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SECURITY DEPOSITS:

Ÿ         A landlord IS legally allowed to ask for a security deposit.

Ÿ         The deposit CANNOT be more than half of what you would pay for rent each month. So if your rent is $600, the security deposit can be no more than $300.

Ÿ         It is NOT the last month’s rent.

Ÿ         The landlord can not ask for extra deposits for anything else (like keys, fire extinguishers, carpets).

Ÿ         Your landlord must return your security deposit with interest (1% per year) to you within 10 days of the end of your tenancy.

Ÿ         ‘NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR’ is the common degree of decline of the quality of a unit caused by normal use of the unit. Example: worn down carpets where people often walk or faded paint.

Ÿ         If you move out before the end of your lease (‘break your lease’) and the landlord cannot find other tenants, you may be responsible to pay the rent your landlord lost. Your security deposit can be kept for this (for more on this, see Moving Out Before the End of a Lease).

Ÿ         If your landlord wishes to keep your security deposit, your landlord MUST file with Residential Tenancies within 10 days of the end of your tenancy.

Ÿ         If your landlord files to keep your deposit and you do not agree, you MUST file with Residential Tenancies to have your deposit returned (see Legal Process for info about how to do this)

Ÿ         You must then go to a hearing to decide who gets the deposit.

Ÿ         You have one year to apply for the return of your security deposit (the sooner you do it, the better. After time, a landlord may be hard to track down, have moved, or have gone out of business).

Landlords will often keep security deposits, even if it is not legal. Sometimes the hassle of going to Residential Tenancies may not be worth it for a tenant.

        Before paying a security deposit make sure you fill out an inspection report of damages so your landlord can’t charge you with damages that you did not do (see Before you Sign). Also, make sure you fill out another inspection form when you leave. This way you have to agree that you actually caused any damages that the landlord may claim that you did.

       Sometimes the mere threat of taking a landlord to court is enough to make them give you the deposit back. Write a letter or have an organization that supports tenants write a letter that clearly states that keeping the deposit is illegal and why. Your landlord may realize that going to court over something that they will probably lose is not worth it.

       If you know beforehand that your landlord won’t give the deposit back, you can choose to only pay half of your last month’s rent and keep the rest to cover the security deposit. This is not legal under the Residential Tenancies Act, but there are no fines, tickets, or charges for violating the Act. It is then your landlord’s responsibility to take you to a Residential Tenancies hearing to try to get the money for the rent back.

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.