Can a landlord sue for unpaid rent?

You can apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) or the Alberta Court of Justice for a judgment for the rent the tenant owes. The RTDRS fee is $75 for claims of $7,500 or less and $150 above that, it can award up to $100,000, and you have 2 years from when the claim first came to your attention. The security deposit can be applied to unpaid rent, with a statement of account given to the tenant within 10 days.

An RTDRS or Alberta Court of Justice order has to be filed with the Court of King's Bench and served on the tenant before it can be enforced. If a tenant on a fixed term leaves early, you are owed rent until the agreement ends, but you must take reasonable steps to re-rent the unit, and the old tenant stops owing rent once a new tenant takes over. A re-rental fee is allowed only if the lease includes it.

Apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for dispute resolution to claim the rent or other money owed. Most applications cost $100, and unless the Act sets another time, you must apply within 2 years after the tenancy ends. You can take unpaid rent from the deposit only with the tenant's written agreement or an RTB order, applied for within 15 days after the later of the end of the tenancy and receiving the tenant's forwarding address in writing. Skipping the condition inspection reports costs you the right to claim against the deposit for damage, but not for unpaid rent.

If a tenant leaves a fixed-term lease early, you can claim compensation such as the rent for the rest of the term. The government's example is a tenant on a one-year lease who moves out after two months, where the landlord can apply for 10 months' rent. You still have to do whatever is reasonable to keep the loss down.

Apply to the Residential Tenancies Branch. An application for an order of possession costs $60 and can include a claim for the rent owed, and a compensation claim on its own costs $50. The Branch can also order the tenant to pay your hearing costs: $65 for a compensation order and $110 for an order of possession. To keep part of the deposit, give the tenant written notice of the amount within 28 days after the tenancy ends.

A tenant who abandons the unit stays liable for lost future rent, but you must try to re-rent it as soon as practicable and keep your losses down. If they abandon a fixed-term agreement without any notice, you can also claim a $75 administration fee.

Apply to the Office of Residential Tenancies. The fee is $50 and claims can be up to $30,000. If you are applying for an order of possession, you can claim any outstanding rent or utility arrears at the same hearing, and the tenant can be ordered to pay the fee back. After the tenancy ends, claim unpaid rent against the security deposit within 7 business days, and file a monetary application for anything the deposit does not cover.

You cannot collect future rent in advance, and a lease clause that makes the remaining rent due all at once is not allowed. The sheriff enforces an order of possession.

While the tenant still lives in the unit, file an L1 with the Landlord and Tenant Board to end the tenancy and collect the rent owed; there is no deadline to file it. Once the tenant has moved out, use the L10 to claim the money they owe, within one year after they moved out. Use the current versions: the updated L1 and L10 forms replace the old ones, which the Board stops accepting after November 30, 2026.

When a tenant leaves without proper notice, the Board considers whether you took reasonable steps to minimize your losses, such as trying to re-rent, when it works out the arrears. Only the Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff) can enforce an eviction order.

The residential tenancies officer, not the landlord, holds the deposit. To use it for unpaid rent, file a Security Deposit Claim within 7 days after the tenancy ends; if it ended with a notice for unpaid rent, you have until 7 days after the end of the month (or week, for a weekly tenancy) in which it ended. The officer investigates and decides. For a claim the deposit rules do not cover, there is a separate process: tell the officer within 7 days and start a court case within 14 days, and the officer holds the deposit meanwhile.

A tenant who leaves early stays liable for lost rent, but you must mitigate as you would for any broken contract, and a clause that speeds up future rent is void. Any rent the tenant pays is applied first to arrears.

Apply to the Director of Residential Tenancies on Form J ($31.15), or use Form K to claim rent arrears without a hearing. To keep the deposit for unpaid rent, you need the tenant's written consent or a Form R claim filed within 10 days after the lease ends, and if the rent owed is more than the deposit, you can file a Form J for the rest.

If no one appeals within 10 days, the order can be made a Small Claims Court order at no charge and enforced like any judgment of that court, through an Execution Order or Certificate of Judgment; the sheriff charges fees for some services. A tenant who leaves without a legal reason owes rent until you can re-rent, and you must mitigate.

Apply to the Director of Residential Tenancy at the Rental Office with a Landlord Application to Determine Dispute (Form 2B). You can apply during the tenancy or within six months after it ends. To keep the deposit for unpaid rent, file Form 2B, option (e), within 15 days after the tenancy ends, unless the tenant agrees in writing.

Either side can appeal to IRAC within 20 days, or within 7 days for an order to vacate for unpaid rent. If the tenant abandons the unit, you must mitigate your loss, and you cannot seize the tenant's property to cover rent.

Apply to the Residential Tenancies Office with an Application for Dispute Resolution. The fee is $20, you have one year after the rental agreement ends to apply, and the adjudicator can order the tenant to pay you money. An adjudicator can also order the tenant to repay the filing fee and let you apply the security deposit against what is owed.

The adjudicator's decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador. If a tenant abandons the unit, you must try to keep your losses down, and you may not keep, sell or dispose of the tenant's belongings to cover rent.