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ENDING A LEASE:

 Ÿ         Any landlord or tenant may end a lease (or verbal agreement) at the end of a rental term (the end of the lease), but MUST give a ‘notice to quit’ with proper notice time.

Ÿ         ‘Notice to Quit,’ sometimes called an eviction notice, is the notice that either you or your landlord gives to end the tenancy. It must be in writing and be signed by whoever is giving the notice. The notice must contain the date that the rental agreement will end.

Ÿ         The ‘anniversary date’ is the day that you entered into the lease agreement and stays the same for each year after that, regardless if you have a weekly, monthly or yearly lease.

Ÿ         You or your landlord DO NOT have to give any reasons for giving notice to end the lease at the end of a rental term, unless you have been living there for 5 years or more. This is called ‘security of tenure’

 Fixed Term Leases:

 §         A fixed term lease is a lease that expires on a specific date that you and your landlord both agreed upon when you signed the lease. If you are not sure if you have a fixed term lease or not, check your lease. The lease will automatically end on this date.

§         You or your landlord DO NOT have to give notice to have the lease end. If you want to continue renting you can sign another lease (but the landlord doesn’t have to rent to you if your landlord doesn’t want to).

§         If you do not sign another lease and you remain in the unit with the consent of your landlord, the lease changes to a month to month lease.

Security of Tenure:

 If you have been living in a unit for 5 ongoing years or more, your rental agreement CANNOT be ended except:

Ÿ         If you are an employee of the landlord and your employment has ended.

Ÿ         The unit is unliveable because of flood, fire, etc.

 Ÿ         The landlord MUST apply to Residential Tenancies to end a rental agreement with someone who has security of tenure. Permission may be granted if:

Ÿ          You do not uphold your responsibilities as a tenant (see Responsibilities of the Landlord and Tenant)

Ÿ          If the landlord needs the unit for themselves or their family

Ÿ          If the landlord needs to do renovations that require the building to be empty and the landlord has a building permit.

Ÿ          In certain circumstances, Residential Tenancies may grant permission based on the situation (like unpaid rent or a lot of damages caused by the tenant).

  Landlords will often try giving a ‘notice to quit’ for less time than required by law. This is NOT LEGAL unless you have failed to pay rent or there are safety reasons (see Evictions)

           Tell your landlord that it is not legal to give a notice to quit for a time other than the end of the rental term and refuse to move.

          There is not much you can do if your landlord chooses to not renew your lease. Many landlords will do this if the landlord wants to raise the rent a lot or if the landlord simply doesn’t like you (and yes, this is legal).

          If it is important that you stay in your unit, you might try making a big deal out of being asked to leave for no good reason or because you think that the landlord is discriminating against you.

          Make a scene: write letters and have other people write letters and call your landlord, call the media, tell other tenants, pressure the government to change the Act (see Tenant Organizing).

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.