What if my landlord refuses to give me a copy of the lease?

Yes. Every province covered here puts this duty on the landlord: within 21 days in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario, 20 days in Saskatchewan, and 10 days in Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador. In New Brunswick both sides sign two originals of the Standard Form of Lease and each keeps one, and the province lists a copy of the signed lease as a renter's right. If your agreement was never written down, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador still require the landlord to give you key details, such as their name and address, in writing.

Ask for it in writing and keep a record of your request and of your rent payments. Once the deadline passes, use your province's remedy: hold back rent in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario or Newfoundland and Labrador, pay rent to a residential tenancies officer in New Brunswick, or apply to pay it in trust to the Director in Nova Scotia. In British Columbia, Manitoba and PEI we found no right to hold back rent, so keep paying and apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch, ask the Residential Tenancies Branch or apply to the Director at the Rental Office, which can order the landlord to hand it over.

You can contact your province's tenancy office, and in some provinces the Act sets a penalty. In British Columbia, not giving a copy is an offence with a fine of up to $5,000 and can also bring an administrative penalty, and in PEI the Director can impose an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 for a breach of the Act. In Alberta, failing to give the separate notice of landlord with the landlord's name and address is an offence with a fine of up to $5,000. In Manitoba we found no specific penalty for a missing copy. For how to file in your province, see how to report a landlord.

It depends on the province: 21 days in Alberta (after you return the signed lease), British Columbia (after the agreement is made), Manitoba and Ontario (after you sign it and give it to the landlord); 20 days in Saskatchewan; and 10 days in Nova Scotia, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador. In Nova Scotia you can also keep a signed copy at the signing itself. New Brunswick's Act sets no number of days, but both sides sign two originals of the standard lease and each keeps one.

We found a right to pause rent only in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, where your duty to pay is paused until the landlord gives you the copy. In Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador the withheld rent is due once you receive it, and in Ontario the landlord can then require it, so our advice is to set the money aside (Ontario's separate standard lease remedy, which applies if the landlord did not use the standard lease, can let you keep up to one month's rent). New Brunswick lets you pay rent to a residential tenancies officer instead, and Nova Scotia lets you apply to pay it in trust to the Director. In British Columbia, Manitoba and PEI we found no such right, and holding back rent can lead to an eviction notice for unpaid rent.

Yes. We found no rule in any of the nine provinces covered here that cancels your tenancy because the landlord did not give you a copy, and each province's Act also covers agreements that were never written down. Ontario's Act says an agreement is not void just because the standard lease was not used, and in New Brunswick, if no standard lease was signed, both sides are treated as if they signed it. In Saskatchewan, missing details make a written agreement invalid only if a hearing officer finds the failure significant and the tenant prejudiced.

You are still a tenant with the protection of your province's Act. Some provinces require the landlord to put key details in writing anyway: within 20 days in Saskatchewan, within 21 days in Ontario and within 10 days in Newfoundland and Labrador, and rent is suspended until they do. British Columbia and PEI require a written agreement for new tenancies, while Nova Scotia and New Brunswick treat an oral agreement as if the standard lease had been signed. See can I be evicted without a lease.

PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador say the copy must be given free, and Nova Scotia requires the landlord to give you a copy of the Residential Tenancies Act at no cost. In the other provinces covered here, giving you the copy is the landlord's duty under the Act, and we found no rule on charging for it, so if you are asked to pay, check with your province's tenancy office.

In Nova Scotia, yes: a free copy within 10 days of the earliest of the lease start date, the signing, the key handover or move-in, on paper, electronically or as a link. In Newfoundland and Labrador the landlord must give you a copy of the Act and regulations when the agreement is made. Ontario's standard lease includes an appendix on tenants' rights and responsibilities, and Manitoba's lease form includes a summary of landlord and tenant responsibilities. We found no requirement to give you a copy of the Act in British Columbia, Alberta or New Brunswick.

Yes, in several provinces covered here, so you know where to send notices and applications. Alberta requires a notice of landlord within 7 days after you move in, with a name, postal address and physical location in Canada. Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador require written notice of the landlord's name, phone number and address when the agreement is made, and Ontario requires the landlord's legal name and address in the written lease or, for an oral agreement, in writing within 21 days. In Saskatchewan the written agreement must include the landlord's address for service and phone number.

Not for that reason alone, as far as we found. Without a copy you are still a tenant, so the landlord has to use your province's notice process and, if you do not leave, get an order from the tenancy office or court. The real risk is holding back rent in a province that does not allow it, which can lead to a notice for unpaid rent. See can I be evicted without a lease.

In some provinces, yes. In British Columbia an agreement made since January 1, 2004 must be in writing, the landlord must give you a copy within 21 days, and breaking those rules is an offence with a fine of up to $5,000. In PEI, for tenancies entered into on or after April 8, 2023, the landlord must prepare a written agreement and give you a copy within 10 days, and the Director can impose an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 per contravention. Most private tenancies in Ontario that began on or after April 30, 2018 must use the standard lease, and until the landlord gives you a signed copy your duty to pay rent is suspended.

Elsewhere the rules differ. Saskatchewan requires a written agreement only for a fixed term of 3 months or longer, and Alberta does not require one at all, but a landlord with a written agreement in Alberta must give you a signed copy within 21 days. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick require the Standard Form of Lease. Where the Act applies, you are still a tenant with its protections even if nothing is written. See can you rent without a contract.