Susan Leblanc, MLA Dartmouth North

Tenant’s Rights

Temporary Rent Control

As of January 1st 2024, the rent cap in Nova Scotia has increased to 5%. (It had been 2% for the last two years.) However, this rent cap is temporary, and can be changed at any time by the government’s Executive Council, which I am concerned about.

We need permanent rent control, something I first put forward in Province House in 2018. 

Eviction for Non-Payment of Rent

Dalhousie Legal Aid’s Tenants Rights Guide says the following about eviction for unpaid rent:

“If you have unpaid rent (sometimes called rental arrears) your landlord can apply to Residential Tenancies for an order to evict you. Your rent is "in arrears" if any portion of it is not paid on the date it is due under the lease, which is usually the first day of the month. Your landlord can evict you if ANY of the rent is unpaid, even if you have paid some of it. To evict you for unpaid rent they need to give you proper notice. To give you proper notice the landlord needs to give you a Form D Notice to Quit.

A Form D eviction notice for unpaid rent is enforceable. This means that if you do not respond to it you will be evicted without further notice from the landlord. After the notice period has passed the landlord can simply take the Form D to Residential Tenancies and apply for an Order for “Vacant Possession.” Once Residential Tenancies Officer gives the landlord this order, then the landlord can hire the Sheriff to forcibly evict you. Only the Sheriff is permitted to enforce the Order by removing you and your belongings and allowing the landlord to change the locks.

Form D — How to Respond:

When you have to respond to a Form D:

• The landlord has to wait 15 days after the unpaid rent was due before they can serve you with a Form D. You then have a 15 day grace period after the notice is issued to respond. These are calendar days, not business days.

You have 3 options for how to respond during the grace period:

• You can accept the eviction notice and move out. If you do this you will still owe your landlord money and they can go after you for it.

• You can pay the rent in full within the 15 day grace period. You will need to pay all of the rent you owe, even if it’s from months ago. If you do this the Notice to Quit will be void and you won’t have to move out, but you will have to go to the Residential Tenancies Hearing.

• You can make an application to Residential Tenancies at Access No- 37 va Scotia. You can do this to contest or set aside the landlord's Notice to Quit. If the landlord is wrong and you have paid your rent, or if the rent is late for a reason beyond your control, you can apply to Residential Tenancies to ask that the landlord’s Notice to Quit be set aside. You MUST apply to Residential Tenancies within 15 days of the landlord giving you notice. If you make an application to Residential Tenancies to challenge the eviction you do not have to move out on the date given in the Notice to Quit, but you do have to go to the hearing.

• If you do nothing you will be evicted.”

Find more information about your rights as a tenant in Dalhousie Legal Aid’s Tenant’s Rights Guide.

Renovictions

A renoviction is when a landlord evicts tenants in order to renovate a unit or building, often with the intention of increasing the rent.

There is a legal process landlords must go through to renovict tenants. Before you sign anything, make sure you know your rights. My office can help, or you can call Residential Tenancies, Dalhousie Legal Aid, or Nova Scotia Legal Aid (both numbers are on this page) for advice.

You can find the rules around renovictions on the Legal Information Services of NS webiste here.

Residential Tenancies Program: legislative changes

View recent changes to Residential Tenancies here.

Minimum Housing Standards

The M-200 By-Law sets the minimum standard to which residential buildings, including houses, apartment buildings and rooming houses in the municipality must be maintained. It covers: fire prevention; structural soundness; drainage; foundations; windows and doors; egress and exiting; decks; elevators; stairs; fireplaces, fuel burning appliances and chimneys; heating; plumbing; electrical; ventilation; and health concerns. If a building is suspected to be non-compliant with the M-200 By-Law, it should be reported to 311.