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MOVING OUT BEFORE THE END OF YOUR LEASE (BREAKING THE LEASE):

THE LAW

You CAN end your lease (also called ‘terminating your tenancy’) before the end of your lease if:

§         If you have health reasons that make you unable to pay the rent or unable to live in the unit.

o     You must give one month’s notice and a medical certificate

§         If the landlord fails to uphold a ‘statutory condition’ like doing repairs, providing heat, or illegal entering of the unit (see Responsibilities of the Landlord and Tenant).

o     You can terminate your tenancy immediately without notice. This is not in the act, but there are other cases in Nova Scotia where this has been decided.

§         If the landlord fails to uphold anything else in the act (besides the ‘statutory conditions’) you can apply to Residential Tenancies and attend a hearing and they will decide if you can terminate your tenancy or not.

ALSO…

§         You can sublet or assign your unit (see Subletting and Assigning).

§         ASK. Your landlord may agree to let you move out sooner. If your landlord does agree, make sure to get it in writing.  

Responsibility for the Rent After You Move Out:

 §         A landlord cannot keep a security deposit for simply ‘breaking a lease,’ but your security deposit can be kept if your landlord loses rent because you move out before the end of the lease.

§         If you move out and your landlord rents to other people immediately after you move, you are off the hook!! By the landlord renting to other tenants, your landlord is considered to have accepted your termination of the lease. You are NOT responsible for anything to do with the unit. Your landlord CANNOT keep your security deposit even if they had to rent the unit for cheaper.

§         If you move out and the landlord tries but does not find other tenants, you are responsible for the rent the landlord lost. The landlord can keep your security deposit for lost rent and get an order from Residential Tenancies for you to pay any other lost rent (see Landlord Collecting Money You Owe, below).

§            If the landlord DOES NOT TRY to find other tenants, you may not have to pay the lost rent because the Act requires a landlord to take action to reduce the amount of money lost if someone ends the lease. You will probably have to go to a hearing to decide if you have to pay lost rent or not.

 

REALITY

§            If you break your lease, your landlord will probably try to keep your security deposit. The landlord may say there is a fine for breaking a lease or they will try to get money for anything they lost (like if they had to advertise to find new tenants).

§            Landlords can only keep the deposit for lost rent or damages. If you end your lease because your landlord is not fulfilling the responsibilities as a landlord, your landlord probably won’t agree with this and will refuse to give your deposit back. 

THINGS TO TRY:

*          If you need to end your lease for reasons not protected by the Act, your safest bet is to find someone to assign your unit (see Subletting and Assigning).

*          If you cannot find someone, you might try keeping half of your last months rent to cover the security deposit and moving out anyway. This will cause the landlord to go after you if the landlord wants the money for any rent that is lost after you move out, which they might not do because of the hassle.

*          If your landlord does try to keep your security deposit or take you to Residential Tenancies to get lost rent, you can try to prove that the landlord either violated a statutory condition or did not try hard enough to find new tenants.

Landlord Collecting Money You Owe:

In order to get money from you, your landlord must take you to a hearing and get an ‘order’ (a decision) from Residential Tenancies that says you have to pay. If you chose not to pay, your landlord will have to enforce the order through the Small Claims Court. This can become very difficult for the landlord and depending on how much rent/other money is owed, it may not be worth it for your landlord.

If your landlord has a court order against you there are a few things your landlord can ask the sheriff to do:

Ÿ         If they know where you work, they can take money from your wages.

Ÿ         If they know your bank account number, they can take money from your bank account (if you ever gave them a cheque, then your landlord knows your bank account number).

Ÿ         If they know where you live they can get the sheriff to take your personal belongings and sell them.

Ÿ         If you left any personal belongings in the unit after you moved out, your landlord can sell your stuff (your landlord does not need the sheriff to do this).  

If you can keep all of this information away from your landlord, it will be very hard for your landlord to get the money from you. There are no criminal charges or fines for refusing to obey a Residential Tenancies or Small Claims Court order. If the court order is put on file, you may end up with bad credit (which makes it difficult to buy things, like a house or a car, or apply for certain things, like credit cards or apartments).

 
The information on this site contains general legal information only and is not intended to serve as a replacement for professional or other legal advice.  Further, this guide only applies to Residential Tenancies in Nova Scotia. 
Last updated: November 19, 2006.