Health & Accessibility

A tenant can end a lease with one month’s notice if their health has gotten worse to the point where the unit is no longer accessible or affordable. Tenants can also end a lease early if they have been accepted into a nursing or special care home. This does not apply to tenants who are in the hospital for a temporary period of time, but can apply to tenants who are going to be in the hospital for extended periods of time and who can’t or don’t want to return to their unit afterwards.

If a tenant’s health has deteriorated because of the conditions of the unit or there are significant safety issues in the unit, it may be a breach of the Statutory Conditions. In this case, a tenant can end a lease early for health reasons and pursue a rent abatement at the tenancy board. In some cases, if a tenant files for a rent abatement or a Statutory Conditions violation and does not want to leave the unit, a Residential Tenancies Officer can issue an order for the landlord to fix the problem. For more on this, see Statutory Conditions & Maintenance.

For a tenant to move out for health reasons, they must file a Form G: Tenant’s Notice to Quit – Early Termination of Tenancy and have a doctor complete a Form H: Physician’s Certificate – Termination of Tenancy for Health Reasons. If you have been accepted into a nursing home or care facility, you must submit an acceptance letter but aren’t required to have a doctor fill out a Form H.

These forms must be formally served to the landlord, using one of the methods specified in the lease.

When one tenant submits a Notice to Quit, the lease ends for all tenants in the unit. If there are other tenants living in the unit, you must also serve them:

When a tenancy is terminated, the other tenants on the lease can resign a new lease with the landlord. The landlord cannot reasonably deny the tenants to sign a new lease.

    • For tenants on a month-to-month or week-to-week lease, this Notice to Quit is functionally the same as serving a regular Notice to Quit through a Form C.

    • If you have a specialist or family doctor treating you, it’s best to have them fill out the form since they would be most familiar with your condition. If you do not have this, a walk-in doctor can also complete a Form H.

    • If you are living with other tenants, make sure you talk to them before ending the lease. In some instances, landlords must agree to a lease reassignment where one tenant can be removed from the lease while the lease is reassigned to the other tenants. More information on lease reassignments here.

    • Tenants have to explain why there is a connection between their health issue and why they need to terminate the tenancy. A tenant or their doctor can do this. (Rahbar Arabani v. Bales, 2017 NSSM 95) *

    • A landlord has the right to question the tenant on the nature of their health conditions (including the doctor’s report) and why it requires them to terminate their tenancy early. (GNF Investments v. Vriend, 2016 NSSC 116)

    • Becoming pregnant doesn’t constitute a significant deterioration of health, but other factors that come with pregnancy can (e.g. bed rest requirements in a walk-up unit). (Allen v Black, 2012 NSSM 27)

    • Psychological or emotional distress as a result of a conflict with the landlord is not enough for a tenant to terminate the tenancy for health reasons. (GNF Investments Ltd. v. Rossell, 2015 NSSM 54)

    * Watch out! Some case law contradicts this decision (Rolle v Rockstone Investments Ltd., 2015 NSSM 24). Always consult a legal professional before relying on case law.

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