Tenant Not Paying Rent in Alberta

The Alberta Act has no grace period. Rent is due when the lease says it is due, and paying it on time is one of the tenant's basic promises under the Residential Tenancies Act. Breaking that promise is a substantial breach, which is the legal basis for the notice described below.

In practice a landlord can choose how to respond. A single late payment may be handled with a conversation and, if the lease provides for it, a late fee. A late fee must reflect your actual loss. The Handbook says the RTDRS or a court may treat a fee that does not reflect the actual loss as a penalty and refuse to award it. NSF charges follow the same idea: they must be in the lease and should reasonably reflect your real cost.

Serving a notice is the step that starts the formal process. The tenant-side view of ending a tenancy is in our Alberta eviction process guide.

For non-payment you can end the tenancy by serving the tenant with a notice at least 14 days before the termination date. The Act counts this as 14 clear days. The Service Alberta Handbook explains that the day of service and the last day do not count, so allow about 16 days in total.

The notice must be in writing and signed, and it must state that the tenancy will not be terminated if the tenant pays the rent due, including any overdue payments, on or before the termination date. The Regulation has a sample form for this notice (Form 3). Sample forms are not mandatory, but the content is. The Government of Alberta page on ending a tenancy lists what each notice must say.

A tenant cannot object to a 14 day notice that is for non-payment of rent. The only way for the tenant to stop it is to pay all the rent owing by the termination date. If the tenant does pay in time, the notice is ineffective and the tenancy continues.

1. Serve the notice and note the date. Count the clear days carefully and keep proof of service.
2. Check on the termination date. If all rent due has been paid, the notice no longer works.
3. If rent is still unpaid and the tenant stays, apply. You apply to the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) or the Alberta Court of Justice for an order for possession and for the money owing. Serve the other party at least 3 clear days before the hearing.
4. Attend the telephone hearing. The officer may decide at the hearing or reserve and give a written decision within 30 days. An order can be conditional, for example a payment plan. If the tenant defaults on it, a Notice of Default is needed before you enforce.
5. File the order. It takes effect only after it is filed with the Court of King's Bench and served.
6. Enforce possession. Contact a civil enforcement agency. You may not remove the tenant or their belongings yourself.

For the full path after a notice, see how to evict a tenant in Alberta. If the notice date has passed and the tenant is still there, read what to do when a tenant will not leave after notice.

The security deposit. If the lease allows it, you can use the deposit for rent arrears. The Handbook says the deposit can cover arrears even if the move-in and move-out inspection reports were not completed (those reports only matter for damage deductions). Within 10 days after the tenant gives up possession you must return the deposit, or return the balance with a statement of account. If the final amount is not known, you give an estimated statement within 10 days and the final statement and balance within 30 days.

Claims above the deposit. The RTDRS takes applications up to $100,000, within 2 years of when the claim first came to your attention, and you cannot split a larger claim into smaller ones. The Alberta Court of Justice civil division also handles claims up to $100,000. Larger claims go to the Court of King's Bench. The Act also lets either party go straight to the Court of King's Bench. For more on suing for rent, see can a landlord sue for unpaid rent.

Fees. The RTDRS fee is based on the claim amount: $75 for claims of $7,500 or less and $150 for claims over $7,500. See the RTDRS page and the filing fee page.

Enforcing a money order. An RTDRS order is filed with the Court of King's Bench and then enforced like a King's Bench order. If the tenant does not pay, you can use the Civil Enforcement Act process: a writ of enforcement registered at the Personal Property Registry, then garnishment (for example of wages or a bank account) or seizure of property by a civil enforcement agency. RTDRS orders are valid for 10 years, with some exceptions.

• Cut services. The Minimum Housing and Health Standards require a continuous supply of electricity, water and heat unless the lease makes those the tenant's sole responsibility, with no exception for unpaid rent. No source reviewed gives a landlord a right to cut services over unpaid rent.
• Lock the tenant out or change the locks while the tenant still lives there.
• Seize or remove belongings. Only a civil enforcement agency may do this after an order. Goods left by a tenant who abandoned the unit follow the separate abandoned goods rules in the Act.
• Enter without notice to pressure the tenant. Entry needs 24 hours written notice for a listed reason, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
• Retaliate against a tenant who has complained or applied under the Act.

Tenants also have limits. A tenant cannot withhold rent because they believe the landlord is not meeting obligations, and cannot deduct repair costs unless both sides agree or the RTDRS or a court orders it. The one exception in the Act is that a tenant may withhold rent until served with a copy of the signed written lease, which is due within 21 days after the tenant returns it. If you have not given that copy, fix that first.

The tenant has left. If a tenant ends a fixed term early without a legal ground, you can claim rent until the agreement ends, but you must take reasonable steps to re-rent. Once a new tenant starts, the old tenant stops owing rent. A re-rental fee is allowed only if the lease says so.

Fixed term and periodic tenancies. The 14 day notice for unpaid rent works for both, because non-payment is a substantial breach. The difference is that a landlord cannot use a no-fault notice to end a fixed term early.

Prevention. Rent problems are easier to avoid than to solve. Ask only for information you reasonably need to decide whether to rent, get the tenant's consent for credit checks, and write the rent amount, due date and payment method into the lease. Alberta caps a security deposit at one month's rent and the deposit must go into an interest-bearing trust account in Alberta within 2 banking days.

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