Understanding your lease
Signing a lease is considered a legal contract between you, your roommates and the landlord. Leases in Halifax are usually 12 months long, but some apartment buildings do offer month to month or fixed term leases.
Your lease is a very important document. It outlines your landlord's responsibilities to you as a tenant. By understanding the terms of your lease you will be better prepared to handle difficult situations. Often tenants do not even realize their rights have been violated because they did not know that they were protected under the Residential Tenancy Act.
Is there something on your lease that you don't understand? You can try looking through the FAQ, or you can do a walk-through of a standard lease.
Your lease includes information on:
- Contact information for your landlord
- Your complete mailing address
- When you tenancy begins and ends
- Who to give important information to
- The amount your rent is and what it includes
- The security deposit
- Reasonable rules included in the lease
If your landlord doesn't mention it, ask him/her about any requirements you'll need to fulfill when it comes time to move out. Will you have to shampoo the carpets, etc? Make sure you have everything in writing.
Remember!
Each tenant in the apartment must sign the lease have their own copy of the lease. Modifications (including verbal agreements) to the lease should be made on both copies and in pen! Initials of yourself and your landlord should be signed where the modification is made (for example: including electricity in the rent amount, having the carpets cleaned or painting the walls). However, any agreement made by you and the landlord that violates the Residential Tenancies Act will be voided.
If you do not have a lease?
Renting without a lease can be appealing. Students can avoid the hassle of signing a 12-month lease and trying to find a subletter. However, there are disadvantages of not having a lease. The biggest disadvantage is that your rights as a tenant are not recognized under the Residential Tenancy Act. You have to trust that your landlord will conduct business in "good faith", and you have a support system is s/he doesn't. Your landlord can ask you to leave with no reason, ignore your requests for repairs and can raise the rent anytime!
This page last modified Thursday, 23-Feb-2012 10:59:42 AST