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Do you rent? Are you a landlord?  Here you will find basic information, and links to other more comprehensive resources, about the Residential Tenancies Act (‘RTA’), which is the law that sets out the rights and responsibilities of residential landlords and tenants in Nova Scotia, and provides a way to resolve disputes.

The Residential Tenancies Act does not apply to commercial leases, on-campus university or college residences, hospitals, municipal homes, prisons, some nursing homes, and hotels.

Landlords can only evict with proper notice and a good reason

 All tenants get security of tenure immediately

Security of tenure means that a landlord cannot end a tenant’s lease without a good reason.  

All tenants get security of tenure right away.  This means:

  • tenants have the right to stay until they give the landlord proper notice that they are moving out, except for a fixed-term lease, which ends on the date specified in the lease; and
  • a landlord can still give a tenant notice that they must move out, but must have a valid reason for doing so.

Examples of reasons for a landlord to give notice under the Residential Tenancies Act are that the landlord claims the tenant:

  • is at least 15 days behind on rent in a yearly, monthly or fixed-term lease, or 30 days behind for a land-lease community
  • was disruptive to other tenants, interfering with their ability to live in their unit ("bad behaviour")
  • damaged the premises
  • sublet or assigned the premises without the landlord’s consent
  • broke the lease terms or responsibilities under the RTA
  • is a safety risk to the landlord or other tenants.

Reviewed December 2016