Changes To N.S. Tenancy Laws Make It Easier For Landlords To Raise Rents
HALIFAX — Late last week, Nova Scotia’s provincial government made a series of changes to its often-maligned Residential Tenancies Program. There were no changes, however, to the controversial two-percent rent cap that’s still in place until at least December 31.
While the rent cap remains, landlords can now raise a tenant’s rent at any time, as long as it’s only once over a 12-month period. Before this change, rent increases could only happen on the anniversary date of a long-term lease.
Just as before, landlords must provide a notice of rent increase to tenants long before the rent increase takes effect.
Kevin Russell, the director of the landlord lobby group IPOANS, says the new rules help landlords who only want to raise the rent when they suddenly face higher operating costs. When this happens, they won’t have to wait for the lease to be renewed.
However, he says the rent cap means the new rules are only a slight help.
“That is something that will help landlords, in a sense, especially those who only traditionally raise rents when there is a spike in expenses, not necessarily on the anniversary dates of the lease,” he says. “That is something that will help, but we’re now under a rent cap so nothing can be over two percent.”
The province will also now forbid landlords from charging different rents based on the terms of a lease. From now on, landlords have to offer the same rental price to both long-term, yearly leases and shorter, fixed-term agreements.
Russell says this is concerning for some IPOANS members who offer incentives for tenants willing to sign a 12-month lease.
“It’s riskier to have a month-to-month lease rather than a longer-term lease because, with a 12-month lease, you knew you’d have a tenant for a full year,” he says.
Another victory for landlords in the legislative tweaks comes in the form of subletting rules. As of February 3, when the new rules took effect, tenants need the landlord’s permission to sublet. If a tenant sublets without the landlord’s permission, the landlord can now terminate the lease.
Russell said subletting was an issue in the past because some tenants charged more for an apartment or room than their rent. It was also impossible for landlords to screen subletters like they would a regular tenant.
“Subletting was always an issue, but now it’s more of an issue with the rent cap in place. You have tenants renting out a unit and they’re charging hundreds more than what the landlord can charge. We think that’s blatantly unfair,” Russell says.
“They’re pocketing that money at the landlord’s expense.”
Other minor changes include landlords having to give 24-hour notice before entering a tenant’s unit unless it is an emergency. That’s a law that is common in other jurisdictions.
Overall, Russell says the rule changes are relatively small and won’t do anything to help the current housing crisis, increase rental stock, or encourage more people to become landlords. He says these particular changes were being discussed four years ago.
“These changes were discussed way back in 2019, just before Covid; there was no rent cap, no state of emergency. This is just a natural evolution of the act,” he says. “These are minor changes that don’t get to the root causes of the housing crisis.”
Lisa Hayhurst is the Dartmouth chair for Nova Scotia ACORN, a group that lobbies for tenant rights. She also called the changes small.
She says ACORN is now lobbying for permanent rent control, a ban on renovictions, and a ban on fixed-term leases. She says fixed-term leases have been a major issue lately but haven’t received a lot of attention.
“[When a lease is up], the landlord has the opportunity to either keep the tenant or kick the person out,” explained Hayhurst. “And if they decide to kick the person out, it means yet another person doesn’t have a place to live: the landlord kicks them out and they can put the rent to whatever they feel like.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].