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Chances are that at some point, you’ll move out of your rental home. How it formally ends depends on the type of rental agreement you have.
If you are in a lease, you or your landlord can choose to not renew it when it ends. As discussed on page 6, the landlord must submit their plans to you in writing, two months before the lease ends. You have 30 days to accept or decline the landlord’s offer.
If you rent by the week or by the month, you must give the landlord one full week or one full month’s notice, depending on the tenancy type.
As well, a landlord and tenant can mutually agree at any time to end the tenancy.
If you are in a lease and want to move out early, you may be able to have someone else take over the lease. This is known as subletting.
To sublet, you’ll need the written consent of your landlord. The landlord must not unreasonably withhold their consent, but can charge up to $20 for considering, investigating, or consenting to this change.
If you sublet your place, you’re still responsible to the landlord for the lease. It is your responsibility to ensure that your subletter pays the rent and obeys the rules.
If your landlord breaches a material part of your tenancy agreement, you can give immediate notice to end the tenancy. For example, if your rental unit is in such bad repair that it is not livable, you would notify the landlord. Your notice to move out will be effective the day after your landlord receives it. Before giving this kind of notice, you must give the landlord a reasonable period to fix the situation, if it can be fixed.
Landlords can end tenancies immediately if your rent is left unpaid for 15 or more days after it is due. They can give you one month’s notice to leave for a number of reasons, including being repeatedly late paying rent, or are causing extraordinary damage or disturbances.
If you rent month-to-month or week-to-week, landlords can give two months’ notice for you to leave if a close family member or friend will be moving into the property, they are going to sell, demolish, renovate or repair the property, or they are converting the property from a rental to condominiums.
If a new landlord buys your place and wants to move in or have their family or close friends move in, the new landlord can give one month’s notice to vacate so long as there is not a lease.
When you move out, you must leave the rented premises reasonably clean and undamaged, except for reasonable wear and tear. All keys must be returned. Once you move out, a landlord has seven business days to return your security deposit or to claim some or all of it for damages.
If you have a disagreement with a landlord’s claim to your security deposit, you can dispute it with the Office of Residential Tenancies. A hearing will take place, and they will determine what should happen with the deposit.
Things wear out. Because of this, when you move out your landlord cannot make you pay for damages that are considered reasonable wear and tear. However, what constitutes “reasonable” can be a difficult question. What do you think is “reasonable” wear and tear? What kinds of circumstances would impact your definition of the word reasonable?
Damage, Cleaning, and Repairs - True or False: 1) T 2) F 3) T 4) T 5) F
Mini Case Studies: 1a) No 1b) Yes 2a) No 2b) Negotiate an increase with Ferne or make an application to the Office of Residential Tenancies 3a) No 3b) Make an application to the Office of Residential Tenancies
PLEA acknowledges the financial support of the Department of Justice Canada towards the development and printing of this resource.
PLEA thanks Brent Toles at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education for reviewing this resource.
