New Landlords

If a person buys property that is already rented to a tenant for less than three years, the new owner takes on all the rights and obligations of the previous landlord.

For example, John owns a house that he has rented to Bob on a monthly rental basis. If John sells the house to Diane while Bob is still a tenant, Diane becomes the new landlord. Diane steps into John’s shoes as far as her obligations to Bob and the rights she now has as a landlord.

If the lease is for a term longer than three years, you must have filed a caveat on the certificate of title (ownership) to the land in order for the lease to be recognized by the new owner of the land. If a caveat was not filed, but the new landlord accepts rent from the tenant, she may be taken to have confirmed the tenancy in any event. This would not apply to most periodic tenancies, which are commonly on a weekly, monthly or annual basis.

The degree to which you are protected when a new landlord takes over property subject to an existing lease will depend upon the terms of the lease. The Residential Tenancies Act will still apply if it applied to the agreement between you and the original landlord, so that your rights in that regard will be exactly the same.

Under the new owner and landlord, the terms of the agreement will determine how you are protected regarding matters that that are not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. Similarly, if the agreement is one to which the Act does not apply, your protection will depend upon the terms of the agreement.

For example, a fixed term lease for two years might give an option to renew the lease at the end of two years, but only as long as the original landlord and tenant remain the same.

Duties of New Landlord

When a new landlord acquires property that is rented out and is within the terms of the Residential Tenancies Act, the landlord must:

Serve a new Notice of Landlord on the tenant, either personally or by posting in common areas in a large building.
Serve the tenant with a statement of the amount of security deposit and interest relating to their tenancy as of the date the landlord acquired the property.

Those notices must be served within a reasonable time of the new landlord buying the premises. A tenant cannot be charged for any expenses relating to the notices.

May 2005