Lease Agreements in New Brunswick

A New Brunswick tenancy agreement, whether written or verbal, must reflect the terms allowed under the Residential Tenancies Act: the names of the landlord and tenant, the rental unit's address, the rent amount and due date, the security deposit amount, and the tenancy's start date (and end date, for a fixed term).

A written lease is strongly recommended even though New Brunswick law recognizes verbal tenancy agreements, since a written lease is much easier to enforce at a TLRO hearing.

A fixed-term lease runs for a set period, commonly one year. Unless the landlord gives proper notice to end it at the term's expiry, it generally continues on a month-to-month basis. A month-to-month tenancy has no end date and continues until ended by valid notice from either side.

A lease cannot waive a tenant's rights under the Residential Tenancies Act. A clause purporting to let a landlord evict without proper TLRO process, or waive the 7-day deposit return rule, is not enforceable even if the tenant signed it.