Landlord Offences under RTA

What offences can a landlord be charged with under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA)?

It is an offence to contravene the following parts of the Act:

• terminating a tenancy where a tenant has made an application or filed a statement under the Residential Tenancies Act, or made a complaint, or helped in an investigation or given evidence at a hearing under the RTA or the Public Health Act;
• failing to serve a Notice of Landlord at the beginning of the tenancy or updating that information if the landlord changes;
• entering rented premises other than in accordance with the provisions of the RTA;
• adding or changing locks without the consent of the tenant, or without providing the tenant with a new key;
• terminating a periodic tenancy for any reason other than those set out in the Act;
• terminating a periodic tenancy for a reason prescribed by the Act but subsequently failing to use the premises for the given reason;
• failing to meet the notice requirements for rent increases;
• failing to keep records relating to security deposits, inspection reports, and abandoned goods;
• failing to include the required wording in inspection reports;
• failing to keep abandoned goods valued at $2,000 or more for 30 days;
• failing to swear an affidavit to establish a tenant?'s liabilities;
• regarding security deposits:
  • requiring a security deposit that is more than one month's rent or requiring a tenant to pay an increase in a security deposit;
  • failing to retain the security deposit in a trust account until the end of the tenancy;
  • failing to place security deposits in an interest bearing trust account within two banking days or ensuring the deposit remains on trust until it is dealt with according to the Act;
  • failing to pay interest on security deposits;
  • placing funds that are not part of a security deposit in the security deposit trust account;
  • failing to return a security deposit and account for deductions made from the security deposit;
  • making a deduction from a security deposit when inspection reports were not completed as required by the Act;
  • failing to have a non-owner landlord hold a security deposit when a tenancy agreement is made between a tenant and a non-owner landlord;
  • placing security deposit funds somewhere other than an authorized financial institution;
  • paying funds from a security deposit in disregard or breach of an agreement between a landlord and non-owner landlord.

A person who commits an offence under the Act can be fined up to $5,000.

See Also

This page was last updated in April, 2006.