it is a condo)
- The seller’s declarations
- Any existing leases (for example, if someone rents a room in the property)
You typically set these conditions in Clause 12: Other Conditions and Declarations.
5. Who chooses and pays for the notary?
In Clause 7: Declarations and obligations of the buyer, the buyer agrees to pay for all costs and fees associated with the preparation of the deed of sale and its registration in the Quebec Land Register. The fees for a notary range between roughly $1500 – $3000, depending on how in demand the notary is.
Clause 7 also explicitly states that the buyer must pay any property transfer duties (often called the Welcome Tax in Quebec) that municipal governments impose when a property changes ownership. The welcome tax varies according to the municipality that you live in. The municipality calculates it as a percentage of either the purchase price or the assessed value.
6. Are the planned deadlines reasonable?
There are two deadlines you must set in the promise to purchase. These are the:
The irrevocability period
The irrevocability deadline sets how long you want your offer to remain valid for. This is set in Clause 14: Conditions of Acceptance. The exact wording reads that:
“The BUYER is irrevocably committed until ENTER TIME, on DATE, ENTER DATE“.
After this time has passed, the promise to purchase is no longer valid.
In a negotiation on price, realtors can sometimes use the deadline to create pressure. For example, if a property has been sitting vacant on the market for a while, a buyer may offer a low price, combined with a short deadline to encourage quick decisions. However, it really depends on the situation. For instance some sellers set non official time frame for reviewing and accepting offers. Sellers often set this for properties that attract multiple buyers or that buyers highly demand. In this case, you will not be able to create pressure for the seller with this clause.
The occupancy clause
The occupancy clause sets how long after closing you will physically move into your new home. If you are renting, consider the length of your current lease, since it may be difficult to break. If you have flexibility, you can use this clause to your advantage by either offering to move in sooner or giving the seller more time to move out. For example, if the property is already vacant, offering to move in sooner can help you negotiate a lower purchase price, especially if the seller is losing money while the home sits empty. Conversely, if the seller needs extra time to find a new home, you may be able to strengthen your offer by providing a longer move-in window.
Final remarks
The promise to purchase is a legally binding contract with 16 main conditions and more than 40 sub-conditions, all of which materially influence your rights and obligations as a buyer. If you misunderstand or get any of these sections wrong, you might miss out on a critical safeguard.
For this reason, most people choose to work with an experienced realtor who not only knows the market, but also understands the legal implications of the transaction. That being said, even if a realtor helps you, you must carefully check the conditions of the transaction because you remain legally responsible for everything in the contract.
For more detailed information about the promise to purchase, read more of our articles below.
Read more about the promise to purchase
- The Promise to Purchase: Every Clause Explained (2026)
- How to back out of an offer to purchase (2026)
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