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The RTA applies to all residential tenancies except:
- a mobile home site;
- residences which are a part of a business lease;
- borders;
- hotels, motels and other temporary types of commercial living accommodations unless residency exceeds six months;
- student accommodations operated by an educational institution unless the tenant has exclusive possession of a self-contained unit;
- a nursing home;
- senior citizen accommodations operated by the government or by an foundation or non-profit organization under the Senior Citizens Housing Act;
- facilities licensed under the Social Care Facilities Licensing Act; and correctional facilities.
The RTA states that all written residential tenancy agreements must contain a statement that the agreement is governed by the RTA which will prevail over any conflict with the agreement. This statement must be in print larger than the other print in the agreement.
Notice of Termination
Tenancies are classified as weekly, monthly and yearly. Tenants are required to provide notice of termination for weekly tenancies on the first day of the tenancy week to be effective on the last; for monthly tenancies on the first day of the tenancy month and for yearly tenancies 60 days before the end of the tenancy year. It is very important that the notice be given on or before the required date otherwise the tenant will be responsible for a further week, month or year's rent. Although the notice period for landlords is the same as tenant's for weekly tenancies, the landlord is required to provide a notice period of 3 months for monthly tenancies and 90 days for yearly tenancies. If a tenancy is for more than one week but less than one year, it is deemed to be a monthly tenancy for the purpose of the notice period.
The termination notice must be in writing, signed by the person giving the notice or his agent, identify the premises and state the date the tenancy is to terminate. In addition to these items, landlords must include the reasons for terminating the tenancy.
If the residential premise is made subject to a condominium plan and the owner of the unit wishes to terminate the tenancy to sell the unit, the landlord must give the tenant 180 days notice of termination. If the tenant vacates the premises before the day stated in the notice, the landlord may rent the unit for the period remaining but must advise the new tenant before entering into the new agreement, that the tenancy period will end on 12 noon on the date stated in the original notice.