How to Evict a Tenant in New Brunswick

In New Brunswick, only a Residential Tenancies Officer or a judge of the Court of King's Bench can evict a tenant. You cannot do it yourself, even if the tenant owes rent or has broken the lease. The officer works at the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO). The province's own pages also call this body the Residential Tenancies Tribunal.

There is usually no courtroom hearing. You apply in writing, the TLRO contacts the tenant and lets them give evidence, and an officer investigates and decides. If the officer issues an Eviction Order, a sheriff carries it out. The rules sit in the Residential Tenancies Act, and the province explains the steps on its evictions page.

So the order of events is always the same: lawful reason, written notice, application to the TLRO, officer's decision, sheriff. Skipping a step is where most landlords get into trouble. If you are also looking at it from the tenant's side, our New Brunswick eviction process guide shows what the tenant sees.

You need a reason the Act recognizes. The main ones are these:

• Unpaid rent. You serve a Notice to Vacate. The tenant can cancel it by paying all rent due within 7 days of being served.
• The tenant breaks the Act or the lease. This covers things like disturbance or nuisance. You serve a notice stating the complaint, and if the tenant does not comply, you report to the TLRO.
• Serious cause. Where a warning notice is not appropriate, for example because of extensive damage, you ask an officer to serve a notice to quit. The province also lists a health or safety risk and illegal activity on site as grounds to apply to end a lease early.
• A listed no-fault reason. You, your spouse, a child, a parent or your spouse's parent will move in for at least three consecutive months in good faith, the unit will be used for non-residential purposes for at least three consecutive months, or an employee's tenancy ends with the job. The notice must state the reason.
• Renovations or repairs. You must apply to the TLRO first and receive written approval before you serve a notice.
• A fixed term that has ended. The lease ends automatically, and not moving out afterwards is a ground for eviction.

Selling the building is not a listed reason to end a tenancy. A buyer takes over the existing tenancy and its terms. For notice lengths by reason, see our landlord notice to end a tenancy guide.

Here is the realistic order of steps once you have a ground.

1. Serve the correct notice in writing. Use the TLRO form where one applies, and state the reason where the Act requires it. Mailed documents are treated as served on the third day after mailing.
2. Wait out the notice. For unpaid rent, the vacate date must be at least 15 days after service, and the tenant can cancel the notice by paying everything owing within 7 days. For a conduct complaint, the tenant must comply immediately, and for other complaints within 7 days.
3. If the tenant is still there, apply to the TLRO. Complete the Landlord Application for Assistance and attach a copy of the notice you served. The TLRO confirms receipt within one business day and gives the file a case number.
4. The TLRO contacts the tenant. The tenant can give evidence against the eviction. An officer investigates and decides whether it goes ahead.
5. The officer issues an Eviction Order. It is made on Form 9. If the notice was a notice to quit served by an officer, the officer may issue the order on your written request without further investigation.
6. A sheriff enforces the order. The sheriff acts only on an order from an officer or a judge. Sheriff fees are paid online or at Service New Brunswick.

No government page we reviewed gives a hearing date or a decision time. The province says cases are prioritized and the most urgent are handled first. No page we reviewed states a filing fee for a landlord application, so check the TLRO's current instructions before you file. Our guide to unpaid rent in New Brunswick covers the rent route in more detail.

Self-help is where a straightforward eviction turns into an offence. The province is clear that only an officer or a judge can evict.

• Do not change the locks. During a tenancy, neither side may change a lock except by mutual consent or with an officer's written authorization. During an eviction, locks can be changed only with an officer's written permission or with a sheriff present.
• Do not cut heat, water or power. You cannot deliberately interrupt these services except in an emergency or when needed for repairs, and there is no exception for unpaid rent. Breaking this rule is a category F offence, with a fine of $240 to $10,200 on conviction.
• Do not seize the tenant's goods for rent. The remedy of distress is abolished.
• Do not throw out belongings. If a tenant leaves things behind after the tenancy ends, you may store them safely, try to contact the tenant, and apply to an officer for a decision. You may dispose of items only as the Act allows, for example items an officer finds are worth less than $500 once ten days have passed since they were left.
• Do not enter whenever you like. Entry needs written notice, with set exceptions such as emergencies.
• Do not serve a notice as payback. A termination notice served within one year after the tenant complained is not valid if the tenant tells an officer in writing within 15 days that they contest it, unless you show the complaint was not the reason.

If you are wondering whether you can remove someone right away, read our answer on whether a landlord can evict a tenant immediately.

Either side can apply to a judge of the Court of King's Bench within seven days after being notified of the decision or served with the order. The only grounds are that the decision was made without jurisdiction or on an error of law. It is not a second hearing on the facts. Applying stays the order, which means the eviction waits until the judge decides. A judge may extend the seven days.

The Act and the province's evictions page show no winter or seasonal ban on evictions. There is also no published timeline for how long the whole process takes. That is why it pays to get the notice right the first time. A defective notice sends you back to the start. Our answer on how long it takes to evict a tenant explains why no single number fits every case.

The Human Rights Act also applies to housing. The province says landlords have a legal duty to accommodate legitimate concerns and reasonable requests, and the Human Rights Commission advises reviewing accommodation requests before taking steps such as eviction proceedings. If a tenant's disability may be behind the problem, consider that before you apply.

The notice is wrong or incomplete. Serve a fresh, correct notice rather than applying with a flawed one. For a rent increase notice, the wrong content has its own rules, covered elsewhere in our guides.

You take rent after the tenancy has ended. If a tenancy has expired or ended and no new lease is signed, accepting rent or compensation for use and occupation, other than for past use and occupation, creates a new tenancy under section 23 of the Act. A landlord is entitled to compensation for the use and occupation of the unit after termination, so ask the TLRO how to take payment without restarting the tenancy.

The tenant pays after the notice. For a Notice to Vacate for rent, paying all rent due within 7 days cancels the notice and the tenancy continues. If you have already served a notice before and say so in the new one, a later payment does not save the tenancy.

The tenant leaves and you want your deposit claim. The TLRO holds the security deposit, not you. Make any claim against it within seven days after the tenancy ends.

The rules change. The provincial government is rewriting the Residential Tenancies Act, and a revised Act was targeted for introduction in fall 2026. We found no passed amendment as of October 2026, so check the province's pages before you serve a notice.

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