Should I rent my house or sell it?

A sale does not end an Alberta tenancy. The buyer takes over the security deposit and must refund it even if you never hand it over. To end a periodic (month-to-month) tenancy for a sale, the buyer asks you in writing to give notice, and you give 3 tenancy months' written notice on a permitted reason: the buyer or a relative will move in, or the home is a detached or semi-detached house or a condo unit and the buyer asks for the tenancy to end. The research lists you or a relative moving in as another permitted reason, with the same 3 tenancy months' notice.

A fixed-term lease ends on its date with no notice needed. If the tenant stays and you keep accepting rent with no new agreement, it becomes a periodic tenancy, and then only the permitted reasons apply.

In British Columbia a sale is not one of the ways a tenancy ends, so the buyer becomes the landlord and the deposit duties run with the land. If the buyer or a close family member will live in the unit, the tenancy can be ended with a Three Month Notice for Purchaser's Use (RTB-32P, generated on the Residential Tenancy Branch portal). The tenant has 21 days to dispute it and is owed one month's rent, which the tenant may withhold from the last month's rent, and 12 times the monthly rent can be owed if the stated purpose is not carried out (with exceptions). These notices are not allowed in a building with 5 or more rental units that is not strata titled, or that is strata titled with all rental units owned by the same owner.

Policy Guideline 30 says a landlord's use notice cannot end a fixed term before its end date; we did not find it addressing a purchaser's notice specifically, so ask the Residential Tenancy Branch. At the end of the term the tenancy carries on month to month unless there is a valid vacate clause, which is allowed only if you (as an individual) or a close family member will move in for at least 6 months, or the agreement is a sublease. Moving back in yourself uses the Three Month Notice for Landlord's Use (RTB-32L).

In Manitoba all the rights and duties under the Act and a written lease bind the new landlord after a sale, and the new landlord must give the tenant written notice in the prescribed form. The new landlord is also liable for any deposit and interest you did not pay back. If the buyer will live in the unit, a periodic tenancy needs 1 month's notice when the vacancy rate is 3% or higher and 3 months' when it is lower; a fixed term needs 3 months' notice and cannot end before its end date.

A fixed term does not simply run out: the Residential Tenancies Branch says landlords must give a renewal 3 months before the end, and if you do not and the tenant stays, the agreement is deemed renewed for the same term or 12 months, whichever is less. Moving back in yourself, or a spouse, parent or adult child moving in, needs 3, 4 or 5 months' notice depending on the vacancy rate, according to the Branch's fact sheet.

In Saskatchewan the buyer steps into your existing tenancy agreements as if they had signed them, so the rent and lease terms carry on. You must hand over the written agreements, deposits and deposit records right away. If the buyer or their family will live in the home, a periodic tenancy can be ended with 1 month's notice; you moving back in needs 2 months. If the home is not used for the stated purpose for at least six months, the tenant can apply for compensation for losses.

A fixed-term lease ends on its date unless you sign a new agreement. At least 2 months before the end, you must serve written notice saying whether you will offer a new agreement and on what terms.

An Ontario tenancy can end only as the Residential Tenancies Act allows, and a sale is not one of the ways. The buyer becomes the landlord and cannot ask for a new last month's rent deposit if the tenant already paid you one. If the buyer or their family will move in and the building has 3 or fewer units, you can serve an N12 for the purchaser's own use: at least 60 days, ending on the last day of a rental period or the fixed term.

A fixed term rolls into a month-to-month tenancy automatically. If you want to move back in yourself, an N12 for your own use also needs at least 60 days; for N12 own-use notices served from September 21, 2026, giving at least 120 days' notice means no compensation is owed. That change does not cover a buyer's N12.

In New Brunswick the buyer takes on all your obligations to the tenant, and the lease terms stay the same no matter who owns the property. You must notify the tenant and the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office on Form 8 within 7 days after the transfer; missing this is an offence with a fine of $140 to $640. The office then transfers the deposits it holds to the new owner. The province says landlords do not have to tell tenants they plan to sell.

A sale is not one of the reasons the Act allows for ending a tenancy. The reasons do include the landlord, spouse, child, parent or spouse's parent moving in for at least three consecutive months, on the ordinary notice. A fixed-term lease ends on its date, but accepting rent afterwards creates a new periodic tenancy.

In Nova Scotia the tenancy continues after a sale, the security deposits are deemed transferred to the new landlord, and you must transfer the trust account and its records. If the property has 4 or fewer units and the buyer or the buyer's family will move in, you can give Form DR2 with an affidavit, effective no earlier than 2 months after the tenant gets it. Moving back in yourself is different: own or family use needs an application to the Director and an order.

A fixed-term lease ends on the date in the lease. If the tenant stays on with your consent, it becomes a month-to-month lease, and a new fixed term needs a new signed lease.

On Prince Edward Island a landlord's obligations run with the rental unit, deposit duties pass to the buyer, and the new landlord must give the tenant written notice of their name, contact details and the deposit held. A sale ends a tenancy only if the building has fewer than 3 units (or it is a condo unit), there is a signed agreement of purchase and sale, and a sworn affidavit: at least 2 months' notice if the buyer will live there, or 4 months if the buyer's family will. The tenant gets one month's rent plus reasonable moving expenses, or another unit they accept.

No-fault notices must end at the end of a fixed term, and a fixed term is deemed renewed as a monthly tenancy. Moving back in yourself needs at least 4 months' notice, and only an individual landlord can use it.

In Newfoundland and Labrador the buyer becomes the landlord, the existing rental agreement stays in place, and the new owner is responsible for the security deposit. The new landlord must give the tenant written notice right away. We found no sale or own-use reason for a single unit in the Act. Instead, a landlord can end a month-to-month tenancy with 3 months' notice before the end of a rental period, or a fixed term with 3 months' notice before it ends, and neither the Act nor the guide requires a reason.

A sale does not let the new landlord give shorter notice. If a fixed term ends and no notice was given, the tenancy carries on under the same terms.