Tenants & LandlordsEvictions and notices

Can a landlord evict you for a messy house?

Last updated: October 13, 2026

Short answer

Not for mess alone. Tenants in each province covered here have to keep the unit reasonably or ordinarily clean, not spotless, and Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board says plainly that keeping an untidy unit is not a reason to evict. A landlord can act when the condition goes further: when it damages the unit, creates a health or safety risk such as pests, or interferes with other people. Even then, most provinces require a written warning or a chance to fix the problem first, and only an order from the tenancy office or court can make a tenant leave.

When a messy home becomes a reason to evict

Not enough on its own: clutter, dishes in the sink, laundry on the floor, a home that is untidy but not causing harm.
Can be enough: a condition that damages the unit, puts health, safety or the property at risk (for example by feeding a pest problem), or interferes with neighbours' reasonable enjoyment, and that the tenant does not fix after being asked.

The landlord has to use the province's notice for cause, give the notice time the law sets, and prove the problem if the tenant disputes it. Several provinces build in a chance to fix it first: a written warning in Manitoba, a written notice of the complaint in New Brunswick, a written notice for a material breach in PEI, and 7 days to fix it under Ontario's first N5. For every reason a landlord can use and its notice period, see what reasons a landlord can evict you for.

The cleanliness rule and the route to eviction in each province

Province	Tenant's duty	If it is not met
Alberta	Keep the premises reasonably clean	A substantial breach: 14 days' notice, or the landlord applies to the RTDRS or the court
British Columbia	Reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards	One Month Notice for Cause (RTB-33) for grounds such as significant risk to the property, extraordinary damage or not repairing damage; 10 days to dispute
Manitoba	Ordinary health, cleanliness and sanitation	Written warning, then one rental payment period; 5 days with no warning for a significant health or safety risk or extraordinary damage
Saskatchewan	Reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards	One month's notice for cause, after a reasonable time to fix a problem that can be fixed; 15 days to dispute
Ontario	Ordinary cleanliness	Untidiness is not a reason. If it interferes with others or damages the unit: N5, 20 days for a first notice, void if fixed within 7 days
New Brunswick	Ordinary cleanliness	Written notice of the complaint and 7 days to fix it, then a residential tenancies officer can order compliance and serve a notice to quit
Nova Scotia	Ordinary cleanliness of the interior (statutory condition 4)	Form E, effective 15 days after it is given (30 in a land-lease community); the tenant can apply to set it aside
Prince Edward Island	Ordinary cleanliness	One month's notice for cause for a material breach not fixed after written notice, unreasonable damage or a serious safety risk; 10 days to dispute
Newfoundland and Labrador	Keep the premises clean (statutory condition 2)	At least 5 days' notice where the tenant fails to clean or repair damage; immediate notice if the tenant makes the unit uninhabitable

If the problem is hoarding

Hoarding is handled under the same rules as any other cleanliness problem: what matters is whether the condition breaks the tenant's duty in a way the law treats as a reason, such as damage, a health or safety risk or interference with neighbours. A sensible order of steps for a landlord:

Inspect with proper notice and keep dated notes and photos of the problem areas. See when a landlord can enter.
Talk to the tenant, then put the problem in writing: what is wrong, what needs to change and a reasonable deadline.
If the clutter may be linked to a disability, including a mental health condition, ask what accommodation would help before taking any eviction step. Landlords must accommodate a disability up to undue hardship, and the human rights bodies in Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick say this has to be considered before ending a tenancy.
If nothing changes, serve the province's notice for cause, and apply to the tenancy office or court if the tenant stays.

For more on disability and eviction, see can a landlord evict a disabled person.

Messy homes and eviction in each province

Alberta

Alberta tenants must keep the premises reasonably clean. Breaking that duty is a substantial breach, so a landlord can serve 14 days' notice or apply to the RTDRS or the Alberta Court of Justice, and you can object in writing to a breach notice before it runs out. If a tenant caused a pest problem, the landlord can claim the treatment cost through the RTDRS or the court.

The Alberta Human Rights Commission gives ending a tenancy without reasonably accommodating a tenant's physical or mental disability as an example of discrimination, so a landlord whose tenant's clutter is linked to a disability has to look at accommodation first.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | Tenant rights in Alberta

British Columbia

BC tenants must keep reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards in the unit and the parts of the property they use. A landlord can serve a One Month Notice for Cause (RTB-33) when a tenant does not meet their legal responsibilities, for example when the condition puts the property at significant risk, causes extraordinary damage or the tenant does not repair damage they caused. You have 10 days to dispute it.

BC landlords must accommodate a disability up to undue hardship, and have a duty to ask about accommodation when they have reason to believe a renter needs it.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | BC eviction process

Manitoba

Manitoba tenants must meet ordinary standards of health, cleanliness and sanitation. Before ending a tenancy over it, the landlord must give a written warning and a reasonable time to fix the problem, then notice of one rental payment period. A significant risk to health or safety, or extraordinary damage, allows a 5-day notice with no warning. Manitoba's pest guidance also expects tenants to keep the unit reasonably clean and uncluttered, report pests, let the landlord in and follow the preparation instructions.

Manitoba's Human Rights Code requires landlords to reasonably accommodate a disability, up to undue hardship.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | Manitoba eviction process

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan tenants must keep reasonable health, cleanliness and sanitary standards and repair damage they or their guests cause, apart from reasonable wear and tear. A landlord can give one month's notice for cause when the condition jeopardizes health or safety, puts the property at risk, causes extraordinary damage or leaves damage unrepaired, or for a breach of a material term, but where the problem can be fixed the landlord must first give a reasonable time to fix it. You have 15 days to dispute the notice.

If a pest problem was the tenant's fault, the landlord can claim the treatment costs. Landlords also have a duty to accommodate a disability up to undue hardship.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | Saskatchewan eviction process

Ontario

Ontario tenants are responsible for ordinary cleanliness, and the Landlord and Tenant Board says keeping an untidy unit is not a reason to evict. A tenant can be evicted if the unit is so unclean that it interferes with other people's reasonable enjoyment or damages the unit. The usual route is an N5 notice, which gives 20 days for a first notice and is void if you fix the problem within 7 days; the landlord then needs a Board order. The Board's money-claim brochure gives a tenant refusing entry to a pest control technician after proper notice as an example of a claim.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission says a landlord must consider accommodation before evicting a tenant with a disability and offer help before taking punitive steps. Eviction can follow if serious interference continues despite accommodation, and the landlord carries the burden of showing undue hardship.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | Ontario eviction process

New Brunswick

New Brunswick tenants must keep the unit to ordinary cleanliness, and the landlord must hand it over clean at the start. If a tenant falls short, the landlord serves a written notice stating the complaint, and the tenant has 7 days to fix it. If the tenant does not, a residential tenancies officer can order compliance and then serve a notice to quit. For extensive damage or a health or safety risk, the landlord can ask an officer to serve a notice to quit directly.

The New Brunswick Human Rights Commission says landlords must review each accommodation request before taking steps such as eviction proceedings.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | New Brunswick eviction process

Nova Scotia

Statutory condition 4 requires Nova Scotia tenants to keep the inside of the unit ordinarily clean and to repair damage they cause wilfully or through neglect. A landlord can serve a Form E notice for breaking this condition, effective 15 days after it is given (30 days in a land-lease community), and you can apply to the Director of Residential Tenancies to set it aside. More serious cases, such as a health or safety risk or extraordinary damage, go to the Director as an application and a hearing.

If a disability is involved, the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission can explain what accommodation a landlord owes.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | Nova Scotia eviction process

Prince Edward Island

PEI tenants must keep the unit to ordinary cleanliness, and public health rules require occupants to keep a rental clean and sanitary and report an infestation in writing to the owner and a public health official. If a tenant does not fix a material breach after written notice, or causes unreasonable damage or a serious safety risk, the landlord can give one month's notice for cause, ending the day before rent is due. You have 10 days to dispute it.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | PEI eviction process

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador tenants must keep the unit clean and repair damage they or their guests cause wilfully or through neglect (statutory condition 2). If a tenant does not, the landlord can give notice to end the tenancy that is at least 5 days after it is given. If a tenant makes the unit uninhabitable, the landlord can end the tenancy immediately.

The province's Human Rights Commission says landlords must accommodate a disability up to undue hardship.

What reasons a landlord can evict you for | Newfoundland and Labrador eviction process

Related questions

Can a landlord evict you for a dirty house without warning?

Usually not straight away. Manitoba requires a written warning first except for serious risks, New Brunswick a written notice of the complaint, and PEI written notice for a material breach; in Ontario a first N5 is void if you fix the problem within 7 days. For BC, Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador we found no separate warning step in the rules we reviewed, and you can dispute or object to it, and the landlord still needs an order if you stay.

My tenant is a hoarder, what can I do?

Start by documenting the problem after an inspection with proper notice, then talk to the tenant and set out in writing what has to change and by when. If the clutter may be linked to a disability, including a mental health condition, ask what accommodation would help, since human rights law requires accommodation up to undue hardship. If the condition damages the unit, creates a health or safety risk or disturbs others and is not fixed, serve your province's notice for cause and apply to the tenancy office if the tenant stays. Never remove the tenant's belongings yourself.

Is hoarding grounds for eviction?

Not by itself. It becomes a reason when it breaks the tenant's cleanliness duty in a way the law treats as cause, such as damage, a health or safety risk or interference with neighbours, and the tenant does not fix it. If a disability is involved, the landlord has to consider accommodation first; the Ontario Human Rights Commission says eviction can follow only if serious interference continues despite accommodation.

What can a landlord do if a tenant is not keeping the property clean?

Raise it with the tenant and put the concern in writing, naming the tenant's cleanliness duty and a reasonable deadline. If the problem continues and causes damage, a health or safety risk or disturbs others, use the province's notice for cause: for example Form E in Nova Scotia, an N5 in Ontario, a One Month Notice for Cause in BC, or a 14-day substantial breach notice in Alberta. Cleaning costs left at the end of a tenancy can be claimed through the deposit process or the tenancy office.

What should a letter to a tenant not keeping the property clean say?

Keep it factual: the date of the inspection, the specific problems (with photos if you have them), the tenant's duty to keep the unit clean, what needs to be done and a reasonable deadline. Say when you will check again and give proper notice of entry. In Manitoba, New Brunswick and PEI a written warning like this is a required first step before an eviction notice, so keep a copy and proof of delivery.

Can a landlord charge a tenant for not cleaning the property?

At the end of a tenancy, usually yes, for cleaning beyond ordinary wear and tear. In Alberta the landlord can deduct cleaning from the security deposit only if the tenant agreed to it, but can still claim cleaning costs through the RTDRS or the court. In Saskatchewan the landlord can claim against the deposit within 7 business days or apply for money. In Ontario cleaning cannot be taken from the rent deposit. See can a landlord charge for cleaning.

Can a landlord inspect my apartment for cleanliness?

Yes, a landlord can inspect, but only by following the province's entry rules, which usually means written notice and a reasonable time of day. A landlord cannot enter whenever they like just to check on housekeeping. See are landlords allowed to enter the property for the notice each province requires.

Can I be evicted for bed bugs or cockroaches?

Not just for having them. Landlords are generally responsible for pest control, and tenants are expected to report pests; in Alberta and Manitoba the guidance also asks tenants to allow access and prepare the unit for treatment. If the landlord can show the tenant caused the problem, the landlord can claim treatment costs in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and in PEI may try to keep the deposit for it; in Manitoba a landlord may claim the cost of a second extermination. In PEI, an infestation must be reported in writing to the owner and a public health official.

Is a messy house the same as damage?

No. Mess can be cleaned up; damage is harm to the unit beyond normal wear and tear, such as stains, burns or broken fixtures. Alberta's handbook, for example, says spills, burns and oil stains on carpet are not normal wear and tear. Damage is a separate reason a landlord can rely on, and its cost can be claimed. See what is considered normal wear and tear.

How clean does a tenant have to keep a rental?

To a reasonable or ordinary standard, not a perfect one. Ontario's Board describes it as the standard most people would consider ordinary or normal cleanliness, and BC, Saskatchewan and Manitoba frame it as reasonable or ordinary health, cleanliness and sanitary standards. At move-out, BC and Saskatchewan expect the unit to be left reasonably clean and undamaged apart from reasonable wear and tear.

What if my landlord says my house is dirty or I have too much stuff?

A landlord saying so does not end your tenancy. Alberta's Act asks tenants to keep the unit in a reasonably clean condition, Ontario's and Nova Scotia's ask for ordinary cleanliness, and Newfoundland and Labrador's asks them to keep it clean, which SQRFT reads as not a spotless standard. Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board says an untidy unit alone is not a reason to evict, but a unit so unclean that it damages the unit or interferes with others' reasonable enjoyment can be. Notice grounds in several provinces cover unreasonable damage, a health or safety risk or serious interference with others, and a landlord has to use the notice your province requires.

Ask for the complaint in writing with a deadline, then fix what you reasonably can and photograph the result. If a notice arrives, check the dispute deadline. For a notice for cause, the deadline is 10 days in British Columbia (one month notice, Form RTB-33), 10 days in Prince Edward Island and 15 days in Saskatchewan.

Government sources

General information, not legal advice. Rules change; check your province's tenancy office before acting.

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