Termination Of Residential Tenancy

• According to Part I, section 4 of the act, a landlord can end a tenancy by informing the tenant in writing. This written notice must contain the date that the tenancy will end, and this must be the date that the term of the tenancy, according to the tenancy agreement, is due to end, or a later date. The landlord must give written notice no more than 12 months before the tenancy will end, but not less than six months before the tenancy will end. This means the tenant will have at least six months notice of the end of the tenancy.
  
  

Resident's Refusal To Give Up Possession

• A residential tenant may refuse to give up possession of the property, even after the landlord has given written notice. The written notice from the landlord to the tenant gives the tenant two months to reply to the landlord, stating the tenant's intention, either to give up possession of the property, or attempt to continue with the tenancy. If necessary, the landlord has recourse to the courts to gain a formal order granting the termination of the tenancy. The landlord's notice to end the tenancy must contain the landlord's grounds for ending the tenancy, such as the fact that the tenancy was for a fixed term, and these are the grounds that the landlord can present to the court when asking for an order to terminate the tenancy.
  
  

Commercial Tenancies

• Part II of the act applies to business premises, described as premises that are used for the purpose of conducting business. Business can mean a profession, such as the law, or accountancy, or a trade, such as auto repair or plumbing, carried out by one or more persons. The tenant does not have to be a corporation, but can be a business owned and managed by a private individual or group of individuals. A tenant can apply for a new tenancy when an existing tenancy comes to an end, but a landlord may have grounds for opposing the grant of a new tenancy. These grounds are listed in Part II section 30 of the act. If a tenant had obligations under the original tenancy agreement to repair and maintain the property, and has failed to to so, the landlord has grounds for not agreeing to grant a new tenancy. Where a tenant has consistently failed to pay rent on time, the landlord has grounds for not agreeing to a new tenancy. The landlord also has grounds for not agreeing to grant a new tenancy if the landlord intends to demolish the premises after the termination of the current tenancy.
  
  

Compensation for Improvements

• Where a tenant is obliged by law to make improvements to a property, the tenant may be allowed to claim the cost of making the improvements from the landlord. For example, a tenant may have to make improvements to a property to comply with local by-laws if the tenancy agreement makes this a condition of the tenancy. In Part III, section 48 of the act, subsection (1) (a) states that the tenant must give notice of the intention to make the improvement to the landlord and must include any plans and specifications for the improvements with the application. Subsection (2) states that the 1954 act supercedes the act of 1927, which stated that a tenant could not claim for improvements made less than three years before the end of the tenancy.