Rights & Responsibilities (Statutory Conditions)

The RTA outlines landlord and tenant responsibilities under a section called the Statutory Conditions. These are like a landlord’s lease rules, except they are set by the government and apply to both the landlord and/or the tenant. All landlords and tenants must follow these rules, and no lease can violate or reassign responsibilities that are outlined in the Statutory Conditions.

At its most basic, a unit must be set up for heat, electricity, and water. A landlord must keep the unit in a decent state of repair and comply with all applicable health, safety, and housing laws and city bylaws in addition to the RTA.

Some bylaws have temperature requirements, that state a building cannot be below a certain temperature. In the HRM, building temperatures cannot drop below 21 degrees Celsius.

Tenants are responsible for their behaviour and the ordinary cleanliness of the unit, and the behaviour and damages caused by their guests and occupants. If you rent a mobile/manufactured home there are additional responsibilities that apply, see our Manufactured Homes Guide for more information.

The rest of the topics in this section deal with the landlords’ responsibilities under the Statutory Conditions in more detail, including repairs, maintenance, and pest control.

    • If a landlord breaches a statutory conditions, a tenant can end the lease, move out immediately, and request a refund of that month’s rent. However, if a court decides there isn’t a breach, the tenant will have to pay all the rent owing as if the lease was never interrupted. (MacDougall v. MacDonald, 1991 109 NSR 2d 188)

    • If there is no municipal occupancy permit for the premises, the lease is void and all money paid to the landlord must be returned to the tenant. (Lantz v. Hansen, 1987 82 NSR 2d 392 NSCC)

Three keys of different colors—light blue, dark blue, and rust orange—are hanging from a red keyring.
Go Back