Can I claim interest on top of the amount?
Short answer
Yes. In Quebec, an applicant can add interest to the amount claimed, calculated at the rate agreed between the parties or, failing that, at the legal rate of 5% per year. Interest generally runs from the formal notice (mise en demeure).
In detail
The agreed rate is the one set out in an agreement between the parties — a contract, an invoice that provides for late charges. Where there is no agreement on the rate, the Interest Act provides that “the rate of interest shall be five per cent per annum”.
The starting point matters as much as the rate: as a general rule, interest runs from the formal notice or, exceptionally, from any other date the court considers appropriate. A formal notice sent early, and proven, can therefore represent a real amount of money.
Interest does not count toward the $15,000 ceiling. After the judgment, it is the courthouse’s court office that calculates the interest owed.
What to document
The date of the formal notice and its proof of receipt — that is the starting point for interest. If a rate was agreed on, keep the document that provides for it (contract, terms of sale, invoice) and the date it was accepted.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Interest on the amount claimed — Gouvernement du Québec
- Interest Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-15, s. 3 — Laws of Canada
- Maximum amount that can be claimed — Gouvernement du Québec
Related questions
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- What kinds of claims are accepted in small claims?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.