Landlord Notice to End a Tenancy in New Brunswick

A New Brunswick landlord cannot end a tenancy just by asking the tenant to leave. The notice depends on why you are ending it. A landlord may serve a notice of termination only for a listed reason, and the notice must state the reason. The table below summarizes the routes.

The rules are in the Residential Tenancies Act and its General Regulation 82-218. Tenants see the same rules from their side in our ending a tenancy notice guide.

For the no-fault reasons, the notice length is the ordinary one. It depends on the type of tenancy:

• Month-to-month: at least one month before the end of any month, effective the last day of that month.
• Week-to-week: at least one week.
• Year-to-year: three months before the end of the lease year.
• Tenant in the same unit for five consecutive years or more: at least three months before the end of any month, effective the last day of that month.

The province's lease page lists the same periods for tenants.

A fixed-term lease ends automatically at the end of the agreed period, so no notice is needed from either side. During the term, you cannot end a fixed term early except through the tenant-fault routes in the table (unpaid rent, a complaint notice, or a notice to quit requested from an officer) or the listed no-fault reasons and renovation approval. If the tenant stays after the end date, not moving out is a ground for eviction, but accepting rent after the end can create a new periodic tenancy under section 23 of the Act. Our guide to tenants who will not leave after notice covers that.

You may serve a notice of termination if you intend in good faith that the unit will be occupied for at least three consecutive months by you, your spouse, your child, your parent or your spouse's parent. The same period applies if the unit will be used for something other than residential premises for at least three consecutive months. A tenancy given to an employee can also end when the job ends.

The notice must state the reason. The tenant has 15 days after receiving it to apply in writing to a Residential Tenancies Officer for a review. At the review the officer sets the notice aside unless you prove the reason, and if the officer confirms the notice the date may be changed. If the tenant does not apply in 15 days, they are treated as having accepted the notice.

Good faith matters. If you do not occupy, lease or use the unit consistent with the stated reason within two months, the tenant can apply for compensation for their losses within two years. The Act sets no fixed cash amount. The officer decides it. Our answer on a landlord moving back into a property adds the tenant's side.

You cannot serve a notice of termination for renovations or repairs unless you first apply to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO) and receive written approval from an officer. The regulation sets the test for approval: the permits are in place, the work is in good faith, vacancy is required, the work is necessary to prolong or sustain the use of the unit, and ending the tenancy is the only reasonable way to do it.

Serving a renovation notice without approval is a category E offence, with a fine on conviction of $240 to $5,200. A tenant can ask for a review within 15 days. If you do not carry out the renovations as stated within two months, the tenant can apply for compensation within two years, and an officer's compensation decision is final and binding, subject to court review. Not paying such an order is also a category E offence.

Demolition by itself is not a listed reason, and we found no right of first refusal to move back into a renovated unit. The Act also gives mobile home sites a separate renovation ground, so ask the TLRO if your property is a mobile home site.

Put the notice in writing and keep proof of how and when it was served. Mailed documents are deemed served on the third day after mailing, so count the notice period from then. Use the TLRO form where one exists for your type of notice. We did not find a published form number for each notice, so check the province's forms for the current versions.

The tenant has several responses:

• Pay all rent due within seven days of a Notice to Vacate, which cancels it.
• Ask an officer to review a no-fault notice within 15 days.
• Tell an officer within 15 days that they contest a notice served within one year after they made a complaint. The notice is not valid unless you show it was not served because of the complaint.
• Apply to a judge of the Court of King's Bench within seven days, on the grounds of no jurisdiction or an error of law. Applying stays the notice or order.

A notice does not end the tenancy by force. If the tenant stays after the notice period, apply to the TLRO for an Eviction Order, and a sheriff carries it out. The full route is in how to evict a tenant in New Brunswick, and the rent route is in our unpaid rent guide. Our answer on how much notice a landlord must give gives the quick view.

• A notice because you are selling. Sale is not a listed reason. The buyer takes over the tenancy and all its terms, and the seller must notify the TLRO and the tenant of the transfer within seven days.
• A notice with no stated reason. A no-fault notice must state the reason.
• A notice to punish a complaint. It can be contested.
• A notice that is too short. Count from the day of service, not the day you wrote it.
• Self-help after the notice. Locks, belongings and utilities are off limits until an officer or sheriff acts. Cutting heat, water or power is a category F offence.

The government is rewriting the Residential Tenancies Act, and as of October 2026 we found no passed amendment. Check the province's pages before you serve a notice, since a revised Act was targeted for introduction in the fall.

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