New Brunswick Residential Tenancies Act: What Landlords Must Know

If you are buying investment property in New Brunswick, the Residential Tenancies Act is the single document that governs your relationship with every tenant. It dictates what you can charge, how much you can raise rent, where security deposits go, how fast you can evict, and what happens if you try to renovate a tenant out of their unit. Getting any of these wrong triggers tribunal complaints, financial penalties, and potentially a year-long freeze on your ability to increase rent.

The good news: New Brunswick's framework is significantly more efficient than Ontario's or BC's. The bad news: the rules have specific procedural requirements that are unforgiving if you miss them.

The 3% Rent Cap

New Brunswick enforces a strict rent increase limit. A landlord cannot raise rent by more than 3% within any rolling 12-month period. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months, and no increase is permitted during the first 12 months of a new tenancy.

The procedural requirements are where most landlords fail:

Six months' written notice. New Brunswick requires at least six months' notice before a rent increase takes effect -- one of the longest notice periods in the country. If you want a January 1 increase, the notice must be delivered by June 30 at the latest.

Standalone document. The notice cannot be attached to a rent receipt, a newsletter, or any other correspondence. It must be a separate document containing the tenant's name, unit address, current rent, new rent amount, the exact effective date, and the landlord's signature.

Tenant response window. Upon receiving the notice, the tenant has 60 days to file a request for review with the Residential Tenancies Tribunal if they wish to challenge the increase. Alternatively, the tenant may terminate the lease by providing standard notice.

If you need an increase above 3%, you cannot do it unilaterally. You must submit a formal application for an "Above Guideline Increase" to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office. The tribunal may approve increases up to 9%, but only if you provide documented evidence of capital expenditures for significant physical renovations to the specific unit. Routine maintenance and standard repairs do not qualify.

The practical impact: when you acquire a tenant-occupied property in New Brunswick, you inherit the existing lease terms and the current rent. You cannot raise the rent upon closing, demand the tenant sign a new lease at a higher rate, or alter the fundamental terms of the tenancy. Your first potential rent increase is at least 12 months away, and you must issue notice six months before that -- meaning you are effectively locked into the existing rent for 18 months from acquisition.

Security Deposit Rules

New Brunswick's security deposit system is unlike any other Canadian province, and it is the rule most commonly violated by new landlords who import assumptions from Ontario or BC.

Maximum amount. A landlord may collect one month's rent as a security deposit. No more.

Provincial fund, not private trust. The landlord does not hold the deposit. It must be remitted to the provincial Security Deposit Fund, administered by Service New Brunswick. This is not optional. Holding a tenant's deposit in your personal bank account, your operating account, or any private trust account violates the Act.

The seven-day claim window. When a tenant vacates, if there are damages beyond normal wear and tear, unpaid rent, or unpaid utility obligations, the landlord has exactly seven calendar days to submit a formal Security Deposit Claim Form to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. If you miss this seven-day deadline, the deposit is automatically returned to the tenant regardless of the condition of the unit. There is no extension, no appeal, and no exception for landlords who did not know the rule existed.

Property sale transfers. When you purchase a tenant-occupied property, the seller's lawyer must properly transfer the security deposit obligations. The deposits are already in the provincial fund under the seller's name. Your lawyer must ensure the records are updated so you, as the new landlord, can file claims against those deposits when the tenancy eventually ends.

This is a closing-day detail that many out-of-province buyers overlook entirely. If the deposit transfer is not properly documented, you may find yourself unable to access the funds when a tenant leaves damage behind -- because on paper, the deposit still belongs to the previous owner's landlord account.

The Eviction Framework

New Brunswick's eviction process is the province's most investor-friendly feature, and it operates with a speed that will shock anyone who has dealt with Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board.

Day 1: Rent is late. Under the RTA, rent is legally late the day after it is due. The landlord may immediately serve a Notice to Vacate for Non-Payment.

Days 1-7: Grace period. The notice grants the tenant seven days to pay the full arrears. If the tenant pays within this window, the eviction action is voided and the tenancy continues.

Day 8: Final Notice. If the arrears remain unpaid, the landlord serves a Final Notice to Vacate, giving the tenant a minimum of 15 days to move out. At this stage, even if the tenant produces the money, the landlord is not obligated to accept payment or halt the eviction.

Tribunal filing. Upon filing the eviction request with the Residential Tenancies Tribunal, the tribunal conducts an investigation and issues a binding decision in an average of 5 days.

Sheriff enforcement. Once an Eviction Order is issued, the landlord pays a $75 fee to the Sheriff's office. The Sheriff executes the order -- physically removing the tenant -- within 1 to 6 days. Only after the Sheriff has enforced the order may the landlord change the locks.

Total timeline from missed payment to enforcement: roughly 28 to 35 days. Compare that to Ontario, where the average time from filing to hearing alone is 51 days, paralegal fees run $2,000 or more, and Sheriff enforcement can take an additional 30 days.

Renoviction Rules

New Brunswick has specific protections against landlords who evict tenants under the pretext of renovations. You cannot simply serve a termination notice and claim renovations as the reason.

The process requires tribunal approval first:

1. Apply to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office before serving any notice. An investigative officer reviews the application.
2. Prove the work requires vacancy. You must demonstrate that the renovations are so extensive they require the unit to be completely vacant -- for example, prolonged loss of water or electricity, or severe safety hazards during construction.
3. Show you have permits. All necessary municipal building permits must already be obtained before the tribunal will consider approval.
4. Prove no alternative exists. The tribunal must be satisfied that terminating the tenancy is the only reasonable way to complete the work.

Only after receiving explicit tribunal approval can you serve a termination notice for renovations.

The enforcement mechanism has teeth. If you evict a tenant for "own use" or renovations and then fail to actually occupy the unit or begin the stated work within two months, the former tenant can apply to the tribunal for financial compensation covering their displacement losses.

Own-Use Evictions

If you wish to occupy the property yourself, the RTA permits a termination notice under the "own use" provision. However, this is strictly limited to the landlord, their spouse, a child, a parent, or a parent of the spouse. You cannot evict a tenant so that a friend, business partner, or extended family member can move in.

Anti-Retaliation Protections

The RTA bars landlords from serving a notice of termination or filing an above-guideline rent increase for one year after a tenant has filed a legitimate complaint about maintenance or safety. This means that if a tenant reports a code violation, a heating system failure, or a mold issue, you cannot respond by issuing a rent increase or attempting to terminate the tenancy. Doing so within 12 months of the complaint creates a presumption of retaliation, and the tribunal will void the action.

What This Means for Your Underwriting

The RTA's rules directly affect how you model a New Brunswick investment:

• Revenue growth is capped at 3% annually. Build your financial model around a maximum 3% annual rent escalation, not market-rate increases. If current rents are already at market, your revenue growth is effectively locked to inflation.
• Security deposits require process, not trust accounts. Budget for a 30-minute administrative task per unit per year to manage the provincial deposit system correctly.
• Eviction speed is a genuine advantage. The 28-to-35-day total timeline from missed payment to physical enforcement means your worst-case vacancy from a delinquent tenant is roughly one month. In Ontario, that worst case is four to six months or longer.
• Inherited tenants are permanent (for now). When acquiring a tenant-occupied property, model the existing rents as fixed for 18 months. Your first realistic rent adjustment is at least that far out.

The New Brunswick Investment Property Guide includes the complete RTA compliance checklist, rent increase notice templates, and the security deposit claim timeline so you can manage your obligations from Day 1 of ownership without missing a deadline.

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