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Home > Disputes > Just the Facts > Landlord Remedies > Substantial Breach by Tenant

Landlord Remedies for Substantial Breach by Tenant

If you break one of the obligations of the tenancy that is set out in the Residential Tenancies Act, it is called a substantial breach.

A substantial breach can also be a series of breaches of your residential tenancy agreement or lease that, when taken together, are substantial. A series of breaches can include breaches of other obligations agreed to by you and the landlord.

A landlord can serve a notice for substantial breach in a fixed term or periodic tenancy.

The obligations that the Residential Tenancies Act require you to carry out after you make a tenancy agreement are the following:

  • To pay rent when it is due: If you are continually late paying your rent, that can also be a substantial breach, even if you finally do pay the rent each time.
  • 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
  • To give the required notice period to end a periodic tenancy

A substantial breach may also be a series of breaches that include breaches of other obligations that you agreed to with your landlord.

For example, the Act does not require you to carry out repairs. However if you and your landlord included it in the tenancy agreement, and then you did not repair items as you had agreed, this is a breach of the agreement. If you breach that term and you commit other breaches of the agreement, together they may also be a substantial breach.

If you commit a substantial breach, a landlord has the following courses of action available to him (see sidebar for links):

  • Serve you with a fourteen day notice to leave the premises
  • In the case of physical assault or damage to the property, serve you with a 24 hour notice to leave the property
  • Apply to court to end the tenancy

May 2005



Landlord Remedies:Remedies During AgreementSubstantial Breach by TenantDistress for Non-Payment of RentApply to Court for Possession of PropertyApply to Court for DamagesVacate Notice to Non-Tenants


More on Substantial Breach by Tenant: (14-day) Special Provision for Non-Payment of Rent 14-Day Legal Notice 24 Hours Notice for Significant Damage or Physical Assault Apply to Court for Possession of Property Landlord gives Notice for Substantial Breach of the Tenancy or Applies to Court to End Tenancy Objection to 14-Day Notice by Tenant