Blank Inclusions and Exclusions on a Quebec Listing: What Stays With the House

A Quebec listing has two fields that say what stays with the house and what the seller takes: Inclusions and Exclusions. When they are blank, the listing says nothing, and that silence means neither "everything stays" nor "everything goes". Elsewhere in Canada this is the fixtures-versus-chattels question; Quebec's Civil Code frames it as immovables and movables. This article covers what the law attaches to the property on its own, which items cause the most disputes, and where the question actually gets settled: in the promise to purchase. How that contract works overall is covered in our guide to the promise to purchase in Quebec.

The listing informs, the promise to purchase binds

The listing describes the property. It is not the contract. What the buyer purchases is set by the promise to purchase, once the seller accepts it, and then by the deed of sale signed at the notary's office.

A filled-in field on the listing is useful information to carry over into the promise. A blank field protects no one: not the buyer who assumed the stove was staying, nor the seller who planned to take the dining room light fixture. In both cases, the answer is written nowhere.

The promise to purchase form has a place to list inclusions and exclusions. That is where the question is settled, one item at a time.

What is part of the property, and what stays movable

The Civil Code of Québec distinguishes immovables from movables. What is built into the house, such as plumbing, central heating or fixed cabinets, is part of the property. What is permanently attached to it without losing its own identity can also be treated as part of the property while it remains there. What is simply set inside the house stays a movable.

The practical consequence is straightforward: what is part of the property follows it on sale, unless the promise to purchase says otherwise. What stays a movable leaves with the seller, unless the promise to purchase includes it.

The trouble lies in between. Whether an item is "permanently attached" or "simply set in place" depends on how it was installed, and two people acting in good faith can reach different answers for the same object. That is exactly why it should be written down.

The items that cause the most disputes

The following items are neither clearly movables nor clearly part of the building. These are the ones to name individually:

• appliances, whether freestanding, plugged in or built in;
• light fixtures and chandeliers, especially ones the seller chose personally;
• blinds, curtains and curtain rods;
• a wall-mounted heat pump and a window air conditioner;
• the alarm system and its sensors;
• an electric vehicle charging station;
• the shed, the hot tub and an above-ground pool;
• a wall-mounted TV bracket, and the TV itself.

For each one, the right question is not "what would the law say" but "what did we agree on". One line in the promise to purchase spares everyone from having to ask the first question.

Rented equipment does not belong to the seller

Some equipment in a house may be rented rather than owned: the water heater, a propane tank, sometimes the alarm system or a water softener. Rented equipment does not belong to the seller. The seller therefore cannot include or exclude it; they can only disclose the rental contract they are under.

The promise to purchase then has to say what happens to that contract: the buyer takes it over, or the seller ends it and has the equipment removed before the sale. In the first case, the buyer should know the monthly charge and the remaining term before committing.

How to write it into the promise to purchase

A useful inclusion is one you can check on the day you take possession. Four writing rules are enough:

• Name the item and where it is: "the kitchen refrigerator", not "the appliances".
• Decide every grey-zone item, included or excluded, instead of letting silence decide.
• State the expected condition: if the buyer is counting on an appliance in working order, say so.
• Plan for repairs when the seller takes an attached item: brackets removed, holes filled, connections left safe.

Once the promise is accepted, the list can no longer be changed through a conversation during a visit. Adding or removing an item requires the written agreement of both parties, through an amendment to the accepted promise.

Check it before signing at the notary's

The last visit of the property, before the deed is signed, is when you confirm that what was meant to stay has stayed and what was meant to go has gone. Bring the list written into the promise and check it off, item by item.

A gap found at that point can still be settled between the parties, with help from the brokers and the notary. A gap discovered after signing, once the seller has left, is much harder to resolve. The written list is what tells an oversight apart from a disagreement.