Signing Your Lease & Residential Tenancies Act Overview

Signing Your Lease and Residential Tenancies Act

A lease is a legally binding contract between the property owner and yourself. Both the property owner and you should have the same copy, if there is something different on either copy it is not valid. So long as the lease isn’t in contradiction of the Standard Form of Lease, everything included in the lease you are responsible for as signing the document indicates that there is an agreement. A Standard Form of Lease is a standardized form for property owners to ensure consistency between property owners and documents. If you disagree about a point on the lease, address it with the property owner prior to signing.

Your property owner should give you a copy of the lease within 10 days of signing. The property owner is also legally responsible for providing tenants with a copy of the Residential Tenancies Act. The copy of Residential Tenancies Act can be either a hard copy, email, or electronic link to the act. If your property owner does not provide you with a copy of the lease or Residential Tenancies Act, you may terminate your lease. You may terminate a lease any time prior to receiving the copy of the Lease or Residential Tenancies Act. Make sure you are familiar with the amount of notice your lease requires to quit. You have protected rights under the Nova Scotia Tenancies Act, it is very important you are aware of your rights.

If you are signing a lease as a roommate, make sure that you are also signing a roommate agreement (see previous module). This can be very useful in case of disputes.