Tenant Won't Leave After Notice in New Brunswick

A notice does not move a tenant out by itself. In New Brunswick, if the tenant is still in the unit after the notice period, you apply in writing to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office (TLRO) for an Eviction Order, using the Landlord Application for Assistance. You attach a copy of the notice you served. An officer then investigates, and the tenant is allowed to give evidence against the eviction.

Only a Residential Tenancies Officer or a judge of the Court of King's Bench has the authority to evict a tenant, and a sheriff enforces the order. Until the order exists, the tenant has not been lawfully evicted, however clear your notice was. The rules sit in the Residential Tenancies Act, and the province describes the steps on its evictions page.

For the whole route from notice to sheriff, see how to evict a tenant in New Brunswick. The tenant's view of the same steps is in our eviction process guide.

Before you treat the tenant as overholding, check four things, because the officer will.

• Was there a lawful reason? A no-fault notice must rest on a listed reason and must state it. Selling the building is not a listed reason.
• Was the notice period long enough? A month-to-month notice is at least one month before the end of a month. A week-to-week notice is one week. A year-to-year notice is three months before the end of the lease year. Tenants who have lived in the same unit for five years or more need three months. A Notice to Vacate for rent needs a vacate date at least 15 days after service.
• Was it served properly? Mailed documents are treated as served on the third day after mailing.
• Did the tenant fix the problem? For unpaid rent, paying all rent due within seven days of service cancels the notice and continues the tenancy.

For a no-fault notice of termination, the tenant has 15 days after receiving it to ask an officer to review it. If they do not apply within that time, they are treated as having accepted the notice. Simply staying put is not a dispute. You can read the notice rules by reason in our landlord notice to end a tenancy guide.

A fixed-term lease ends automatically at the end of the agreed period. No notice is needed from either side, and the province's evictions page lists not moving out once a fixed-term lease has ended as a ground for eviction. If the tenant stays, the application route is the same: apply to the TLRO.

The detail to watch is rent. Section 23 of the Act says that when a tenancy has expired or ended and no new lease has been signed, accepting rent or compensation for use and occupation, other than for past use and occupation, creates a new tenancy agreement. Its term is set by the method of rental payment, so a monthly payer becomes a month-to-month tenant. If you do not want the tenancy to continue, do not accept money as ordinary rent for the period after the end date.

The Act also says a landlord is entitled to compensation for the use and occupation of the premises after the tenancy has been terminated. The Act gives that right, but how to word and take such payments is not set out in the pages we reviewed. Ask the TLRO before you accept or refuse money, and put in writing what any payment is for.

1. Keep proof. Save the notice, proof of how and when you served it, and records of any payments.
2. File a Landlord Application for Assistance. Attach the notice you served. The TLRO confirms receipt within one business day and assigns a case number.
3. The tenant is contacted. A team member contacts the tenant, who can give evidence. An officer investigates before issuing an order.
4. An Eviction Order is issued if the officer decides to proceed. It is made on Form 9. If the original notice was a notice to quit served by an officer, the officer may issue the order on your written request without further investigation.
5. A sheriff carries out the order. The sheriff puts you in possession and, after a reasonable demand for admission, has the power to force open the doors. Sheriff fees are paid online or at Service New Brunswick.

No government page we reviewed publishes a wait time for a decision or a filing fee for a landlord, so check the TLRO's current instructions. Our answer on what to do if a tenant refuses to move out covers the general picture. Either side can ask a judge of the Court of King's Bench to review the order within seven days, on the grounds of no jurisdiction or an error of law. Applying stays the order.

• Do not change the locks. Locks can only be changed with an officer's written permission, or in the presence of a sheriff during an eviction.
• Do not remove the tenant's belongings. The province says a landlord cannot withhold or dispose of a tenant's belongings. The Act has a defined process for things left behind, covered below.
• Do not shut off heat, water or power. That is a category F offence, with a fine on conviction of $240 to $10,200, and there is no exception for a tenant who has overstayed.
• Do not walk in without proper notice. Entry is allowed only as the Act permits, with set notice periods and exceptions for emergencies and abandonment.
• Do not threaten or harass the tenant. The Human Rights Act applies to housing, and a notice served in response to a complaint can be contested.

A person who never had a tenancy agreement is not a tenant under the Act. The Trespass Act covers trespass, and a peace officer may arrest without a warrant a person found committing an offence under it. A real tenant must be removed under the Residential Tenancies Act, not as a trespasser. We did not find official step-by-step guidance on removing a squatter, so speak to the police or a legal professional.

Once a tenant has left chattels after abandoning the unit or after losing possession, you may remove them, but you must store them somewhere safe and secure, try to contact the tenant and keep a record of the attempt, and apply to an officer for a decision and directions. Unsanitary or dangerous items can be disposed of without delay if the officer authorizes it. Items an officer finds are worth less than $500 can be disposed of once at least ten days have passed since they were left. Anything else follows the officer's directions. Disposing of items outside these rules is a category E offence, and a tenant can apply for compensation within three months. Our answer on abandoned property adds more.

If the tenant has plainly abandoned the unit, you may enter without notice and take back possession. You must still try to limit your losses, as any party to a contract must. The security deposit is held by a Residential Tenancies Officer, and any claim against it must be made within seven days after the tenancy ends.

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