Telephone Hearings to Benefit Tenants and Landlords

Landlords and tenants in Nova Scotia will soon be able to resolve disputes via telephone, making the process faster and more efficient.

With over 5,000 dispute resolution applications a year, Nova Scotia is only the second province to replace in-person hearings with telephone hearings.

“Introducing telephone hearings to help resolve residential tenancy disputes will reduce wait times for tenants and landlords, increase accessibility for clients and make the process faster, more efficient and cost-effective for all involved,” said Service Nova Scotia Minister Geoff MacLellan.

Telephone hearings were piloted at the Halifax Access Nova Scotia Centre over the past 18 months. Over 650 telephone hearings were held. Over 90 participants have completed a voluntary online survey and 90 per cent have indicated they were either very satisfied or satisfied with the process.

“The property managers here at Killam really appreciate the convenience of the phone hearings. They eliminate travel time to and from Access Nova Scotia and the phone hearing dates are more readily available” said Kathy Kerr-Miller, senior property manager, Killam Apartment Reit. “The process from start to finish has been a good experience with no concerns.”

Telephone hearings will start to roll out across the province next week. On Aug. 8, telephone hearings will be booked for clients in Halifax, areas west of Halifax, Sydney and Amherst. As of Sept. 4, all hearings in the province will be conducted over the phone. Other options will be available for people who cannot participate in telephone hearings due to health conditions.

Government first introduced these changes to the Residential Tenancies Act in October 2016. Landlord and tenant associations were consulted.

Introducing telephone hearings is part of ongoing changes to modernize the Residential Tenancy program and enhance government support for both tenants and landlords in Nova Scotia.

This work supports government's commitment to cut red tape for business and citizens, modernize legislation and make government services more accessible and efficient for Nova Scotians.

FOR BROACDAST USE:

Landlords and tenants in Nova Scotia will soon be able to

resolve disputes via telephone, making the process faster and

more efficient.

With over five-thousand dispute resolution applications a

year, Nova Scotia is only the second province to replace in-

person hearings with telephone hearings.

Service Nova Scotia Minister Geoff MacLellan says

introducing telephone hearings to help resolve residential

tenancy disputes will reduce wait times for tenants and

landlords, increase accessibility for clients and make the

process faster, more efficient and cost-effective for all

involved.

Telephone hearings will start to roll out across the

province next week. On August 8th, telephone hearings will be

booked for clients in Halifax, areas west of Halifax, Sydney and

Amherst. As of September 4th, all hearings in the province will

be conducted over the phone. Other options will be

available for people who cannot participate in telephone

hearings due to health conditions.