What can landlords be fined for?

Breaking the Residential Tenancies Act is an offence for a list of sections, with a fine of up to $5,000 (s.60). The list includes the notice of landlord, entering the unit without the required notice, changing locks without consent, retaliation after a tenant complains, not returning a deposit or statement of account on time, deducting for damage without inspection reports, and not keeping records for 3 years. Giving less than the required notice for a condo conversion carries up to $10,000. So does breaking the regulation's notice and rent increase rules after a major renovation or condo notice, though that regulation was amended in 2026, so check the current text.

Prosecutions start with a written complaint to Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction and must begin within 3 years. After a conviction for deposit breaches, the court can order the deposit paid to the tenant with interest. Breaching a tenant's peaceful enjoyment (s.16) is not on the fine list, so the remedies there are civil. Refusing a tenant with a service dog is an offence under the Service Dogs Act, up to $3,000. Alberta also says anyone who negotiates leases or collects rent must be the owner, the owner's employee or a RECA-licensed property manager. We did not find a fine amount for that.

The Residential Tenancy Act lists offences with a fine of up to $5,000 on conviction (s.95). They include breaking the written agreement requirements, charging an application or processing fee, seizing or interfering with a tenant's property, ending or restricting a service the tenant is entitled to, and taking possession of a unit without a writ of possession. Failing to follow a director's order is also an offence. Coercing, threatening, intimidating or harassing a tenant to deter an application, or in retaliation for one, carries up to $5,000 as well.

Separately, the Residential Tenancy Branch director can impose an administrative penalty of up to $5,000, and a separate penalty for each day the breach continues. A landlord who illegally evicts a tenant, by changing locks, removing the tenant or taking belongings without an RTB order, may face a penalty of up to $5,000 and may have to repay the tenant's costs.

Manitoba uses administrative penalties for the most common landlord breaches: changing or interfering with locks, entering unlawfully, cutting vital services, withholding services, seizing a tenant's property, charging more than the maximum deposit, ignoring an order to return a deposit, and ignoring a former tenant's right of first refusal after a renovation. The amounts are $1,000 for a first penalty, $3,000 for a second and $5,000 for a third or later, and the Act caps any one penalty at $5,000.

A general offence in the Act carries up to $2,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a corporation. The deposit duties in ss.32 and 33 carry much higher penalties: up to $20,000 or 2 years in jail or both for an individual and up to $50,000 for a corporation, and the court can also order compensation or restitution. Application fees are banned in Manitoba. A tenant who paid one can ask the Residential Tenancies Branch to order it repaid.

Under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, breaking any provision of the Act, its regulations or an order is an offence (s.79). A corporation can be fined up to $1,000. An individual can be fined up to $500, jailed for up to 6 months, or both. The court can also order compensation to the tenant (s.80).

A lockout without justification can lead to punitive damages (s.66(4)). We found no double-deposit penalty in Saskatchewan. The fine ceilings are low compared with Ontario or PEI, so a tenant's practical route to money is usually an application to the Office of Residential Tenancies.

Since July 1, 2026, the maximum fine under the Residential Tenancies Act is $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation (s.238). Older printed material, including the standard lease form, may still show the old $50,000 and $250,000 figures. Offences include illegally handling a deposit, interest or last month's rent, not giving a receipt, charging banned fees, withholding a vital service, harassing or coercing a tenant to leave, knowingly harassing a tenant or interfering with their reasonable enjoyment, and changing locks without giving the tenant a key.

Tenants report to the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, and for harassment or interference the Landlord and Tenant Board can order the landlord to repay the tenant's expenses, reduce rent or pay an administrative fine to the Board. Tenants can also commit offences, such as blocking entry after proper notice or changing the locks without consent. We found no city-specific fine amounts for Toronto or other Ontario cities; Toronto's RentSafeTO program covers buildings with 3 or more storeys and 10 or more units, and multi-tenant houses need a City licence.

New Brunswick sets offence categories under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act. Category E offences carry a fine of $240 to $5,200. They include charging fees beyond rent, a deposit or a reasonable service amount (s.8(4)), failing to deliver the deposit to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office, disposing of or withholding a tenant's belongings, entering except as the Act allows (s.16(1)), serving a renovation notice without approval, and ignoring a residential tenancies officer's compensation order.

Category F offences carry $240 to $10,200, rising to a maximum of $15,000 for a repeat conviction where the maximum was already imposed. They cover deliberately cutting heat, water or power or making the unit unfit (s.3.1), distress (s.14), unreasonably blocking election canvassers (s.17), and lock changes (s.18). A seller who fails to notify the office of a sale commits a category B offence, with a fine of $140 to $640. We found no double-deposit penalty.

Breaking any provision of the Residential Tenancies Act is an offence with a fine of up to $1,000 (s.23), and a prosecution needs the Attorney General's consent (s.24). The offence also covers a landlord who acts against a tenant for going to a government authority or trying to enforce their rights. Breaching the deposit rules (ss.12 and 12A) carries a fine of up to $5,000. Under the Service Dog Act, the fine is $500 to $3,000.

A landlord who permits cannabis use contrary to the Cannabis Control Act can face a fine of $5,000 to $25,000. In Halifax, by-law R-400 requires rental housing to be registered, and the penalty for a first offence is $150 to $10,000, with every day a separate offence.

PEI has two tracks. The Director of Residential Tenancy can impose an administrative monetary penalty of up to $10,000 for a breach of the Act, for each day the breach continues (ss.93 and 94). A court can also fine a person up to $25,000 on summary conviction for contravening the Act, its regulations or an order (s.106(1)). Coercing, threatening, intimidating or harassing a tenant or landlord to deter an application or in retaliation for one is a separate offence, and each day is a separate offence (s.106(2)).

A landlord who neither returns the deposit nor applies to claim against it within 15 days after the tenancy ends loses the right to claim against the deposit. The Act says the landlord must pay the tenant double the deposit, while the Rental Office says the landlord may be required to.

Anyone who contravenes the Residential Tenancies Act, its regulations or an order is guilty of an offence (s.51). On summary conviction an individual can be fined up to $3,000 (or jailed for up to 4 months if the fine is not paid), and a corporation up to $10,000. Where an offence continues over several days, each day is a separate offence. Fines are imposed by a court on conviction, not by the director of residential tenancies.

We found no double-deposit penalty in the Act. The only extra money tied to an over-cap deposit is interest. We found no source saying the general offence is used for deposit cases.