Bill 10 - An Act to Amend The Residential Tenancies Act

BILL 10

An Act to Amend The Residential Tenancies Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Subsection 3(1) of The Residential Tenancies Act, chapter R-10.2 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1975, is amended

ain paragraph (c) by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

bin paragraph (d) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting a semicolon;

cby adding after paragraph (d) the following:

eshall provide to the tenant information relating to the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, the role of the Residential Tenancies Tribunal and how to contact the Residential Tenancies Tribunal;

fshall inspect the premises with the tenant within one week before or after a tenant takes or gives up possession of the premises, and shall forthwith on completion of the inspection, provide the tenant with a copy of the Inspection Report Form as prescribed by regulation, which both parties shall sign upon completion;

gshall provide, prior to the signing of a lease, a prospective tenant with a Heating Cost Disclosure Form as prescribed by regulation that includes, but is not limited to, information about the energy efficiency of the property;

hshall, beginning in 2020 and every 10 years thereafter, test for radon in units below the third story above ground level and disclose to prospective tenants and existing tenants the date and results of the test and the risk of radon using a Radon Testing Disclosure Form as prescribed by regulation;

ishall disclose to prospective tenants if an adjacent unit or units are currently infested with or are being treated for bedbugs and the last date that the unit the prospective tenant seeks to rent or adjacent units were inspected for a bedbug infestation; and

jshall, within five days of being notified that a tenant suspects a unit or the premises is infested with bed bugs, conduct an inspection of the unit or the premises and if it is determined that there is an infestation of bed bugs, shall within ten days contact a pest control agent and treat the infestation in a manner determined by the pest control agent.

2 Section 3.1 of the Act is amended

ain paragraph (a) by striking out “or” at the end of the paragraph;

bin paragraph (b) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting a comma;

cby adding after paragraph (b) the following:

crequire a tenant or prospective tenant to provide post-dated cheques or other negotiable instruments for the payment of rent,

drequire a tenant or prospective tenant to permit automatic debiting of the tenant’s or prospective tenant’s account at a financial institution, automatic charging of a credit card or any other form of automatic payment for the payment of rent, or

eoffer for rent a unit that the landlord knows or suspects is infested with bedbugs.

3 Subsection 4(1) of the Act is amended

ain paragraph (b) by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

bin paragraph (c) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting a semicolon;

cby adding after paragraph (c) the following:

dshall inspect the premises with the landlord within one week before or after taking or giving up possession of the premises and sign the Inspection Report Form as prescribed by regulation;

eshall promptly notify the landlord when the tenant knows or suspects an infestation of bedbugs in a unit or the premises.

4 Section 8 of the Act is amended

ain paragraph (3)(b) by striking out “one” and substituting “one-half”;

bby repealing subsection (4) and substituting the following:

8( 4) Where a landlord obtains from a tenant a sum of money or other value that is in addition to the rent payable in respect of the premises, the sum of money or value shall be considered to be a security deposit, except for in the case of additional services requested by the tenant.

5 Section 11.1 of the Act is amended

aby repealing subsection (1) and substituting the following:

11.1( 1) A landlord shall not increase the rent to a tenant for the twelve-month period following the commencement of a week to week, month to month, year to year or fixed term tenancy.

bby repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

11.1( 2) Where a landlord intends to increase the rent payable after the first twelve-month period, the landlord shall give notice to the tenant in the case of

aa year to year tenancy, four months prior to the anniversary date;

ba month to month tenancy, four months prior to the anniversary date;

ca week to week tenancy, eight weeks prior to the anniversary date;

da fixed term tenancy, the lease shall indicate the amount and effective dates of any increase.

cby adding after subsection (2) the following:

11.1( 2.01) In no case shall a landlord increase the rent to the tenant more than once in a twelve-month period.

din subsection (2.1) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “subsections (1) and (2)” and substituting “subsection (2)”;

ein subsection (3) in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “subsection (1) or (2)” and substituting “subsection (2)”.

6 The Act is amended by adding after section 11.1 the following:

11.11( 1) For the purpose of this section, a capital expenditure is an “eligible capital expenditure” if it

ais necessary to protect or restore the physical integrity of the premises or the building in which the premises are located;

bis necessary to comply with subsection 3(1);

cis necessary to maintain the provision of a plumbing, heating, mechanical, electrical, ventilation or air conditioning system;

dprovides access for persons with disabilities;

epromotes energy or water conservation; or

fmaintains or improves the security of the premises or the building in which the premises are located.

11.11( 2) A capital expenditure to replace a system or thing is not an “eligible capital expenditure” for the purposes of this section if the system or thing that was replaced did not require major repair or replacement, unless the replacement of the system or thing promotes

aaccess for persons with disabilities;

benergy or water conservation; or

csecurity of the premises or the building in which the premises are located.

11.11( 3) No landlord shall increase the rent charged to a tenant during the term of the tenancy by more than the allowable rate, defined as the lesser of:

athe percentage change from year to year in the Consumer Price Index for New Brunswick for the prices of goods and services as reported monthly by Statistics Canada, averaged over the twelve-month period that ends at the end of May of the previous calendar year, rounded to the first decimal point, or

b3 per cent.

11.11( 4) The Minister of Finance shall have the allowable rate published in The Royal Gazette not later than August 31 of the preceding year.

11.11( 5) A landlord may apply to the Chief Residential Tenancies Officer for an order permitting the rent charged to a tenant to be increased by more than the allowable rate if the landlord incurs:

aan extraordinary increase, as prescribed by regulation, in the cost of municipal taxes and charges for the premises or the building in which the premises are located, or

ban eligible capital expenditure respecting the premises or the building in which the premises are located.

11.11( 6) An application made under subsection (5) shall be made at least six months prior to the effective date of the intended rent increase referenced to in the application.

7 Subsection 16(5) of the Act is repealed.

8 The Act is amended by adding after section 24 the following:

24.01( 1) In this section, “qualified tenants” are

atenants or groups of tenants residing in the same premises in a year to year or fixed term tenancy whose income is so reduced because of a significant deterioration of health that it is not reasonably sufficient to pay the rent in addition to other reasonable expenses, or if there is more than one tenant, the tenant’s portion of the rent and other reasonable expenses;

btenants or family members residing in the same premises in a year to year or fixed term tenancy who have suffered such a significant deterioration in health that, in the opinion of a medical practitioner, it results in the inability of the tenant to continue the tenancy or where the premises are rendered inaccessible to the tenant;

ctenants in a year to year or fixed term tenancy that have been accepted into a nursing home or a special care home on a permanent basis;

dtenants who in a year to year or fixed term tenancy die; or

etenants in a year to year or fixed term tenancy that are

( i) Canadian Forces members who are posted to a location that is at least 50 kilometres from the rental unit after the tenancy agreement is entered into;

( ii) members of the armed forces of a country other than Canada who have ceased to be assigned to military duties with the Canadian Forces or whose training course has ended; or

( iii) persons who reside with a member, if

( A) the person is the spouse or common-law partner of the member, and

( B) the member is named as an occupant in the tenancy agreement.

24.01( 2) Despite section 24, qualified tenants may terminate a year to year or fixed term tenancy by giving the landlord

aone month’s notice to quit in the form prescribed by regulation; and

bsuch proof as is prescribed by regulation.

24.01( 3) Where other tenants reside in the same premises, the tenant seeking to terminate a tenancy pursuant to this section shall serve all the tenants in the same premises with a copy of the notice to quit at least one month before the termination of tenancy.

24.01( 4) Where a tenancy is terminated pursuant to subsection (2), the tenancy is terminated for all the tenants in the same premises, but the other tenants may enter a new tenancy agreement with the landlord with the consent of the landlord, which consent must not be arbitrarily or unreasonably withheld.

24.02( 1) The following definitions apply in this section.

“domestic relationship” means a relationship between two persons who, regardless of whether they have lived together at any time, (rapports familiaux)

aare or have been in an intimate personal relationship,

bhave or had a family relationship, or

care the biological or adoptive parents of the same child regardless of their marital status.

“domestic violence” means violence committed against a person who is or has been in a domestic relationship with another person and includes the following: (violence familiale )

aabusive, threatening, harassing or violent behaviour used as a means to psychologically, physically, sexually or financially coerce, dominate and control the other member of the relationship; and

bdeprivation of food, clothing, medical attention, shelter, transportation or other necessities of life.

24.02( 2) Despite section 24, where a tenant in a year to year or fixed term tenancy is a victim of domestic violence, the tenant may terminate a year to year or fixed term tenancy by giving the landlord

aone month’s notice to quit in the form prescribed by regulation; and

bsuch proof as prescribed by regulation.

24.02( 3) The landlord shall ensure that information received pursuant to subsection (2) is kept confidential.

9 Section 24.5 of the Act is repealed.

10 Subsection 24.7(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “Where a tenant has occupied premises for five consecutive years or more, the” and substituting “A”.

11 Subsection 24.7(9) of the Act is repealed.

12 Subsection 26(2) of the Act is amended

ain paragraph (a) by striking out “may” and substituting “shall”;

bin paragraph (b) by striking out “may” and substituting “shall”;

cin paragraph (c) by striking out “may” and substituting “shall”;

din paragraph (d) by striking out “may” and substituting “shall”;

ein paragraph (h) by striking out “may” and substituting “shall”.

13 Subsection 29(1) of the Act is amended

aby repealing paragraph (g.1);

bin paragraph (g.5) by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

cby adding after paragraph (g.5) the following:

g.6prescribing acceptable proof for the purpose of sections 24.01 and 24.02;

g.7prescribing the Inspection Report Form;

g.8prescribing the Heating Cost Disclosure Form;

g.9prescribing the Radon Testing Disclosure Form

g.10prescribing what amounts to an extraordinary increase for the purposes of paragraph 11.11(5)(a); and

14 The Act is amended by repealing section 29.1 and substituting the following:

29.1 The Crown in the right of the Province and in every other right is bound by this Act.

Commencement

15 This Act or any provision of it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.