I have not signed a lease for my basement suite apartment. I had a roommate move in with me to help with the rent. Now my landlord says that I cannot have a roommate. Does he have the right to do that? Can I move out with just one month notice if he insists that my roommate move out?

Although you have not signed a lease, you still have an agreement or understanding with your landlord about the terms under which you live in the property. If you both agreed that you would be the only occupant of the property, then that is a term of the tenancy agreement even though it was not written down. Your landlord could then insist the agreement be kept.

If there was no mention of whether or not other occupants can live in the suite, the issue might come down to the status of the roommate. If your landlord knew the person was there and accepted rent from that person, it could be argued that the roommate was in fact a tenant. Any notice to end the tenancy would then have to be in accordance with notice provisions under the Residential Tenancies Act. If your friend has no right to be in the suite, your landlord can serve a notice requiring the roommate to move within 14 days.

The amount of notice that you have to give depends upon the type of tenancy you have. It will be different depending upon whether you have a weekly, monthly, or yearly tenancy.

---

March 2006 More Renting a Place to Live FAQs:

• General
• Tenants
• Landlords
• Other Resources

Back