How to Become a Landlord in New Brunswick

Not at the provincial level. The Residential Tenancies Act and its General Regulation 82-218 create no landlord registry or licence. Two things can look like one but are not. The first is an annual residential tenancy administration fee, paid to the Minister of Finance and Treasury Board by owners who do not receive the residential property tax credit, at a rate of 0.0486%. The second is e-Landlord, an optional online service account that gives landlords 24-hour access to online submissions.

City licensing was not checked in the research for this guide, so ask your municipality whether any local rules apply to rentals where you live.

The Act applies to houses, apartments, mobile homes, mobile home sites and rooms in a boarding or lodging house. It does not apply to some arrangements, including:

• living accommodations where the tenant shares a bathroom or kitchen with a landlord who lives in the building;
• vacation homes used for a seasonal or temporary period;
• student housing provided by an educational institution;
• stays shorter than 90 consecutive days in a tourist establishment;
• co-operative housing occupied by members.

Disputes go to a residential tenancies officer at the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO), which gnb.ca also calls the Residential Tenancies Tribunal. These rules are current as of October 2026, and the government is rewriting the Act, so check gnb.ca before you rely on them. For a short overview see how to become a landlord.

1. Confirm the Act applies. Check the exclusions above, especially if you share a kitchen or bathroom with the tenant in your own home.
2. Check local rules. Ask your municipality about licensing or property standards. Where a municipality has adopted the province's model maintenance code, standards such as heating and plumbing apply there.
3. Set the rent and deposit. The deposit is limited to one month's rent (one week for weekly tenancies).
4. Screen applicants fairly. Follow the Human Rights Act and privacy rules. See our guide to screening tenants in New Brunswick.
5. Prepare the Standard Form of Lease. Print two copies for signing.
6. Do a move-in inspection. It is optional but recommended, and a signed report helps if you later claim against the deposit.
7. Send the deposit to the TLRO. Do it within 15 days of receiving it.
8. Give the tenant a signed copy. Keep one yourself.

Consider tenant insurance too. No law requires it, but gnb.ca says a landlord may ask for proof of insurance as a condition of renting.

A written lease is required, and it must be the government's Standard Form of Lease (Form 6, 12/2021). You must arrange for you and the tenant to sign two duplicate originals, and each keeps one. If the form is not signed, you and the tenant are deemed to have signed it, and the Act and the form still apply. The term then follows how rent is paid, for example week to week or month to month.

You cannot contract out of the Act. Any change to or deletion from the standard form is void. You and the tenant may add terms, but only if the additions do not alter any right or duty in the Act or the form, and they should appear on both originals. If you never give the tenant a signed copy, the tenant may pay rent to a residential tenancies officer instead of to you.

Points worth deciding when you fill in the form:

• Pets. The form has a box for pet restrictions. You may refuse pets, but you must allow a service animal.
• Smoking and cannabis. The form has an optional box to mark the premises smoke-free. According to gnb.ca, landlords can restrict smoking and growing cannabis, but unless the lease specifically prohibits them, they are allowed. An existing no-smoking rule covers cannabis.
• Late fees. A late fee is allowed only if the lease says so, and only in the amount of the NSF charges your bank billed you for a returned rent cheque.
• Use. The premises are for residential purposes only.

Clauses that make all remaining rent due when a tenant defaults are void, and seizing a tenant's belongings for unpaid rent is not allowed. The tenant-side view of the same form is in our New Brunswick lease agreements guide.

Rent increases. New Brunswick has a legal cap, not a guideline: a landlord may not increase rent by more than 3%. The government confirmed in June 2026 that the cap stays at 3% for the 2027 calendar year, with the next review in May 2027. To raise the rent you must give six months' written notice, in a separate document that names the tenant and the unit, states the current rent, the new rent and the effective date, and is dated and signed by you or your agent. You may not raise rent more than once in any 12-month period or during the first 12 months of a tenancy, unless you and the tenant agree otherwise in writing. A notice for more than 3% is treated as a notice for 3%. To go above the cap, up to 9%, you must apply to a residential tenancies officer and show capital expenditures for renovations. See our landlord guide to raising rent.

Deposits. You do not hold the deposit. You must send it to the TLRO within 15 days, and the office holds it. You may not ask for the last month's rent in advance, and no interest is paid to the tenant. To keep any part at the end of the tenancy, file a Security Deposit Claim with the TLRO within 7 days after the tenancy ends. Details are in our deposit guide for New Brunswick landlords.

The Act sets duties for every tenancy. You must deliver the unit clean, in good repair and fit for habitation, keep it that way, maintain any chattels you supply, comply with health, safety, housing and building standards, and keep common areas clean and safe. You must make emergency repairs without delay.

Several things are off limits:

• deliberately interfering with heat, water or electric power, except in an emergency or for repairs (an offence);
• changing the locks during the tenancy, unless the tenant agrees or an officer authorizes it in writing;
• seizing a tenant's belongings for unpaid rent;
• entering without a lawful reason and proper notice, which is normally 24 hours' written notice for inspections and showings, 7 days for normal repairs, and no notice in an emergency.

The tenant must keep the unit ordinarily clean, repair damage caused by their own wilful or negligent conduct or that of people they let in, and avoid disturbance or nuisance. If you do not repair, the tenant can serve a written complaint and give you 7 days, then go to a residential tenancies officer, who can order the work.

Ending a tenancy. You can serve a notice of termination only for a listed reason, such as moving in yourself or a close family member for at least three consecutive months, or renovations with the TLRO's prior written approval. Selling the building is not a listed reason. A fixed term ends automatically at the end of the term. For unpaid rent you serve a Notice to Vacate on the TLRO form, with a vacate date at least 15 days after service, and the tenant can cancel it by paying all rent due within 7 days. Only a residential tenancies officer or a judge can evict, and a sheriff carries out the order. Details are in our landlord notice guide.

Selling. The tenancy continues. If you sell, give a notice of transfer on Form 8 to the TLRO and the tenant within 7 days after the transfer.

Forms and help. The landlord hub at gnb.ca lists the TLRO services and links to the forms you will need, including the Standard Form of Lease, the Accommodation Inspection Report, the Security Deposit Claim and Refund Agreement, the Landlord Application for Assistance and the Notice of Transfer. Use the official versions rather than copies from other sources.

This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.