Before You Rent

Before you rent a housing unit, the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO) recommends that you:

  • Inspect the unit with your landlord,
  • Consider getting Tenant’s Insurance,
  • Find out what utilities are included in your rent payment, and
  • Read your lease carefully before you sign it.

When you inspect the unit, take photos of any damage and make note of anything that needs to be repaired. If your landlord agrees to fix something, write it down.

Most landlords will ask you to sign a lease. A lease is a legal contract between you and your landlord that sets out your rights and responsibilities. Every lease in New Brunswick must follow the rules in the Residential Tenancies Act (the Act), even if they are not explicitly written into your lease.

When you sign a lease, you agree to everything written in it except any rules that conflict with the Act. Read it carefully.

The Government of New Brunswick has created a Standard Form of Lease for landlords and tenants to use if they wish. The attachment at the end of the lease also includes very helpful explanations of some of the most important rules in the Act.

Your lease should include:

  • Your name, your roommates’ names, and your landlord’s name,
  • The address of the rental unit,
  • What type of lease it is,
  • When the lease starts and ends, if it is a fixed term lease,
  • How much rent you will pay,
  • When you will pay your rent,
  • What services and utilities are included in your rent, and
  • Any other rules that you and your landlord agree to follow.

While these terms are not mandatory to have in your lease, it is a good idea to have them written down in case you ever have a disagreement with your landlord.

You and your landlord must sign two original copies of the lease. You get one copy, and your landlord gets the other copy. If your landlord refuses to give you a copy, you can send them a formal Notice of Complaint. If they do not send you the lease within 7 days, you can apply for assistance through the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO) Complaints Process.

If you have questions about your lease, you can contact the TLRO by email at renting@gnb.ca or call 1-888-762-8600.

Periodic Leases

A periodic lease renews every week, month, or year until you or your landlord ends it. To end a lease, both tenants and landlords need to give notice. The amount of notice you need to give depends on the type of lease you have.

Type of Lease When does it renew? Notice to End Lease
Week-to-week Weekly At least 1 week
Month-to-month Monthly At least 1 month
Year-to-year Yearly At least 3 months before the end of the rental year

Be careful when you sign a year-to-year lease. Signing means agreeing to pay at least 12 months of rent. You should also take note of when “3 months before the end of the rental year” is, so that you can give notice on time if you decide not to renew your lease for another year.

Fixed-term leases

A fixed-term lease has a start date and an end date. Unlike a periodic lease, a fixed-term lease does not automatically renew after the end date. When you sign a fixed-term lease, you agree to pay rent until the end date. Even if you leave the rental unit before the end date, you usually still owe rent to your landlord for the full period.

 My fixed term lease ended, but I still pay rent and live in my unit. What kind of lease do I have?

If the “end date” in your lease passes but you continue to pay rent and live in your unit, you automatically create a new agreement. The type of agreement is based on when you pay rent. For example, if you pay rent monthly, you now have a periodic month-to-month lease.

No written lease

If you pay rent but do not have a written agreement, the law still protects you. The Residential Tenancies Act treats your agreement as if it was a Standard Form of Lease. However, it is a good idea to have a written lease in case you have a disagreement with your landlord.

The amount of notice required to end your oral lease is determined by when you pay rent. For example, if you pay rent monthly, at least 1 month’s notice is required to end your lease.

Long term tenancy

No matter what type of lease you started with, if you have lived in your rental unit for 5 years or more, you have a long term tenancy. To end your lease, you must give your landlord at least 1 month’s notice. If your landlord wants to end your lease, they need a legal reason and they must give you at least 3 months’ notice.

The terms of your lease are the rules that you and your landlord agree to in the lease agreement.

Before Signing the Lease

You or your landlord can add terms to your lease as long as they do not conflict with your rights and responsibilities in the Residential Tenancies Act (the Act). For example:

  • Your landlord can require you to bring your garbage to bins outside your building.
  • Your landlord cannot require you to give two years’ notice before you move out, because the Act says what your notice period will be.

Even if you have signed a lease, any rules in the lease that conflict with the Act will not be legally valid.

If you add additional rules to your lease, they must appear on both copies of the lease to be valid. This includes rules about smoking, quiet hours, pets, or parking.

Changing the terms of the lease after signing

Once you and your landlord sign your lease, it becomes a legal contract. You both must follow the terms of the lease. The lease cannot be changed unless you both agree to the changes. Any changes must be signed on both copies of the lease. The changes must not take away or limit your rights under the Residential Tenancies Act (the Act).

Changes to a long term lease

If you have lived in your rental unit for 5 years or more, your landlord can make a change to your lease without your consent. To change your lease:

  • Your landlord must give you at least 3 months’ written notice, and
  • The change must be reasonable, fair, and cannot conflict with your rights under the Act.

Your landlord cannot unilaterally change the amount of rent you pay. To raise your rent, they must follow the rent increase rules.

If you want the TLRO to review a change to your long term lease, follow their Complaints Process. You must submit an Application for Assistance within 15 days of getting notice of the change.

As a tenant under the Residential Tenancies Act, you have a legal responsibility to:

  • Pay your rent and the utilities that you agreed to pay in your lease,
  • Make your payments on time,
  • Follow the rules set out in your lease,
  • Keep your unit reasonably clean,
  • Repair any damage that you or your guests cause within a reasonable time,
  • Be respectful of your neighbours, and
  • Provide your landlord with enough notice when you end your lease.

If you do not follow these rules, your landlord may be able to end your lease early.

Your landlord has legal responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act. Your landlord must:

  • Give you a copy of your signed lease agreement,
  • Give your security deposit to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office within 15 days of receiving it,
  • Follow the rules in your lease,
  • Provide a rental unit that is safe, clean, and fit to live in,
  • Keep your unit in good repair throughout your tenancy,
  • Repair or replace furnishings they provided with the unit within a reasonable time,
  • Follow all health, safety, housing, and building laws,
  • Address nuisance and disturbance issues,
  • Keep shared areas clean and safe, and
  • Give you notice when they want to enter your unit, increase your rent, or end your lease.

If your landlord breaks one of these rules, you can send them a Notice of Complaint and explain the issue. If they do not fix the issue within 7 days, you can apply for assistance through the TLRO Complaints Process.

A security deposit is money, other than rent, that your landlord can ask you to pay before you move in. It is also sometimes called a damage deposit. If you keep your unit in good condition, you must get your deposit back at the end of your tenancy. However, your landlord can keep some or all of your deposit if you:

  • Cause damage to the property beyond normal wear and tear,
  • Do not clean your unit after moving out,
  • Do not give enough notice before ending your lease, or
  • Do not pay rent, the utilities you agreed to pay in your lease, or late payment fees.

Your landlord cannot ask you for a security deposit that is more than 1 months’ rent for most tenancies. If you have a week-to-week tenancy, your security deposit cannot be more than 1 weeks’ rent.

Paying your security deposit

You can pay your security deposit in two ways:

If you pay your security deposit at a Service New Brunswick Centre, it goes straight to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO). The TLRO will hold your deposit for safekeeping until the end of your tenancy.

If you pay your landlord directly, ask for a receipt. Your landlord must send your deposit to the TLRO within 15 days. If they do, you will receive a Certificate of Deposit and a tenancy number in the mail. Keep these documents somewhere safe.

If you do not get your Certificate of Deposit within four weeks, you can contact the TLRO to find out if they received your deposit. If not, you can ask your landlord to send your deposit to the TLRO.

If your landlord still does not send your deposit to the TLRO, you can give them a Notice of Complaint with instructions to send your deposit to the TLRO within 7 days. If they still do not send it, you can apply for assistance through the TLRO Complaints Process. Include your Notice of Complaint and any communications you had with your landlord about this issue. The TLRO can order your landlord to send them your deposit so long as you are still their tenant.

No written lease

Even if you did not sign a written lease, the law still protects your security deposit. The same rules apply.

The Residential Tenancies Act (the Act) limits the fees that a landlord can charge a tenant. Your landlord can only ask you to pay:

  • Rent,
  • A security deposit,
  • A late payment fee, in some circumstances,
  • A maximum of $20 to assign your lease to a new tenant, and
  • A “reasonable amount for any service to be provided in relation to the tenancy.”

Any other fees or charges by your landlord are not allowed under the Act.

If you have been charged an illegal fee, you can follow the TLRO Complaints Process and send your landlord a Notice of Complaint. If they do not respond within 7 days, you can apply for assistance from the TLRO.

Late payment fees

Your landlord cannot charge a late payment fee just because you did not pay your rent on time. Your landlord can only charge a late payment fee if all four of these conditions are true:

  • Your lease says that your landlord can charge a late payment fee,
  • You pay your rent by cheque, money order, or other negotiable instrument,
  • You failed to pay your rent on time, and
  • As a result, your landlord was charged by their bank for having non-sufficient funds in their account.

You cannot be charged a late payment fee if you pay rent by e-transfer.

The late payment fee can only be the exact amount that the bank charged your landlord for having non-sufficient funds. Your landlord must also show proof of the charge through a bank statement or receipt.

A “reasonable amount for a service provided in relation to the tenancy”

A “reasonable amount” and a “service provided in relation to the tenancy” are not defined in the Act. Only the TLRO can decide what is reasonable and what types of services fall under this section of the Act. For example, if your landlord charged you a small fee because they had a new key made for you because you locked yourself out of your unit.

Pet fees

It is illegal for your landlord to charge a pet fee. If they do, you can follow the TLRO Complaints Process and send them a Notice of Complaint referring to s.8(4) of the Act. If they do not correct the issue within 7 days, you can apply for assistance from the TLRO.