What happens if a tenant refuses to sign a lease?

A fixed-term tenancy in Alberta ends on its end date without either side giving notice. At that point the landlord and tenant can negotiate a new agreement, which can change the rent, the security deposit and the conditions, and can be a new fixed term or a periodic tenancy. If the tenant will not sign but stays on, and the landlord keeps accepting rent with no new agreement, the tenancy becomes periodic, and from then on the landlord can end it only for the reasons the Act allows.

We found no rule in the Act or the government's handbook about a tenant who refuses to sign a new lease during a periodic tenancy; the handbook says agreed terms change only if both sides agree or the law allows it. For a new tenant, a written, oral or implied agreement all count as a tenancy agreement, so a signature is not the only way to form one.

In BC, a fixed-term tenancy without a valid vacate clause carries on as a month to month tenancy on the same terms when the term ends, and the landlord cannot require a new lease. The government says a landlord cannot make a tenant who wants to go month to month sign another fixed-term agreement, so a tenant who refuses simply keeps the existing terms.

For a new tenancy, the landlord must prepare a written tenancy agreement, but oral and implied agreements are still covered by the Act, and the standard terms apply either way. A landlord can require a security deposit only when the tenancy agreement is made.

Manitoba has the clearest rule. For a written fixed-term agreement, the landlord must give the tenant a renewal at least 3 months before the end date, for the same term and with the same benefits and obligations, subject only to a lawful rent increase, unless both sides agreed to something different. If the tenant does not sign and return it at least 2 months before the end date, the tenancy ends on that date. If the landlord never offers a renewal and the tenant stays on, the agreement is treated as renewed for the same term or 12 months, whichever is less.

A new tenant does not need a signed lease to have a tenancy: Manitoba accepts oral and implied agreements, and an agreement counts as written if one side signed it, gave it to the other, and the tenant was then allowed to move in. A written agreement on the prescribed form is required when the landlord asks for a guarantor or the tenancy includes tenant services.

A fixed-term tenancy in Saskatchewan ends on its end date unless a new agreement is made. At least 2 months before the end, the landlord must serve a written notice saying whether it will offer a new agreement and on what terms, so the landlord can offer different terms. A tenant who wants to stay must accept in writing within one month of getting the notice; a tenant who does not respond is treated as rejecting it and must leave at the end of the term. If the landlord does not serve the notice properly, a hearing officer may continue the tenancy as a periodic one or end it.

A landlord cannot refuse to renew just to increase the security deposit. In a periodic tenancy, terms other than the standard conditions change only if both sides agree, and refusing to sign a new agreement is not among the grounds for ending a tenancy that we found in the Act.

In Ontario, a tenant never has to sign a renewal or a new lease to stay. When a fixed term ends and nothing new is signed, the tenancy carries on month to month with the same terms, subject only to rent increases the Act allows. A tenancy can end only under the Act, and refusing to sign a new lease is not among the grounds we found in it.

For a new tenancy, most private landlords must use Ontario's standard lease, signed by both sides on or before the day the tenant can move in. A tenancy is not void just because the standard lease was not used or signed, and if the landlord does not give the tenant the unit, any rent deposit paid must be repaid.

In New Brunswick, a fixed-term lease ends automatically at the end of the agreed period, with no notice needed, and the government lists not moving out once a fixed-term lease has ended as a ground for eviction. But if the landlord accepts rent after the lease has ended and no new lease is signed, a new tenancy starts, with its term set by how the rent is paid (for example, month to month).

We found no rule in the Act on a landlord insisting on a new lease, or on a tenant refusing one. Any new lease must still be the government's Standard Form of Lease, and additions need both sides' agreement. If a landlord and tenant never sign the Standard Form, they are treated as if they had, and the Act and the form apply.

A fixed-term lease in Nova Scotia ends on the date in the lease and does not renew on its own: a new fixed-term lease has to be signed for each new term. A tenant who will not sign a new one but stays on with the owner's consent becomes a month to month tenant, and the government's renting guide says paying rent after the end date starts a month to month lease.

A monthly, weekly or yearly lease renews automatically for the same type of term if no notice is given, and a landlord can give a notice to quit only on the grounds the Act sets out. The standard form of lease applies to every tenancy in the province, so a tenant who never signs it, including under an oral agreement, is treated as if they had.

In PEI, when a fixed term ends without a renewal or a valid termination, the tenancy is treated as renewed as a monthly tenancy with the same rights and obligations. A landlord cannot simply refuse to renew: a reason the Act allows is needed, and a tenant's refusal to sign a new lease is not one of the Act's for-cause grounds.

Terms other than the Act's core provisions can change only if both sides agree, and the Rental Office says a rental agreement can be changed after move-in only by agreement or with its order. For tenancies since April 8, 2023 the landlord must prepare a written agreement, but oral and implied agreements are still covered by the Act.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, if a fixed term ends and the tenant stays without either side giving notice, the tenancy continues under the same terms and conditions. A landlord who does not want to renew can give notice at least 3 months before the end of the term, with no reason needed, and a month to month tenancy can likewise be ended with 3 months' notice before the end of a rental period.

We found nothing in the Act or the government's guide on what happens when a tenant refuses to sign a new lease. Oral and implied agreements count: the government's example of an implied agreement is a tenant paying rent or a security deposit and the landlord accepting it, and the landlord must then give the tenant the terms in writing within 10 days.