New rules for NS renters, landlords
Posted Nov 15, 2012 11:07:24 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It will be easier for renters to stay in their apartments after their lease expires, but it will also be easier for landlords to evict tenants who are delinquent in their payments under changes to provincial legislation taking effect this week.
Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act come into effect Thursday and are being touted by the province as protecting the rights of both landlord and tenant.
Some of the changes will include automatic lease renewal, which some landlords already do, but which will become mandatory under the changes.
“If you’re not in a fixed-term lease then you have instant tenure because your lease or your contract is one that would roll over into the next year,” said John MacDonell, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.
At the same time, landlords will be able to give delinquent tenants 15 days to vacate, instead of 30 days.
“We don’t see that it’s particularly burdensome for the person who’s doing the renting,” he said. “The expectation from all of us is that if you enter into the agreement that you pay. The difficulty seems to be for landlords to get people to actually do that, and the time period over which they could collect was too long.”
He said part of the aim of these changes was to strike a balance of power by giving landlords a shorter eviction notice while giving renters instant tenure.
Changes to the act also include a way for tenants to request that potential buyers of their manufactured homes be approved as tenants by landlords before the sale. Landlords will now have 10 days to respond to the request.
Over the next few months, the province will take steps to ensure tenants and landlords are aware of, and understand, their rights and responsibilities under the new Residential Tenancies Act.
