BILL 25

An Act Respecting Residential Tenancies

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

The Residential Tenancies Act

1( 1) Section 11.1 of The Residential Tenancies Act, chapter R-10.2 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1975, is amended

(a)  by repealing paragraph (2)(c) and substituting the following:

(c)  the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

(b)  in subsection (2.01)

( i) in paragraph (a) by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

( ii) in paragraph (b) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting “, and”;

( iii) by adding after paragraph (b) the following:

(c)  if, under paragraph (2.06)(c), the residential tenancies officer has spread an increase in rent over a period, in that period.

(c)  in subsection (2.02) by striking out “30 days” and substituting “60 days”;

(d)  by repealing subsection (2.03) and substituting the following:

11.1( 2.03) If a tenant applies to a residential tenancies officer under subsection (2.02), the residential tenancies officer shall review the notice and shall ask the landlord to establish

(a)  that the notice of the increase is a document separate from any other notice or receipt given to or served on the tenant by the landlord, and

(b)  that the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

(e)  by adding after subsection (2.03) the following:

11.1( 2.04) The residential tenancies officer shall set aside the notice served under subsection (2) if the landlord fails to establish to the satisfaction of the residential tenancies officer

(a)  that the notice of the increase is a document separate from any other notice or receipt given to or served on the tenant by the landlord, and

(b)  that the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

11.1( 2.05) The residential tenancies officer shall confirm the notice served under subsection (2) if the landlord establishes to the satisfaction of the residential tenancies officer

(a)  that the notice of the increase is a document separate from any other notice or receipt given to or served on the tenant by the landlord, and

(b)  that the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

11.1( 2.06) If the residential tenancies officer confirms the notice under subsection (2.05), the officer may

(a)  confirm the date set out in the notice as the date the increase in rent is effective,

(b)  change the date the increase in rent is effective, or

(c)  if the increase in rent meets the criteria prescribed by regulation, spread the increase in rent over the period and in the manner determined in accordance with the regulations.

1( 2) Section 24.5 of the Act is amended

(a)  by repealing paragraph (2)(c) and substituting the following:

(c)  the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

(b)  in subsection (3) by striking out “30 days” and substituting “60 days”;

(c)  by repealing paragraph (4)(b) and substituting the following:

(b)  that the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

(d)  by repealing paragraph (5)(b) and substituting the following:

(b)  that the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

(e)  in subsection (6)

( i) by repealing the portion preceding paragraph (a) and substituting the following:

24.5( 6) The residential tenancies officer shall confirm the notice served under subsection (2) if the landlord establishes to the satisfaction of the residential tenancies officer

( ii) by repealing paragraph (b) and substituting the following:

(b)  that the increased rent is reasonable in relation to that charged for comparable units in the same geographical area.

(f)  by adding after subsection (6) the following:

24.5( 7) If the residential tenancies officer confirms the notice under subsection (6), the officer may

(a)  confirm the date set out in the notice as the date the increase in rent is effective,

(b)  change the date the increase in rent is effective, or

(c)  if the increase in rent meets the criteria prescribed by regulation, spread the increase in rent over the period and in the manner determined in accordance with the regulations.

1( 3) Subsection 29(1) of the Act is amended by adding after paragraph (g.1) the following:

(g.11)  prescribing the criteria to be met so that an increase in rent may be spread over an extended period and determining the period and the manner of doing so for the purposes of paragraphs 11.1(2.06)(c) and 24.5(7)(c);

Regulation under The Residential Tenancies Act

2 New Brunswick Regulation 82-218 under The Residential Tenancies Act is amended by adding after section 17.1 the following:

17.2( 1) In this section, “consumer price index” means the Consumer Price Index for New Brunswick (All-items) most recently published by Statistics Canada under the Statistics Act (Canada) for the 12-month period ending December 31.

17.2( 2) For the purposes of paragraphs 11.1(2.06)(c) and 24.5(7)(c) of the Act, an increase in rent shall be spread over the following periods and in the following manners:

(a)  if the increase in rent exceeds but is less than twice the consumer price index, the increase in rent shall be spread over two years, with one half of the increase in the first year and the second half in the second year; and

(b)  if the increase in rent is twice the consumer price index or more, the increase in rent shall be spread over three years, with one third of the increase in the first year, one third in the second year and one third in the third year.

Transitional – previous notices of increase

3 On the commencement of this section and despite any conflict with the provisions of The Residential Tenancies Act or the regulations under that Act, any tenant who received a notice in relation to an increase in rent with an effective date on or after January 1, 2023, under subsection 11.1(1) or (2) or 24.5(2) of that Act before the commencement of this section has 60 days after the commencement of this section to apply for a review under subsection 11.1(2.02) or 24.5(3) of that Act even if the time for making the application had previously expired.