Tenant Keeps the Unit Filthy or Damaged in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia's tenancy rules do not use the word "hoarding". None of the Act, the regulations, the province's tenancy guides or the forms pages reviewed for this guide uses it. What the law does contain are general rules on cleanliness and damage, and those are the rules you would use.

They sit in Statutory Condition 4 in section 9(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act. The tenant is responsible for the ordinary cleanliness of the interior of the premises, and for repairing damage caused by a wilful or negligent act of the tenant or of any person the tenant permits on the premises. The province's Renting guide says it more simply: tenants need to keep the unit and all appliances clean.

Statutory Condition 3 is also relevant if the condition of the unit interferes with other occupants. It says the tenant must conduct themselves so as not to interfere with the possession or occupancy of the landlord or other tenants.

You have duties too. Statutory Condition 1 requires the landlord to keep the premises in good repair and fit for habitation and to comply with health, safety and housing standards laws. Keep your own repairs up to date, because a tenant who answers your notice will point to them.

Under section 10(7B)(a) of the Act, a landlord may give a notice to quit where the tenant has breached Statutory Condition 3 or 4. The notice may not take effect earlier than 15 days from the date it is given (30 days in a land-lease community). The province's Ending a Tenancy guide describes this as a 15 day Form E, and the Form E page lists behaviour issues and failure to meet obligations as reasons to use it.

The official sources reviewed do not describe a repair-order step before the notice. No "cure" period appears in section 10(7B) or 10(7C), and Form E carries a 15 day notice only. If you want the tenant to clean or repair instead of leaving, say so in writing, but know that, for this ground, the Act does not require you to wait.

The tenant may apply to the Director to have the notice set aside. If the tenant stays, you apply to the Director on Form J. See landlord notices to end a tenancy in Nova Scotia for notice mechanics.

Section 10AF is a different route. It lets a landlord apply to the Director under section 13 for an order to terminate the tenancy, and the landlord must satisfy the Director. It is an application, not a notice. One listed ground is that the tenant has caused extraordinary damage to the premises or the property they are on (section 10AF(1)(d)); that ground also covers damage by a person the tenant permitted on the premises. Others cover seriously jeopardizing the health or safety or lawful right or interest of the landlord or another occupant, and putting the landlord's property at significant risk.

The statute text reviewed does not define "extraordinary damage", and no official page says how much damage qualifies. Photos, dated inspection notes, repair quotes and invoices will matter. Section 10AF carries a 2024 amendment note, so check the current text.

If the issue is urgent after you file Form J, the province has a Request for Emergency Hearing (Form DR9). Its page says it is for an immediate issue and is used after Form J is filed.

You cannot walk in because you suspect a problem. Statutory Condition 7 sets the rules for entry. In order:

1. Give the tenant written notice stating a reasonable purpose for entry, such as inspecting the condition of the unit.
2. State a time of entry between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., unless the tenant agrees to another time.
3. Give the notice at least 24 hours, and not more than 30 days, before the day of entry.
4. Deliver it by a method in section 15(2) of the Act, or by text to a number the tenant gave for notice of entry.

Entry without written notice is allowed only in the cases listed in Statutory Condition 7A: an emergency where entry is needed to protect life or property, consent given at the time of entry, consent given within the previous 30 days, or where the tenant reasonably appears to have abandoned the unit. The province's Renting guide says "daylight hours" and the Act says 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; follow the Act. More detail is in the Nova Scotia landlord entry guide and what to do if a tenant refuses entry.

The Director can order a tenant to make a repair or take action to remedy a breach, can order compensation for loss suffered as a direct result of the breach, and can order payment of money (section 17A). Money claims go to the Director on Form J, within one year after the lease ends under section 13(1). The application fee is $31.15 under section 33 of the Regulations.

For the security deposit, damage caused by the tenant can be claimed against it, but the claim cannot include ordinary wear and tear. Section 2(k) defines wear and tear as the usual degree of depreciation or deterioration caused by living in the unit, relative to the length of the lease. If the tenant does not agree in writing to what you keep, you must file a security deposit claim with the Director within ten days of the date the lease ends (section 12A(2)). Send the tenant a copy of the claim (section 12A(4)). If you miss the ten days you cannot apply and must return the deposit (section 12A(5)). The province's forms index names Form R, the Security Deposit Claim Form, for this. Read the landlord security deposit guide for Nova Scotia before you deduct anything.

Halifax only. The Halifax Regional Municipality has By-law M-200, Standards for Residential Occupancies. It is a municipal by-law that applies only in that municipality, not a provincial rule. When an inspector finds a building below its standards, the order to comply goes to the owner. Its common-space rule, that shared areas be kept clean and free of debris, garbage and clutter, is an owner duty for common spaces, not a rule about a tenant's own unit. Whether the by-law can be used against clutter inside a tenant's unit is not answered by the sections reviewed. Ask the municipality.

Provincial. The province's report a public health hazard page says Environmental Health investigates reported public health hazards in many settings, including housing, and that follow-up may include orders. That is a provincial public health process, separate from the tenancy rules above.

The sources reviewed do not set a dollar cap on what the Director may order for damage, an official move-out cleaning standard, or any rule on a landlord clearing or cleaning a unit without the tenant's agreement. Do not remove a tenant's belongings yourself: section 5(1) bars a landlord from holding or disposing of a tenant's personal property except under a Director's order or as otherwise authorized by law. For items left after a tenant has gone, see tenant left belongings behind in Nova Scotia.

Rules in other municipalities were not checked. If your property is outside Halifax, ask your municipality what applies.

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