What if my landlord says I can't break my lease?

The government says a landlord is not obliged to accept a tenant's notice to end a fixed term early, but may agree to an early end, an assignment or a sublease. A tenant who is a victim of domestic violence can apply for a certificate to end the tenancy early without financial penalty. If the landlord commits a substantial breach, the tenant can apply to the RTDRS or the Alberta Court of Justice to end the tenancy. The tenant can end it on 14 days' written notice only where a public health order was issued about the breach and the tenant reasonably believes the landlord has not complied.

Assigning or subletting needs the landlord's written consent. The landlord may not refuse without reasonable grounds and must give the reasons in writing within 14 days, and cannot charge a fee for consenting. A tenant who ends a fixed term early owes rent until the agreement ends, but the landlord must take reasonable steps to re-rent. A re-rental fee can be charged only if the agreement says so.

During a fixed term, neither side can end the tenancy except for cause, by agreement of both parties, or on one of the special grounds. The usual agreement form is RTB-8. A tenant fleeing family or household violence, or assessed as needing long-term care (or accepted into a long-term care facility), can give one month's notice with no financial penalty. A tenant can also end the tenancy if the landlord breaches a material term and does not fix it within a reasonable time after the tenant's written notice.

Assigning or subletting needs the landlord's written consent, which the landlord must not unreasonably withhold if the fixed term has 6 months or more remaining (RTA s.34). A tenant who leaves with no legal ground can face a compensation claim: the government's own example is a tenant who leaves two months into a one-year lease and is asked for 10 months' rent. The Act requires a party claiming compensation to do whatever is reasonable to minimize the loss (RTA s.7(2)).

The Residential Tenancies Branch says tenants can end a fixed term early only in certain cases. One rental payment period's notice applies for moving into a personal care home, being unable to live independently for health reasons (with a doctor's certificate), a unit that has become inaccessible because of a long-term health change, or domestic or sexual violence or stalking (with a certificate from Victim Services). Two periods apply after an above-guideline rent increase or a rehabilitation scheme application. For a Canadian Forces posting at least 50 km away, notice is three periods, or one if the member got less than three months' notice of the posting.

Assigning or subletting needs written consent, which the landlord cannot withhold unreasonably, and the landlord can charge up to $75. A tenant who abandons a fixed-term tenancy stays liable for lost future rent, but the landlord must try to re-rent as soon as practicable and minimize the loss. The landlord can also claim a $75 administration fee if the lease is abandoned without any notice.

A tenant who fears interpersonal or sexual violence can end the tenancy on at least 28 days' notice with a certificate in the approved form signed by an authorized person. The notice has to be served within 90 days of the certificate, and no liquidated damages can be claimed. If the landlord breaches a material provision, the tenant can end the tenancy by notice after giving the landlord a reasonable period to fix the problem, if it can be fixed.

A tenant can assign a tenancy or sublet a fixed-term unit only with the landlord's written consent, which the landlord must not unreasonably withhold. A landlord can charge no more than $20 for considering the request. A tenant who leaves with no ground can owe lost rent, but the landlord must take reasonable steps to keep its loss down (s.8(2)).

A landlord cannot simply end a fixed term early, and a tenant needs a ground to leave without owing rent. A tenant who fears harm from sexual or domestic violence can end the tenancy on 28 days' notice (form N15). If the landlord refuses an assignment, or does not reply within 7 days, the tenant can give at least 30 days' notice on form N9, within 30 days of the request. The two sides can also agree in writing to end the tenancy (N11), and a tenant who thinks a refusal was unjustified can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board.

A tenant needs the landlord's approval for an assignment or sublet, and the landlord must have a good reason to refuse. The Board's own example: a tenant in a one-year fixed term who moves out after eight months is responsible for the rent until the year is over, unless the landlord finds someone else to rent the unit.

A tenant who believes their own safety, or a dependent child's, is at risk because of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence or criminal harassment can end the tenancy by serving a notice of termination and a prescribed document, at least one month before the end of any month, effective the last day of that month. The landlord gets no compensation for later rent. A tenant facing extreme hardship because of a deterioration in their own health can ask a residential tenancies officer to end the tenancy.

A tenant can assign the lease unless the lease prohibits it or requires consent. If consent is required the tenant serves the request on Form 7, the landlord cannot unreasonably withhold consent and can charge at most $20 for reasonable expenses. Note that, instead of consenting within 7 days, the landlord may serve a notice to quit ending the lease on the day the assignment was to take effect. A tenant who leaves with no legal ground is liable for damages including lost rent, but the landlord must mitigate. Accelerated-rent clauses are void.

For year-to-year and fixed-term tenancies, the Act has set early exits that need one month's notice and a document. They cover a significant health decline that reduces income (s. 10B, with Forms G and H), a health decline or an inaccessible unit (s. 10C, medical certificate), permanent admission to a nursing home or home for special care (s. 10D, proof), and domestic violence (s. 10F, a certificate from the Director of Victim Services, within 60 days of the certificate being issued).

A tenant may assign or sublet subject to the landlord's consent, which the landlord may not arbitrarily or unreasonably withhold, and the landlord cannot charge for consent unless it actually incurred expense. A tenant who leaves without proper notice remains responsible for the lease until the landlord can re-rent, and the landlord must try to re-rent and mitigate the loss.

An ordinary notice cannot end a fixed term before the term ends. The Act sets early-exit grounds, each on one month's notice ending the day before rent is due: family violence or abuse (with a protection order, peace bond or the prescribed statement), a Human Rights Commission order finding discrimination by the landlord, and illness-related grounds such as income reduced by ill health, having to live with an ill family member, permanent admission to a care facility, or the death of the tenant.

Assigning or subletting needs the landlord's written consent, which cannot be withheld arbitrarily or unreasonably, and the fee is limited to actual expenses. A landlord can refuse if the change would give an unreasonable number of occupants. Where a tenant abandons the unit, the landlord must mitigate the damages. For what a landlord can claim in a given case, ask the Rental Office.

A tenant can end a rental agreement on one month's notice in special circumstances: reduced income from ill health, a person who helps pay the rent no longer able to because of ill health, being required to live with an ill family member, permanent admission to a home providing personal care for the aged, or the tenant's death. For family violence, a tenant can give 30 days' notice after the Director issues a certificate (the notice has to be given within 90 days of the certificate, and rent is owed only to the end of the notice). For cause, a landlord's material breach that is not fixed needs one month's notice, and an uninhabitable unit allows immediate notice.

A tenant needs the landlord's written consent to assign or sublet; the landlord cannot withhold it arbitrarily or unreasonably and can charge only expenses actually incurred. Where the tenant abandons the premises, the landlord must mitigate damages. The research did not itemize which losses a landlord can claim, so ask the Residential Tenancies Office.