Renting a Self-Contained House

For matters that are not dealt with by the Act, or if you agree to more than is required by the Act, the agreement will provide the rules for your relationship. For example, you can agree together about the rules concerning who will be responsible for which repairs.

You and your tenant can agree to rules that provide more benefits or rights than are in the Act, but you cannot agree to give up any of the rights the Residential Tenancies Act provides. For example, you can agree to give your tenant four months notice to end a monthly periodic tenancy instead of the three months required by the Act. You cannot agree to two months notice, which would be less than what’s required by the RTA.

Other laws may also apply for matters such as public health and human rights.

If this is the first time that you have rented out the property or the first time your tenant has rented a home, you both might want to review the following sections to become familiar with the requirements of the Act.

• Security deposit

• Inspection of the property

• Rent

• The type of tenancy – periodic or fixed-term

• Landlord and tenant obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act.

January 2006