PROFITABILITY

How to Maximize Your Plex Revenue in Quebec

By La Griffe Immobilière · Property Management in Quebec

Owning a plex is one thing. Getting the most out of it is another. Most Quebec landlords leave money on the table — not out of negligence, but due to lack of time, structure or information. Here are six concrete strategies to improve your property's profitability, from a team supervised by a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).

1. Review your rents every year — without exception

The Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) publishes annual guidelines on allowable rent increases. These take into account inflation, energy costs, taxes and mortgage rates. The vast majority of landlords don't apply them consistently — and lose hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars per year per unit as a result.

• Send your renewal notice within the legal timeframe (3 to 6 months before the lease end for a 12-month lease)
• Calculate the allowable increase using the TAL's formula
• Document every notice sent and every response received
• If you completed major improvements, you may justify an increase above the base rate

2. Reduce vacancy periods with proactive tenant placement

Every vacant month is a lost month of rent — with fixed costs still running. Reactive tenant placement (waiting until a tenant leaves before starting your search) is the single biggest source of avoidable losses for plex owners.

A proactive approach means:

• Knowing every lease end date months in advance
• Checking with current tenants about their renewal intentions as soon as the legal window opens
• Starting marketing the unit as soon as a non-renewal is confirmed — not on move-out day
• Having a tenant selection process ready to launch immediately

A structured property manager tracks these deadlines automatically. An owner managing alone often loses sight of them amid other obligations.

3. Maximize deductible expenses — the CPA advantage

Many plex owners pay too much tax simply because they haven't optimized their deductions. Expenses related to your building are largely deductible from your rental income, directly reducing your tax bill.

Expenses that are often forgotten or incorrectly declared:

• Professional management fees (including a property manager's fees)
• Mortgage interest on the rental portion
• Municipal and school taxes (rental portion)
• Insurance premiums
• Advertising costs for tenant placement
• Vehicle used for property management (calculated portion)
• Maintenance and repair costs (to be distinguished from capital improvements)

4. Prevent unpaid rent rather than managing it after the fact

An unpaid rent doesn't just mean lost revenue — it means legal fees, lost time and stress. And the TAL process, while it protects landlords, takes time. Prevention is the best strategy.

• Rigorous selection from day one: credit check, references from previous landlords, income verification. A good tenant is worth the time invested upfront.
• First signal = immediate action: as soon as a rent is late, the follow-up process must start — not in 10 days, not when you think of it.
• Clear, documented communication: every exchange with a defaulting tenant must be recorded. If you go to the TAL, your file needs to be solid.

5. Plan renovations to support higher allowable rent increases

In Quebec, certain improvement works allow you to justify an additional rent increase at renewal time. This is a powerful lever — but only when planned correctly.

• Works must be real, documented and must have increased the value or quality of the unit
• The additional increase is calculated using the TAL formula and spread over several years
• It's advisable to group renovations strategically to maximize their impact
• Keep all invoices — they are essential if the increase is contested

A well-organized property manager maintains a complete work history for each unit. This makes it much easier to justify rent increases at renewal time.

6. Delegate management to free up your capacity to grow

The time you spend managing your plex is time you're not spending finding your next property, optimizing your financing or growing your portfolio. For investors who want to scale, outsourced management isn't an expense — it's a strategic investment.

By entrusting management to a professional, you:

• Reclaim hours every week to focus on growth
• Benefit from a structure that avoids costly mistakes (TAL deadlines, poor tenant selection, undocumented expenses)
• Receive clear reports that facilitate your tax and financial decisions
• Can manage multiple properties without proportionally more of your time