How to Evict a Tenant in Saskatchewan

In Saskatchewan you cannot remove a tenant yourself. The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 sets a three-part route. First you serve a written notice on the approved form that fits a lawful reason. If the tenant does not leave, you apply to the Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) for an order of possession. If the tenant still stays, the order comes with a writ of possession, and only the sheriff can put you back in possession of the unit.

The decision maker is a hearing officer at the ORT. Before you start, pick the right ground, use the right notice period and note whether the tenancy is periodic (weekly or monthly) or a fixed term, because the rules differ. The tenant-side view of the same process is in our Saskatchewan eviction process guide.

No winter restriction on ending a tenancy was found in the Act or on the government pages read for this guide.

The ground you use decides the notice period and what the tenant can do in response.

For serious cases you can ask a hearing officer for an order of possession and an early end date instead of waiting for a notice to run. That route is for situations where it would be unreasonable to wait for a cause notice to take effect.

For a fixed term, no no-fault early end was found in the Act. You are left with the cause grounds and the early end order. A fixed term otherwise ends on its end date, after you serve a written notice of your intentions at least two months before. The details are in our landlord notice to end a tenancy guide.

1. Choose the ground and check the tenancy type. Periodic and fixed term tenancies end differently, and a reason is required for a no-fault notice.
2. Serve the notice. A landlord's notice must be on the approved form. It must be in writing, dated, say it comes from you, give the address of the unit, state the effective date and state the grounds. If you get the date wrong, the notice is not void. The date is treated as the earliest date that complies.
3. Let the notice run. For cause and no-fault notices the tenant has 15 days after receiving it to dispute it in writing. A tenant who does not dispute is treated as accepting the end date and must leave by then.
4. Apply to the ORT if the tenant stays or disputes. The fee is $50 and is non-refundable. At a possession hearing for unpaid rent you can also claim the arrears. If the tenant disputed, you carry the burden of showing you are entitled to end the tenancy.
5. Attend the hearing. Hearings can be held by phone or electronic means. If the tenant was given notice of the hearing and does not attend, the hearing officer may go ahead and decide anyway.
6. Get the order and the writ. If the hearing officer finds you are entitled to possession, the order can include a writ of possession directed to the sheriff at the judicial centre nearest the unit. The writ expires 30 days after it is ordered unless the hearing officer sets another date. The writ form tells you to deliver it to the sheriff at least 5 business days before it expires.
7. The sheriff enforces it. You cannot retake possession without the writ, unless the tenant has vacated or abandoned the unit.

If the reason is unpaid rent, read our landlord guide to unpaid rent in Saskatchewan for the notice details. The ORT's own steps to a hearing page lists the application types.

These shortcuts break the Act, and they can turn a strong case into a claim against you.

• Do not change the locks. A landlord may change the locks to a rental unit only if the tenant agrees and gets new keys, or if a hearing officer orders it.
• Do not take or dispose of belongings. You may not seize a tenant's personal property except under a court or ORT order, or under the abandoned property rules.
• Do not cut utilities or services. A landlord may not end or restrict a service or facility without the tenant's agreement or an ORT order. The Act has no exception for unpaid rent.
• Do not move people out yourself. You may not regain possession unless the tenant has vacated or abandoned the unit, or you hold an order and a writ directed to the sheriff.

A breach of the Act is an offence. A corporation can be fined up to $1,000. An individual can be fined up to $500, jailed for up to six months, or both. A hearing officer can also award punitive damages for a lockout without justification. For the short version, see can a landlord evict you immediately.

Most delays come from a small number of problems.

• A defective notice. The notice has to be in the approved form with the required details. A wrong effective date gets corrected, but a missing ground or the wrong form is a risk you do not need.
• A dispute. When a tenant disputes a cause or no-fault notice in time, the tenant is not deemed to have accepted it. You must apply to the ORT, and the burden is on you.
• An appeal. A tenant can appeal an ORT decision to the Court of King's Bench, on a question of law or jurisdiction only, within 30 days after the order is signed and dated. Filing the notice of appeal stays the proceedings, including the writ, unless the court orders otherwise.
• Rent evictions and appeals. A tenant appealing a writ for unpaid rent, unpaid utilities or repeated late rent must first deposit one month's rent with the director and file the certificate of payment.
• A missed hearing. A tenant who did not get notice of the hearing, or against whom an order was made without being heard, can ask for a rehearing.
• Taking money after the notice. Unless you and the tenant agree otherwise in writing, accepting arrears or payment for use of the unit after a notice does not cancel the notice or create a new tenancy. If you do want to keep the tenancy, put that agreement in writing.

A tenant can also ask for relief at the hearing if the notice followed a good faith complaint about health or safety standards, or came after the tenant enforced their rights.

Getting the unit back is not the end of the file.

• The deposit. Within seven business days after you know or should know the tenant moved out, you must either return the deposit with any interest, or return the part you are not claiming and serve a notice of claim in the approved form for the rest. The claimed part stays in trust for 30 days from the end of the tenancy. Our Saskatchewan security deposit guide covers the tenant side of the same rules.
• Belongings left behind. If you reasonably estimate them at $1,500 or less, you must first make reasonable efforts to find the tenant before you remove or dispose of them. Above $1,500, you apply to the ORT for a property disposition order.
• Money owed. You can claim arrears at the possession hearing, or file a monetary claim with the ORT within one year after the act or omission. The ORT limit for money claims is $30,000.

Keep dated copies of every notice, the lease, rent records and photos. This guide explains the rules in general terms; for a specific case, ask the tribunal or a licensed legal professional.