When a Tenant Refuses Entry in Saskatchewan

Not if you followed the entry rules. Under section 45 of The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, a landlord may enter a rental unit when the notice is proper, when the tenant has given permission, or when there is an emergency. A tenant who improperly denies you access for one of those entries is giving you a ground to end the tenancy. That ground was added by the 2021 amendments.

The reverse is also true. A tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment, which includes reasonable privacy and exclusive possession of the unit, subject only to your lawful right to enter. If your notice is late, vague or has no real purpose, the tenant has not improperly denied you anything.

This guide covers your next steps as the landlord. For the rules from the tenant's side, see the Saskatchewan landlord entry guide.

Most refusals that hold up come from notices that miss one requirement. Build the notice so that nobody can argue about it later.

1. Put it in writing. The Act asks for written notice, not a text that says "coming tomorrow".
2. Give it at the right time. The notice must reach the tenant at least 24 hours and not more than seven days before the entry. A notice served two weeks ahead is too early.
3. State a reasonable purpose. Write the real reason, such as an inspection, a repair or pest treatment. The Act says the purpose must be reasonable.
4. Give the date and time. Name the day, and state a maximum four-hour period within which you will come in.
5. Keep inside the hours. The four-hour period must fall between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., unless the tenant agrees to something else.
6. Keep a copy and a note of how you served it. If this ever reaches a hearing, you will need to show what was given and when.

The other route is permission. If the tenant agrees to an entry, that permission can be given up to seven days before it happens. Get it in writing where you can, even if it is only a text message you save.

Showings have their own rules, and they are looser on notice but tight on hours.

• Showing to prospective tenants. Allowed after the tenant has given notice to end the tenancy, or in the last two months of a fixed term. You give notice and at least two hours must pass after the tenant receives it. The Act also allows notice in a prescribed manner.
• Showing to a purchaser. Allowed if you give the tenant 24 hours' notice or the tenant consents.
• Hours for every showing. Only between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and not on a Sunday or on a day of religious worship for the tenant.

This means a tenant who has not given notice and is not near the end of a fixed term does not have to let prospective renters through. If you are selling, plan around the tenant's schedule. A showing at 7 p.m. on a Sunday is outside the Act, even with 24 hours' notice.

If the tenant refuses a showing that fits these rules, you are in the same position as with any other improper denial, covered below. If the showing breaks the rules, refusal is the tenant's right.

Work through the steps in order. Most disputes end at step one or two.

1. Check your own notice first. Re-read it against the list above. If anything is off, serve a corrected notice rather than argue about the first one.
2. Ask why. A tenant may be worried about privacy, a pet, or a bad time of day. A different four-hour window inside 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. often solves it.
3. Serve a clean notice and record the refusal. Note the date, the time you arrived and what the tenant said. Keep copies of every notice.
4. Put the problem in writing. Tell the tenant in writing that denying proper access can end the tenancy, and give a reasonable period to stop.
5. If it continues, serve a notice for cause. Improper denial of access under section 45 is a ground under section 58 of the Act. The notice takes effect not earlier than one month after the tenant receives it, and it must be on the approved form. Because you must give a reasonable period to remedy a problem that can be remedied, this step comes after the written warning, not before.

The tenant has 15 days to dispute a notice for cause in writing. If they do not, they are treated as accepting the end date and must leave by then. If they do dispute it, you apply to the Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT), and you carry the burden of showing you are entitled to end the tenancy. The application fee is $50 and non-refundable.

A hearing officer can also make an order directing a person who is breaching the Act to stop and comply. For the full sequence after a notice, see the Saskatchewan landlord notice guide.

Frustration is the usual reason landlords make a bad move. These are the ones that create liability for you.

• Do not walk in anyway. Entry without notice, permission or an emergency breaks the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment and gives them a claim for compensation for their loss.
• Do not change the locks. You may change the locks to the unit only if the tenant agrees and you give them new keys, or if a hearing officer orders it. The same standard conditions bind the tenant, who also cannot change the lock without your consent or an ORT order.
• Do not seize belongings. A landlord must not seize a tenant's personal property except under a court or ORT order.
• Do not retake the unit without an order. You get possession back only if the tenant has vacated or abandoned it, or if you hold an order of possession and a writ directed to the sheriff.

A lockout without justification can bring punitive damages. Breaking the Act is also an offence: a corporation can face a fine of up to $1,000, and an individual can face a fine of up to $500, up to six months in jail, or both. The fix for a tenant who blocks access is the process above, not self-help.

If you are worried about the condition of the unit, a repair request is a good reason for a notice. For the duty to repair, see the Saskatchewan repairs guide.

A notice for cause turns on facts, so the record matters more than the argument. Keep a simple file for each unit.

• Every entry notice, with the date and method of service.
• The reason for each entry, written specifically.
• Notes of each visit, including refusals, with the time and what was said.
• Photos taken during an authorized entry, where the purpose called for them.

Plan routine inspections with the tenant, not around them. Regular, reasonable notices build the record that you used the power fairly. A landlord who gives notice every week is likely to run into the argument that the purpose is not reasonable.

For questions that sit between the rules, such as an unusual lease clause, ask the ORT. You can also read the general answers on the pages for tenants refusing entry and when a landlord may enter.

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