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Home > Disputes > Just the Facts > Landlord Obligations > Rules in the Lease

Rules that You and the Landlord Agree to in the Lease or Tenancy Agreement

The lease or tenancy agreement is a contract between you and the landlord. The items that you and the landlord agree to in the contract are called the terms of the contract. As stated above, some terms from Residential Tenancies Act have to be part of the agreement whether or not you even talk about them.

For example, periods of notice to end a tenancy are set out by the Residential Tenancies Act and are an implied term of every tenancy agreement.

However, the law does not cover all the possible items that you and your landlord might want to agree upon in a tenancy agreement. There are items that are not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act.

For example, the Residential Tenancies Act does not state
who will be responsible for repairs. This is a term that you and your landlord can agree to yourselves. Once agreed upon, you and the landlord must conduct your relationship according to these rules, unless you both agree to change the rules.

Once the contract is completed both you and the landlord are legally bound by the contract. This means that if one of you breaks a rule that is set out in the contract, there is a risk that the other will take some action to end the contract or to recover compensation.

May 2005



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