Again, this month, recent events and public discourse inform our blog entry. The eviction of a senior citizen from her apartment by the City of St. John’s has moved the ‘spotlight’ from the law of nuisance and the Outer Battery to the law of landlord and tenant.
Media reports have stated that Newfoundland and Labrador and the Yukon are the only jurisdictions in Canada which permit evictions of tenants without the landlord having to provide a reason. Therefore, it is timely to briefly review the law in this province and what it says about eviction.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, the relationship between persons renting places to live and persons or corporations providing premises to rent is regulated by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 (the RTA).The main features of the RTA are the requirements for a rental agreement, rent, security deposits, termination of rental agreements and the resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants.
A rental agreement, more commonly called a lease, is an agreement between a property owner and a person which gives permission to occupy certain premises in exchange for the promise to pay rent. It is wise to have a written rental agreement, however agreements are often oral or can be implied from the circumstances of the parties.
A landlord and tenant cannot contract out of the RTA. In fact, the act imposes obligations on the parties which apply to all forms of residential leases. These include:
(2) A landlord shall give the tenant notice that the rental agreement is terminated and the tenant is required to vacate the residential premises
(a) not less than 4 weeks before the end of a rental period where the residential premises is rented from week to week;
(b) not less than 3 months before the end of a rental period where the residential premises is rented from month to month; and
(c) not less than 3 months before the end of the term where the residential premises is rented for a fixed term.
The landlord’s notice to the tenant need only state that they are relying on this section without having to provide a reason. These are called no fault or without cause evictions.
In contrast, residential tenancies legislation in other provinces prescribe the circumstances in which no fault terminations are appropriate.
For example, in Ontario, no fault evictions may include:
• The landlord plans to do major repairs or renovations that require a building permit and the work cannot be done unless the rental unit is empty
• The landlord requires the rental unit because the landlord, a member of the landlord’s immediate family or their caregiver wish to move into the unit
• The landlord has agreed to sell the property and the purchaser requires all or part of the property because the purchaser, a member of the purchaser’s immediate family or their caregiver wishes to move into the unit.
Other provinces have the same or similar limitations on the landlord’s ability to terminate a rental agreement on a no fault basis. Absent one of these reasons, the tenant may seek relief from the applicable provincial landlord and tenant tribunal.
In Newfoundland and Labrador, a landlord or tenant may make an application to the Director of Residential Tenancies regarding issues arising from the rental agreement, including whether an eviction is legal. The Director has only the powers specified in the RTA. In the case of a no fault eviction, as long as the landlord has given the required form and length of notice, the Director cannot interfere with the eviction.
Cases which garner public attention often have a back story which, if known, would provide useful context to understand what occurred. Privacy laws properly limit what we can know in these situations. Nevertheless, is it time to review our law regarding no fault evictions. Social justice advocates are calling on the province to amend the RTA to bring it in line with legislation in the rest of Canada. In contrast to the Outer Battery, is it time to turn the lights on and focus on changing. our landlord and tenant legislation.