I can't pay my rent this month, what should I do?

In Alberta, not paying rent is a substantial breach, so a landlord can serve at least 14 clear days' written notice to end the tenancy. A notice for unpaid rent must state that the tenancy will not end if you pay all the rent due, including overdue payments, on or before the termination date. If you pay by then, the notice is void.

If you stay, the landlord has to apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) or the Alberta Court of Justice, and only a civil enforcement agency can remove you and your belongings. If you missed the hearing through accident, mistake or not getting proper notice, you can ask the RTDRS to set the order aside within 20 days.

In BC, a landlord can serve a 10 Day Notice if rent is late by even one day or short by any amount. The notice takes effect no earlier than 10 days after you receive it, and you have 5 days to pay the overdue amount in full or apply for dispute resolution. If you do neither, the landlord can ask the Residential Tenancy Branch for an order of possession through the direct request process.

The deadline to ask for a review of an order of possession is only 2 days, and the filing fee is $50. After that, the landlord must take the order to the B.C. Supreme Court for a writ of possession, and a court bailiff carries it out.

In Manitoba, a landlord can give a termination notice once rent is 3 days late, on the prescribed form. You can avoid termination by paying the full amount owing, plus any prescribed costs, on or before the date on the notice. A landlord who accepts the late payment gives up the right to terminate unless the landlord confirms in writing, at the time of taking the payment, that the notice still stands.

If you stay, the landlord needs an order of possession from the Residential Tenancies Branch. You have 7 days to appeal an order of possession to the Residential Tenancies Commission, and an appeal stays the order. If you missed the hearing for non-payment, you need the Commission's leave to appeal, which is available only if you could not reasonably attend or the order relied on false or misleading information.

In Saskatchewan, a landlord can serve a notice to end the tenancy if rent has been unpaid for 15 days or more after the due date (the Regulations' standard condition says "more than 15 days", so count carefully). If you do not leave, the landlord applies to the Office of Residential Tenancies for an order of possession, and the hearing can also deal with the rent owing. We found no statutory right to cancel the notice by paying, and a landlord who accepts arrears after a notice has not given up the notice unless both sides agree in writing. Ask the Office before you rely on a payment.

You can appeal to the Court of King's Bench on a question of law or jurisdiction within 30 days after the order is signed and dated. A tenant appealing a writ over unpaid rent must first deposit one month's rent with the director and file the certificate of payment. Filing the appeal stays enforcement unless the court orders otherwise.

In Ontario, a landlord starts with an N4 notice. For notices given on or after September 21, 2026, the termination date must be at least 7 days after the notice is given. If you pay all the rent you owe before the landlord files an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board, the notice is void and you do not have to move out. There is no deadline for the landlord to file an application for unpaid rent.

If an application is filed on or after September 21, 2026, you must pay half of the arrears directly to the landlord at least 7 days before the hearing in order to raise other issues. At the hearing the Board must consider whether to refuse the eviction or delay it. You can ask for a review of an order within 15 days (the fee is $58), or appeal to the Divisional Court within 30 days on a question of law only.

In New Brunswick, the landlord serves a Notice to Vacate, and the vacate date must be at least 15 days after the day it is served. Paying all the rent due within 7 days after you are served cancels the notice and continues the tenancy. If the landlord has already served a notice to vacate before and says so in the new notice (a Final Notice to Vacate), paying later no longer saves the tenancy.

The landlord then applies to a residential tenancies officer at the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office. You can apply to a judge of the Court of King's Bench within 7 days after you are notified of the decision or served with the order, but only on the grounds that the officer lacked jurisdiction or made an error of law. Applying stays the order.

In Nova Scotia, once your rent is overdue by three days, a landlord can give a notice to quit from the 4th day onward, effective no earlier than the 10th day after it is given. For weekly tenancies the landlord can act once rent is 7 days unpaid. This timing changed on April 30, 2025.

You have up to 10 days after receiving the notice to pay the arrears, which makes the notice void, or to apply to the Director of Residential Tenancies. Either side can appeal the Director's order to the Small Claims Court within 10 days, and the appeal is a new hearing.

In PEI there is no grace period: a landlord can serve a notice the day after rent is due. The notice cannot end the tenancy earlier than 20 days after you receive it. You have 10 days after receiving it to pay the overdue rent, in which case the notice has no effect, or to dispute it. Unpaid utilities can be treated as unpaid rent, and a landlord who accepts arrears after giving notice has not given up the notice unless both sides agree in writing.

The landlord applies to the Director of Residential Tenancy (the Rental Office). You can appeal to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission within 20 days, or within 7 days for an order to vacate for non-payment, and serving the appeal stays the order.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, once rent is 5 days overdue (3 days for a weekly tenancy), the landlord can serve a notice to vacate with a date not less than 10 days after it is served (not less than 3 days for a weekly tenancy). Paying all the overdue rent and any fee voids the notice, but not if the landlord has given this kind of notice more than twice in a 12-month period.

The landlord then applies to the Residential Tenancies Office for an order of possession, and the sheriff enforces it. The Act has no internal review. You can appeal to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador on a question of jurisdiction or law within 30 days after a copy of the order is provided to you.