Residential Tenancies Act - Nova Scotia Legislature

1 Residential Tenancies ActCHAPTER 401 OF THE REVISED STATUTES, 1989as amended by1992, c. 31, ss. 1, 4(b) and (c), 5(1), 8(1) and (2) (in part), 9, 10, 14-16;1993, c. 40, ss. 1-7, 8(2)-14; 1994, c. 32; 1997, c. 7; 2002, c. 10, ss. 23-36;2002, c. 30, ss. 16-18; 2010, c. 72; 2011, c. 70; 2012, c. 64; 2014, c. 34, ss. 57-59; 2016, c. 27; 2018, c. 41; 2021, c. 36, ss. 1, 3(2) and (3), 6(2), 7 and 14-16 2021 Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of nova ScotiaPublished by Authority of the Speaker of the House of AssemblyHalifaxThis page is intentionally 5, 2021 CHAPTER 401 OF THE REVISED STATUTES, 1989amended 1992, c. 31, ss. 1, 4(b) and (c), 5(1), 8(1) and (2) (in part), 9, 10, 14-16; 1993, c. 40, ss. 1-7, 8(2)-14; 1994, c. 32; 1997, c. 7; 2002, c. 10, ss. 23-36;2002, c. 30, ss. 16-18; 2010, c. 72; 2011, c. 70; 2012, c.

2 64; 2014, c. 34, ss. 57-59; 2016, c. 27; 2018, c. 41; 2021, c. 36, ss. 1, 3(2) and (3), 6(2), 7 and 14-16An Act RespectingResidential TenanciesTable of Contents(The table of contents is not part of the statute)SectionShort 2 Calculation of time 2 ALandlord and TenantApplication of 3 Application of ActsCertain Acts do not 4 Disposal of property of 5 Free access by 5 AApplication 6 Requirement for LeaseEntitlement to documents and 7 Standard form of 8 Guarantee AgreementsGuarantee 8 AForm of guarantee agreement .. 8 BNotice of change in 8 CService of notice and other 8 DLimit of guarantor s 8 EGuarantor responsible for obligations of all tenants at 8 FDocuments served by landlord on 8 GNotice of rental increase .. 8 HChanges to landlord 8 ITermination of guarantee agreement on assignment of 8 JNotice to guarantor of subletting.

3 8 KNotice to guarantor on tenant s failure to 8 LTermination of guarantee 8M2residential , c. 401 NOVEMBER 5, 2021 Statutory ConditionsStatutory 9 Landlord s 9 AAssignment and 9 BNotice to QuitNotice to 10 Renewal term and daily rents .. 10 AEarly termination for sale of Residential termination for demolition, repairs or by termination of year-to-year lease ..10 AEEarly termination upon income 10 BEarly termination for health 10 CEarly termination upon acceptance into 10 DNotice by personal 10 EEarly termination for domestic violence 10 FCertificate Confirming Grounds toTerminate Tenancy Due to Domestic ViolenceDelegation by Director of Victim 10 GApplication for 10 HDirector of Victim Services not 10 IRental IncreaseRestrictions increasing 11 Rent increase in land-lease 11 AAnnual allowable rent increase 11 BSecurity DepositSecurity deposit.

4 12 ProceduresApplication to 13 Director s 14 Service of 15 Duties and powers of 16 Order by 17 Contents of 17 AConsequences of failure to 17 BAppeal to Small Claims 17 CDuties of Court on 17 DAppeal to 17 EEvidence .. 17 FDirector of Residential TenanciesDirector of Residential 19 Declaration of 19 ANo action 19 BProtection of TenantsConsequence of retaliatory action by , c. 401residential tenancies3 NOVEMBER 5, 2021 EnforcementRight of 22 APenaltyOffence and 23 Consent to 24 ApplicationApplication of 26 Waiver of 27 Manufactured-home Advisory CommitteeEstablishment and composition of 29 _____Short title1 This Act may be citged as the Residential Tenancies Act. , c. 401,s. purpose of this Act is to provide landlords and tenants with anefficient and cost-effective means for settling disputes.

5 1993, c. 40, s. this Act,(a) anniversary date means a date on which a lease was firstentered into, and refers to the same date in a subsequent year as long as thelease continues, regardless of whether the lease is for a term running week toweek, month to month, year to year, or for a fixed term;(aa)repealed 2002, c. 10, s. 23.(ab) Director means the Director of Residential Tenancies desig-nated pursuant to this Act;(aba) Director of Victim Services has the same meaning as in theVictims Rights and Services Act, but includes a person authorized underSection 10G to exercise the powers and carry out the duties of the Directorof Victim Services;(abb) domestic violence has the same meaning as in the DomesticViolence Intervention Act;(abc) family member means, in relation to an individual, any ofthe following:(i) the individual s spouse,4residential , c.

6 401 NOVEMBER 5, 2021(ii) a child of the individual or the individual s spouse,(iii) a parent or legal guardian of the individual or the indi-vidual s spouse;(ac) fixed-term lease means a lease that is entered into for afixed period of time, which includes the day of commencement and the dayof termination stated in the lease;(ad) guarantee agreement means a written agreement between alandlord and a guarantor in which the guarantor undertakes to be responsiblefor specific obligations of a tenant under a written lease or under this Act ifthe tenant fails to comply with those obligations;(ae) guarantor means a person who enters into a guaranteeagreement with a landlord;(b) land-lease community means any lot, piece or parcel of landupon which two or more occupied manufactured homes are located for aperiod of ten days or more, either free of charge or for revenue purposes, andincludes any building, structure or enclosure used or intended for use as partof the equipment of such land-lease community;(c) landlord includes a person who is deemed to be a landlord, alessor, an owner, the person giving or permitting the occupation of premisesand such person s heirs and assigns and legal representatives.

7 (d) manufactured home means any trailer that is(i) designed for or intended to be equipped with wheels,whether or not it is so equipped, and(ii) constructed or manufactured to provide a residence forone or more persons,but does not include a travel trailer or tent trailer otherwise designed;(e) manufactured home space means a plot of ground within aland-lease community designed to accommodate one manufactured home;(f) Minister means the Minister of Service nova Scotia andInternal Services;(fa) police agency has the same meaning as agency in thePolice Act;(fb) public housing program means a rental program offered totenants of low and modest income by reason of funding provided by the Gov-ernment of Canada, the Province or a municipality or any agency thereof;(g) rent means money or other value payable in considerationof the right to possess or occupy Residential premises;(h) Residential premises includes any house, dwelling, apart-ment, flat, tenement, manufactured home, land-lease community, manufac-tured home space or other place that is occupied or may be occupied by anindividual as a residence or that part of any such place that is or may beoccupied by an individual as a residence, but does not include(i) a university, college or institution of learning, a hospi-tal, psychiatric hospital or maternity hospital, a municipal home, or ajail, prison or reformatory, , c.

8 401residential tenancies5 NOVEMBER 5, 2021(ii) a maternity home that is licensed under the Children sServices Act,(iii) a nursing home to which the Homes for Special CareAct applies,(iv) a roofed accommodation registered under the TouristAccommodations Registration Act, but only while it is being used as ashort-term rental as defined in that Act,(v) a Residential care facility licensed under the Homes forSpecial Care Act, or(vi) any other class of premises prescribed by regulation;(i) Residential tenancy officer means a Residential tenancyofficer appointed under this Act;(ia) Small Claims Court means the Small Claims Court of NovaScotia;(ib) spouse means, in relation to an individual,(i) the legally married spouse of the individual, or(ii) another individual who has cohabited with the individ-ual as a spouse continuously for a period of not less than one year;(j) tenant means(i) an individual who has paid or agreed to pay rent tooccupy Residential premises,(ii) an individual who is permitted to occupy residentialpremises under an assignment or sublet to which the landlord hasconsented under Section 9B, and(iii) an heir, assign or personal representative of an individ-ual referred to in subclause (i) or (ii);(ja) victim has the same meaning as in the Domestic ViolenceIntervention Act.

9 (k) wear and tear means the usual degree of depreciation ordeterioration caused by living in a Residential premise, relative to the dura-tion of the lease. , c. 401, s. 2; 1992, c. 31, s. 1; 1993, c. 40, s. 2; 2002, c. 30, s. 23;2010, c. 72, ss. 1, 22; 2012, c. 64, s. 1; 2014, c. 34, s. 57; 2018, c. 41, s. 1; 2019-149;2021, c. 36, s. 1; revision of time periods2A (1)For greater certainty, where a period of time is calculated froma given day, act or event, that period of time does not include that day or the day onwhich the act or event occurred.(2)Where a notice under this Act is to be given based on a periodof one or more months, the notice must be given on or before the day before the dayof the month that rent is payable under the lease. 2018, c. 41, s. , c. 401 NOVEMBER 5, 2021 LANDLORD AND TENANTA pplication of Act3 (1)Notwithstanding any agreement, declaration, waiver or state-ment to the contrary, this Act applies when the relation of landlord and tenant existsbetween a person and an individual in respect of Residential premises.

10 (2)For the purposes of subsection (1), the relation of landlord andtenant is deemed to exist in respect of Residential premises between an individualand a person when an individual(a) possesses or occupies Residential premises and has paidor agreed to pay rent to the person;(b) makes an agreement with the person by which the indi-vidual is granted the right to possess or occupy Residential premisesin consideration of the payment of or promise to pay rent;(c) has possessed or occupied Residential premises and haspaid or agreed to pay rent to the person. , c. 401, s. OF ACTSC ertain Acts do not apply4 When the relation of landlord and tenant exists in respect of residen-tial premises by virtue of this Act or otherwise,(a) the Overholding Tenants Act; and(b) the Tenancies and Distress for Rent Act,do not apply to the landlord or to the tenant or in respect of the Residential premisesor any goods or chattels on the Residential premises.