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Tenants' Rights Guide

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Tenant Empowerment:

Having access to safe and affordable housing is important to our well-being. We have power as tenants by knowing and enforcing our rights. We have strength as a community by standing together to fight for decent housing. It is our right to live in safety and free from harassment.

The fact that tenants have some power in rental housing is often overlooked. The Residential Tenancies Act has been called a “landlord’s act”: profit seems to be more important than safety, affordability, and comfort. Despite this, tenants’ groups and individuals continue to stand up for their right to live with dignity and reclaim power over their homes, their neighbourhoods, and their lives. 

How to use this Guide:

Just because there are laws and regulations to protect tenants, these laws are not always followed in reality. Reality sometimes means being taken advantage of, being lied to about what your rights are, and having to be cautious when fighting a landlord for fear of eviction. Using the legal process is not always the most effective way of solving a problem. There are many things that tenants can do on their own to demand that their rights are upheld. When tenants know their legal rights and can assert these rights in reality, tenants can begin to reclaim power over their housing.

To help with this, each topic in this guide is broken into three sections:

The Law, Reality, and Things to Try.

At a Glance:  Quick Reference

 LEASES

 ·     Landlords must follow a “Standard Form of Lease” when making a lease.

·     The lease must not contradict the Residential Tenancies Act or the “Standard Form of Lease.” Any contradictions are not valid.

·     Landlords can put their own rules in the lease as long as they are “reasonable.” A reasonable rule is one

·     that ensures that services are fairly distributed to all tenants

·     Promotes safety, comfort, and well-being of all tenants

·     Protects landlord’s property from abuse

·     All leases, except fixed-term, automatically renew themselves at the end of the lease. If you or your landlord do not want to renew the lease, proper notice must be given.

 Notice Needed to End a Lease:

·     Your landlord does not have to give you any reason for giving you notice to not renew your lease, unless you have lived in a unit for 5 years or more (security of tenure, see pg# 11).

EVICTIONS

 ·     You can be evicted if you do not pay your rent, but you must be given proper notice.

 Notice for Eviction for Unpaid Rent:

·     Your landlord CANNOT give you notice until rent has been unpaid for a full 30 days in a yearly or monthly lease or a full 15 days in a weekly lease.

·     You can also be evicted for bad behaviour or if you are a risk to safety and security. You must be given proper notice.

 Notice and Cause for Evictions:

 ·     You do not have to leave on the date on the Notice to Quit. The landlord MUST file with Residential Tenancies to evict you for any reason. You will have to go to a hearing. Until you receive papers from Residential Tenancies and go to a hearing, you do not have to leave.

 SECURITY DEPOSITS

 ·     A security deposit cannot be more than half of what you pay for one month’s rent. You cannot be charged deposits for keys, carpets, fire extinguishers, etc.

·     Your security deposit can only be kept for unpaid rent or damages.

·     Your security deposit cannot be kept for “wear and tear.”

·     Your landlord must file to keep your deposit within 10 days of the end of your tenancy or the deposit should be returned with interest to the tenant.

·     If your landlord does not give your deposit back, you must file with Residential Tenancies to have it returned.

REPAIRS

 ·     Your landlord must keep your unit in a good state of repair, fit for habitation, and follow all heath, safety, and housing laws.

·     You are responsible for the general cleanliness of the unit and anything that you or your guests break on purpose or by accident.

·     The landlord cannot discontinue a service (like heat, hot water, electricity) without 4 months notice. This is considered a rental increase.

·     You can file with Residential Tenancies to order the landlord to do repairs. You can ask that you pay rent in trust to Residential Tenancies until the repairs are done. You can also ask for a rental rebate for the inconvenience of living without repairs. You can also end your lease without notice if the unit is unfit for habitation.

·     You can call a HRM by-law enforcer to come and inspect the building and order the landlord to do repairs.

·     You can organize with other tenants to pressure your landlord to do repairs.

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.