Residential Tenancies Act (amended)

BILL NO. 31

(as introduced)

4th Session, 61st General Assembly
Nova Scotia
61 Elizabeth II, 2012

Private Member's Bill

Residential Tenancies Act
(amended)

Kelly Regan
Bedford–Birch Cove

First Reading: April 18, 2012

(Explanatory Note)

Second Reading:

Third Reading:

Explanatory Note

This Bill gives tenants the right to terminate a year-to-year lease at any time if there has been documented domestic violence.

An Act to Amend Chapter 401
of the Revised Statutes, 1989,
the Residential Tenancies Act

Be it enacted by the Governor and Assembly as follows:

1 Chapter 401 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Residential Tenancies Act, is amended by adding immediately after Section 10E the following Section:

10F (1) Notwithstanding Section 10, where a tenant or a dependent child of a tenant in a year-to-year tenancy is a victim of domestic violence, the tenant may terminate the tenancy by giving the owner

(a) one month's notice to quit; and

(b) at least one of the following documents:

(i) a copy of an order described in clause (2)(a) or (b),

(ii) a letter from a police force stating that a police investigation of domestic violence is taking place with regard to the allegation that one or more of the acts or omissions referred to in clause (2)(c) has been committed by a person referred to in subsection (3) against the tenant or a dependent child of the tenant, or

(iii) a certificate of a qualified medical practitioner evidencing the presence of domestic abuse or violence, physical or otherwise.

(2) For the purpose of this Section, a tenant or a dependent child of the tenant is a victim of domestic violence if

(a) an order has been made under subsection 810(3) of the Criminal Code (Canada) as a result of an act or omission alleged to have been committed by a person referred to in subsection (3) against the tenant or the child;

(b) an order has been made under Section 6 of the Domestic Violence Intervention Act as a result of an act or omission alleged to have been committed by a person referred to in subsection (3) against the tenant or the child; or

(c) one or more of the following acts or omissions are alleged to have been committed by a person referred to in subsection (3) against the tenant or the child:

(i) an assault that consists of the intentional application of force that causes the tenant or the child to fear for his or her safety or the tenant to fear for the child's safety, but does not include any act committed in self-defence,

(ii) an intentional or reckless act or omission that causes bodily harm to the tenant or the child or damage to property,

(iii) an act or omission or threatened act or omission that causes the tenant or the child to fear for his or her safety,

(iv) forced physical confinement of the tenant or the child without lawful authority,

(v) sexual assault, sexual exploitation or sexual molestation or the threat of sexual assault, sexual exploitation or sexual molestation of the tenant or the child, or

(vi) a series of acts that collectively causes the tenant or the child to fear for his or her safety, including following, contacting, communicating with, observing and recording the tenant or the child.

(3) For the purpose of subsection (2), the person who is alleged to have committed the act or omission must be

(a) a spouse or former spouse of the tenant within the meaning the Maintenance and Custody Act;

(b) a person who is living in a conjugal relationship with the tenant, whether within or outside marriage, or who has lived with the tenant in a conjugal relationship for any period of time, whether or not they are cohabiting at the time notice is given under subsection (1);

(d) a relative of the tenant or a relative of a dependent child of the tenant.

(4) Where a notice is given under this Section, the landlord shall ensure that all information included in the notice is kept confidential.

(5) Where a tenancy is terminated pursuant to subsection (1), the tenancy is terminated for all the tenants in the same residential premises, but the other tenants may enter into a new landlord and tenant relationship with the landlord with the consent of the landlord, and the consent may not be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld.

(6) Where other tenants reside in the same residential premises, the tenant seeking to terminate a tenancy pursuant to this Section shall serve all the tenants in the same residential premises with a copy of the notice to quit at least one month before the termination of tenancy.

(7) Where notice is given under this Section, the copy served to all tenants in the same residential premises must not include any information that would disclose the nature of the termination and that information must be kept confidential by the landlord.

This page and its contents published by the Office of the Legislative Counsel, Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and © 2012 Crown in right of Nova Scotia. Created April 18, 2012. Send comments to legc.office@novascotia.ca.

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