Standard Form of Lease Regulations
made under Section 8 of the
Residential Tenancies Act
R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 401
N.S. Reg. 19/2025 (effective April 30, 2025)
Table of Contents
Please note: this table of contents is provided for convenience of reference and does not form part of the regulations.
Click here to go to the text of the regulations.
Citation
Definitions
Standard form of lease
Standard Form of Lease
Citation
1 These regulations may be cited as the Standard Form of Lease Regulations.
Definitions
2 In these regulations, “Act” means the Residential Tenancies Act.
Standard form of lease
3 A standard form of lease under subsection 8(2A) of the Act must be in the attached
form.
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Standard Form of Lease
(Residential Tenancies Act, R.S.N.S. 1989, c. 401)
Parties
1. This agreement is made in duplicate between
Landlord
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name (first name, initial, last name or company name)
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civic address (required)
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mailing address (required)
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city
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postal code
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phone (bus.)
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phone (res.)
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-and-
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Tenant(s)
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name(s)
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name(s)
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name(s)
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Occupants
2.Other adults or children who will occupy premises:
name(s)
Only those tenants and occupants named are allowed to live in the premises without written
consent of the landlord.
Premises
3.The landlord will rent to the tenant and the tenant will rent from the landlord the premises at
the following location:
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street/apt. no./city or town
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Type of property (specify)
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Tenant’s mailing address (P.O. box, if applicable)
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Postal code
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Tenant’s phone #
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(work)
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(home)
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Emergency contact
4. Next of kin
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name
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phone # (work) (home)
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Agent
5.The current agent for the landlord is
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name
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civic address / mailing address
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phone # (work) / (home)
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Property manager
6. The current property manager for the landlord is
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name
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civic address / mailing address
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phone #
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Building superintendent
7. The current superintendent for the building is
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name
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civic address / mailing address
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phone # / emergency phone #
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Electronic address for service of documents by landlord on tenant (optional)
8. The tenant(s) agree(s) that the following e-mail address(es) may be used to receive service
of documents from the landlord:
(insert e-mail address)
(insert e-mail address)
(insert e-mail address)
The tenant(s) may change the e-mail address by serving written notice of the new e-mail
address to the landlord in accordance with subsection 15(1) of the Act.
If the tenant provides an e-mail address under this clause and the landlord serves any documents
on the tenant by sending them electronically, the landlord must
(a) send the documents to the e-mail address that was most recently provided by the tenant in
accordance with this clause; and
(b) send the documents from the e-mail address that was most recently provided by the landlord
in accordance with clause 9 of this lease.
Electronic address for service of documents by tenant on landlord (landlord must provide
an e-mail address to receive documents if the tenant has provided one)
9. The landlord agrees that the following e-mail address may be used to receive service of
documents from the tenant:
(insert e-mail address)
The landlord may change the e-mail address by serving written notice of the new e-mail address
on at least one of the tenants listed in this lease in accordance with subsection 15(2) of the Act.
If the landlord provides an e-mail address under this clause and the tenant serves any documents
on the landlord by sending them electronically, the tenant must
(a) send the documents to the e-mail address that was most recently provided by the
landlord in accordance with this clause; and
(b) send the document from the e-mail address that was most recently provided by
the tenant in accordance with clause 8 of this lease.
How to serve
10. All notices to quit or service of documents, except applications to the Director, must be in
writing and served in accordance with Section 15 of the Act.
Applications to the Director must be served in accordance with subsections 13(2A), (2AA),
(2B) and (2C) of the Act.
11. Lease type (complete either 11A or 11B, but not both)
❒ Periodic lease
11A.The tenancy is to start on the _____ day of _____________, 20____ and this shall be the
anniversary date as defined in the Act.
The term is to run (check one)
□ from year to year
□ from month to month
□ from week to week
and the tenancy continues until the landlord or the tenant gives proper notice to terminate.
OR
❒ Fixed-term lease
11B.The tenancy is for a fixed term, beginning on the _____ day of _____________, 20____
and ending on the _____ day of _____________, 20____. Any continuation of the
tenancy at the end of a fixed term requires the written consent of the landlord. At the end
of the fixed term, the tenancy is finished and the tenant must vacate.
Public housing (check if applicable)
12. □ The residential premises are administered under a public housing program as defined in
clause 2(fa) of the Residential Tenancies Act. Program eligibility requirements and rules
relating to changes in rent are contained in Schedule _____, attached. Where a landlord
administers a public housing program, a tenant shall provide income verification in the form
required by the public housing program. Tenants in a public housing program are not
permitted to sublet the premises.
Rent
13.The tenant will pay rent of $__________ per _________ (week/month) by:
□ cash
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□ pre-authorized automatic withdrawal
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□ post-dated cheques
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□ cheque
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□ other _______________
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(specify)
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Rent is due on the _____ day of each month/week and is payable to ____________________.
A late payment fee, if any, shall be charged at no more than 1% per month of the monthly
rental.
Rent increases
14. The landlord shall not increase the rent under this lease for 12 months. The landlord shall
not give a notice of rent increase that provides for a different rent increase amount if the
lease is renewed for a different type of term. The landlord must give a written notice to the
tenant of an increase:
(a) 4 months before the effective date of the increase for a month-to-month or year-to-year lease;
(b) 8 weeks before the effective date of the increase for a week-to-week lease;
(c) 7 months before the anniversary date of a manufactured home space lease.
Note: The landlord may select a date to be the annual rent increase date for all
manufactured home spaces owned or managed by the landlord. If an annual rent
increase date is used, notice must be given 7 months before this date. The
landlord must serve the notice of rent increase on the tenants of the land-lease
community.
Where the landlord administers a public housing program and the amount of the tenant’s rent is
increased solely on the basis of an increase in income, the restrictions on frequency of rental
increases and notice requirements do not apply.
Rental incentive (if any)
15.In signing this lease, the landlord has granted to the tenant the following incentives, which
will remain in effect for the duration of the lease:
The tenant is not required to repay or return any rental incentive if he or she terminates the lease
before the end of the term in accordance with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act or
sublets or assigns the residential premises to a tenant with the consent of the landlord.
Rent includes
16.The rent includes:
Appliances
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Utilities
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Other (specify)
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□ stove
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□ washer & dryer (coin operated)
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□ lawn care
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□ fridge
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□ cable service
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□ snow removal
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□ washer & dryer
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□ heat
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□ garbage removal
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□ dishwasher
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□ water
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□ ________________
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□ furniture
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□ hot water
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□ ________________
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□ electricity
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□ ________________
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□ parking: # of spaces _____
space #______; #______
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□ ________________
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□ facilities to separate recyclables,
organics and refuse
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□ ________________
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The landlord is responsible for providing these services and the deletion of a service is deemed
to be a rental increase.
The tenant is responsible for the following:
□ lawn care
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□ late payment charges
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□ snow removal
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□ returned cheque charges not to exceed $_____
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□ garbage removal
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□ parking @ $________/month; # of spaces ___
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□ tenant insurance
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□ locked out charges/keys not to exceed $_____
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□ separation of recyclables, organics and
refuse
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□ assignment/sublet expenses incurred (not to exceed
$75)
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17. Additional obligations
Security deposit (check applicable box)
18. □ A security deposit is not required.
OR
□ A security deposit of $__________ (not to exceed 1/2 month’s rent) will be deposited for
the tenant by the landlord at _____________________________ (financial institution/branch) in a
trust account within 3 days of its receipt, and will be returned to the tenant with interest
within 10 days of the termination of this lease. The landlord must file a security deposit
claim form in accordance with Section 12A of the Act within 10 days of the termination of
the lease if the deposit is not returned.
Inspection
19. An inspection of the premises and the preparation of a written inspection report signed by
the landlord and tenant no later than 7 days after the start of the tenancy and no later than 7
days after the end of the tenancy is recommended. If a report is prepared it shall form part of
the lease.
□ An inspection report is attached to the lease.
□ An inspection report is not attached.
Statutory conditions and reasonable rules
20.The landlord and tenant promise to comply with the statutory conditions set out in Schedule
A.
□ (check if applicable) The rules of the building are attached to this lease as Schedule ____.
Assigning or subletting premises
21. The tenant may assign or sublet the premises, subject to the consent of the landlord. The
landlord may not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold consent or charge for consent unless
the landlord has actually incurred expense in granting the consent.
Rental arrears
22. In a fixed-term, year-to-year or month-to-month tenancy, where the tenant has not paid the
rent on or before the 3rd day after the rent is due, on or after the 4th day after the rent is due
the landlord may give to the tenant notice to quit. The notice to quit is to be effective no
earlier than the 10th day after the date the notice to quit is given to the tenant. No later than
10 days after receiving the notice to quit, the tenant may
(a) pay to the landlord the rent that is in arrears, and on the payment of that rent the
notice to quit is void and of no effect and this lease continues; or
(b) apply to the Director for an order setting aside the notice to quit.
If the tenant does not pay the rental arrears or make an application to the Director by the end of
the 10th day after receiving the notice to quit, the tenancy is terminated and the tenant must
vacate the premises by the effective date of the notice.
In a week-to-week tenancy, where the tenant has not paid the rent on or before the 7th day after
the rent is due, on or after the 8th day after the rent is due the landlord may give to the tenant
notice to quit. The notice to quit is to be effective no earlier than the 7th day after the date the
notice to quit is given to the tenant.
Tenant’s notice to quit (except fixed-term)
23.A notice to quit for a tenancy other than a fixed-term must be given by the tenant in writing
in accordance with the following table:
Type of Tenancy
(check applicable box)
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Notice Period
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□ year-to-year
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at least 3 full months before the end of any year (a year for
this purpose begins on the anniversary date) OR if the
tenant receives a notice of rent increase, at least 3 full
months before the effective date of the rent increase
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□ month-to-month
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at least 1 full month before the end of any month
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□ week-to-week
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at least 1 full week before the end of any week
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□ manufactured home space
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at least 1 full month before the end of the tenancy
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If the notice is to be given based on a period of 1 or more months, the notice must be given
before the day of the month that rent is payable under this lease.
Landlord’s notice to quit
24. A landlord may not give a notice to quit except in accordance with Section 10 of the
Residential Tenancies Act.
General
25. This lease is for the benefit of and is binding on the landlord and tenant and their heirs,
executors, administrators, assigns and personal representatives.
26. All tenants signing this lease take full responsibility for all of its terms and conditions.
Attachments: (initials required)
1
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At least 1 tenant has received a copy of the Act in the following form:
(check applicable box)
□ paper copy
□ electronic copy
□ web address for copy published online: ___________________________
(insert web address)
within 10 days of the earliest of:
(a) the date specified in the lease as the start of the tenancy;
(b) signing the lease;
(c) receiving keys to the premises;
(d) taking possession of or occupying the premises.
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All tenants have received a copy of the signed lease within 10 days of the
date of the signing of the lease.
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All tenants have read, signed and received the rules and attachments to this
lease.
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SIGN BOTH COPIES SEPARATELY.
BEFORE YOU SIGN, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING NOTICE:
TENANTS: GIVING NOTICE
IF YOU WISH TO TERMINATE A YEAR-TO-YEAR LEASE AT THE END OF
THE LEASE TERM, the law requires that you must give at least 3 months’ written
notice on or before _____________________________________ (notice date—3 months
prior to anniversary date).
Otherwise, the lease will automatically be renewed for another year.
IF YOU ARE IN A YEAR-TO-YEAR LEASE AND YOU RECEIVE A NOTICE OF
RENT INCREASE FROM YOUR LANDLORD, you may terminate the lease by
giving at least 3 months’ written notice before the effective date of the rent increase.
IF YOU WISH TO TERMINATE A MONTH-TO-MONTH LEASE OR A
MANUFACTURED HOME SPACE LEASE, you must give at least 1 full month’s
written notice before the expiration of any such month.
IF YOU WISH TO TERMINATE A WEEKLY TENANCY, you must give 1 full
week’s written notice before the expiration of any such week.
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Date
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Landlord
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ALL TENANTS SIGNING THIS LEASE TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR
ALL OF ITS TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
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Date
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Tenant
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Date
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Tenant
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Date
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Tenant
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Schedule A: Statutory Conditions
(Section 9, Residential Tenancies Act)
Statutory conditions
9 (1) Notwithstanding any lease, agreement, waiver, declaration or other statement to
the contrary, where the relation of landlord and tenant exists in respect of
residential premises by virtue of this Act or otherwise, there is and is deemed to
be an agreement between the landlord and tenant that the following conditions
will apply as between the landlord and tenant as statutory conditions governing
the residential premises:
Statutory Conditions
1. Condition of Premises – The landlord shall keep the premises in a good state
of repair and fit for habitation during the tenancy and shall comply with any
statutory enactment or law respecting standards of health, safety or housing.
2. Services – Where the landlord provides a service or facility to the tenant that
is reasonably related to the tenant’s continued use and enjoyment of the
premises such as, but not so as to restrict the generality of the foregoing, heat,
water, electric power, gas, appliances, garbage collection, sewers or elevators,
the landlord shall not discontinue providing that service to the tenant without
proper notice of a rental increase or without permission from the Director.
3. Good Behaviour – A landlord or tenant shall conduct himself in such a
manner as not to interfere with the possession or occupancy of the tenant or of
the landlord and the other tenants, respectively.
4. Obligation of the Tenant – The tenant is responsible for the ordinary
cleanliness of the interior of the premises and for the repair of damage caused
by wilful or negligent act of the tenant or of any person whom the tenant
permits on the premises.
5. [repealed]
6. Abandonment and Termination – If the tenant abandons the premises or
terminates the tenancy otherwise than in the manner permitted, the landlord
shall mitigate any damages that may be caused by the abandonment or
termination to the extent that a party to a contract is required by law to
mitigate damages.
7. Notice of Entry – A landlord may enter the premises if the landlord has given
the tenant notice of entry that
(a) is in writing;
(b) states the purpose of entry, which must be reasonable;
(c) states the date and time of the entry, which must be between eight
o’clock in the morning and eight o’clock in the evening, unless the
tenant agrees to a different time;
(d) is given by the landlord to the tenant at least twenty-four hours and not
more than thirty days before the day of entry; and
(e) is delivered
(i) using a method set out in subsection 15(2) of the Act, or
(ii) by text sent to a telephone number provided by the tenant for the
landlord to provide notice of entry.
7A. Entry without Written Notice – A landlord shall not enter the premises
without written notice unless
(a) there is an emergency and the entry is necessary to protect life or
property;
(b) the tenant gives consent at the time of entry;
(c) the tenant gives consent not more than thirty days before the entry; or
(d) the tenant reasonably appears to have abandoned the residential
premises.
8. Entry Doors – Except by mutual consent, the landlord or the tenant shall not
during occupancy by the tenant under the tenancy alter or cause to be altered
the lock or locking system on any door that gives entry to the premises.
9. Late Payment Penalty – Where the lease contains provision for a monetary
penalty for late payment of rent, the monetary penalty shall not exceed one per
cent per month of the monthly rent.
(2) In addition to the statutory conditions set out in subsection (1), there is and is
deemed to be an agreement between the landlord and tenant that the following
statutory conditions apply as between them in respect of the lease of a manufactured
home space or a manufactured home in a land-lease community:
Statutory Conditions Respecting Lease of a Manufactured Home Space
or a Manufactured Home in a Land-lease Community
1. The landlord shall not restrict in any way the right of a tenant to sell, lease or
otherwise part with the possession of a manufactured home by the tenant.
1A. Where a tenant wishes to sell or otherwise part with possession of a
manufactured home, the tenant may apply in writing to the landlord on behalf
of the person who wishes to acquire title to or possession of the manufactured
home to become a tenant of the manufactured home space upon which the
manufactured home is located.
1B. The consent of the landlord required by Statutory Condition 1A will not
arbitrarily or unreasonably be withheld.
1C. The landlord shall not charge a commission or fee for granting consent
required by Statutory Condition 1A, other than the landlord’s reasonable
expenses actually incurred in respect to the grant of consent.
1D. The landlord shall in writing, within ten days of receipt of the request made
pursuant to Statutory Condition 1A, consent to the request or set out the
reasons why consent is being withheld, failing which the landlord is deemed
to have given consent to the request.
2. The landlord shall not receive any compensation for acting as the agent of the
tenant in any negotiations to sell, lease or otherwise part with possession of a
manufactured home space or a manufactured home situate in a land-lease
community, unless provided for in a separate written agency agreement that is
entered into by the tenant
(a) after the tenant enters into the tenancy agreement; and
(b) at the time that the tenant decides he wishes to offer his
manufactured home for sale or lease or otherwise part with the
possession of his manufactured home or manufactured home
space.
3. (1) Except as provided in this condition, the landlord shall not restrict in any
way the right of the tenant to purchase goods or services from the person
of the tenant’s choice.
(2) The landlord may set reasonable standards for manufactured home
equipment.
(3) Where a person who does not live in the land-lease community and who
is offering goods or services for sale
(a) unduly disturbs the peace and quiet of the land-lease community;
(b) fails to observe reasonable rules of conduct that have been
established by the landlord; or
(c) violates the traffic rules of the land-lease community,
despite a request by the landlord to discontinue the conduct, the landlord
may restrict or prohibit the entry of that person into the land-lease
community.
4. The landlord is responsible for compliance with municipal by-laws in respect
of the common areas of the land-lease community and the services provided
by the landlord to the tenants in the land-lease community.
5. The tenant is responsible for compliance with municipal by-laws in respect of
the tenant’s manufactured home and the manufactured home space on which
it is located to the extent that the landlord is not responsible.
The following regulations are not
yet in force and are not included in the current consolidation: