You may have read the Star Phoenix story in yesterday’s paper regarding two tenants of the Barry Hotel who successfully appealed their eviction notices allowing them to continue to reside there until May 31. It’s important for tenants and landlords to understand their rights and their obligations when it comes to the termination of a tenancy. Here’s a quick look at the legislation as outlined in the Residential Tenancies Act.
Under Section 60 of the new Residential Tenancies Act:
A landlord may end a periodic tenancy respecting a rental unit if:
(a) the landlord enters into an agreement in good faith to sell the rental unit;
(b) all the conditions on which the sale depends have been satisfied; and
(c) the purchaser asks the landlord, in writing, to give notice to end the
tenancy on one of the following grounds:
(i) the purchaser is an individual and the purchaser, or a close family
member or friend of the purchaser, intends in good faith to occupy the
rental unit;
(ii) the purchaser is a family corporation and an individual owning
voting shares in the corporation, or a close family member or friend of
that individual, intends in good faith to occupy the rental unit.
A landlord may end a periodic tenancy respecting a rental unit if the landlord has all the necessary permits and approvals required by law, and intends in good faith, to do any of the following:
(a) demolish the rental unit;
(b) renovate or repair the rental unit in a manner that requires the rental unit to be vacant;
(c) convert the residential property to condominiums pursuant to The CondominiumProperty Act, 1993;
(d) convert the residential property into a continuing housing co-operative as defined inThe Co-operatives Act, 1996;
(e) convert the rental unit for use by a caretaker, manager or superintendent of theresidential property;
(f) convert the rental unit to a non-residential use.
Also under Section 60:
(8) A notice pursuant to this section must comply with section 63.
(9) A tenant may dispute a notice pursuant to this section by applying for an order pursuant to section 70 within 15 days after the date the tenant receives the notice.
(10) If a tenant who has received a notice pursuant to this section does not apply for an order pursuant to subsection (9), the tenant:
(a) is deemed to have accepted that the tenancy ends on the effective date of the notice; and
(b) must vacate the rental unit by that date.
Regarding proper notice, Section 63 states:
To be effective, a notice to end a tenancy must be in writing and must:
(a) be dated and identified as originating from the landlord or tenant giving the notice;
(b) give the address of the rental unit;
(c) state the effective date of the end of the tenancy;
(d) state the grounds for ending the tenancy; and
(e) when given by a landlord, be in the approved form.”
Additional Tenant Rights
Having received a notice of a termination of the tenancy, a tenant has the additional right to end the tenancy earlier by giving the landlord at least 10days written notice and paying the proportionate amount of rent.
In the event that the landlord does not carry out the intended purpose stated in the Notice, a tenant may seek compensation for having moved.
A form which is approved for use can be found here on the province’s Justice and Attorney General website.
Norm Fisher
Royal LePage Vidorra
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