Remedies for Landlord During Agreement

The law requires tenants to carry out some basic obligations after making a tenancy agreement. In addition, you might have agreed to carry out further obligatons when you made the tenancy agreement.

If you breach the tenancy agreement, which includes the obligations required by law, a landlord can take action against you. The action taken can include giving notice to end the tenancy and legal action for compensation and possession of the property.

The obligations that the law requires you as a tenant to carry out after you make a tenancy agreement are:

• To pay rent when it is due;
• Not to interfere significantly with the rights of the landlord or other tenants;
• Not to carry on an illegal business or do anything illegal at the rented property;
• Not to do anything at the rented property that would put anyone in danger;
• Not to do significant damage at the property or allow anyone else to;
• To keep the property in a reasonable, clean condition;
• To leave the property when the rental period is over or when the tenancy is ended; and
• To give the required notice period to end a periodic tenancy.

In addition you might have agreed to other obligations in the tenancy agreement, for example, to be responsible for repairs to appliances.

If you break an obligation under the agreement the landlord has several remedies that can be pursued.

• In the right circumstances the breach of the agreement can be treated as a substantial breach and the tenancy ended.
• In other cases a landlord can apply to court for compensation or arrears of rent, or take steps to enforce distress for non-payment of rent.

If you commit an offence under the Residential Tenancies Act, your landlord can also file a complaint against you with Service Alberta. Most of the offences relate to actions by landlords, but some relate to actions by tenants.

There are actions and processes that you as a tenant can follow to object to the landlord’s action. It is therefore important for you to understand these remedies that the landlord can pursue.

1. Substantial breach
2. Distress for non-payment of rent
3. Application to court for possession of property
4. Application to court for damages

May 2005