Rental Agreements

Quick Facts
  • For verbal and implied rental agreements, the landlord must provide the tenant with a written notice containing the terms and conditions of the rental unit.
  • Landlords must provide tenants with a copy of the signed rental agreement within 10 days of it being signed.
  • Tenants can withhold rent if a landlord fails to provide a signed copy of the rental agreement within 10 days of it being signed.
  • Upon entering into a rental agreement, a landlord is required to provide their tenant with a copy of the Residential Tenancies Act, at no cost to the tenant.
  • Landlords are required to provide tenants with their name, phone number, and mailing address, and the name, phone number, and address, of any agent or property manager. Tenants should be notified of any changes to this information.
What You Need to Know

A rental agreement can be written, oral, or implied. All grant the tenant the right to occupy and use a residential premises in exchange for paying rent to the landlord and all three fall under the exact same rules in terms of rights and obligations.

With a written rental agreement all of the conditions, including the amount of rent and any rules, would be written on paper and signed by the landlord and the tenant. An oral rental agreement would be where the landlord and tenant discussed the details verbally and came to an agreement but did not put anything in writing. An implied rental agreement is slightly different. With an implied rental agreement nothing has been discussed in detail but because of the circumstances it is assumed that a rental agreement exists.

It may be easier to explain the concept of an implied rental agreement with an example. Let’s say a landlord has a basement apartment that is currently unoccupied, and they offer it to a friend in need. No details have been discussed and there is no written agreement, but the landlord’s friend has been in the apartment for a few months and has been paying the landlord $500 per month in rent. The fact that the friend has been paying rent and living in the unit and the landlord has been accepting the rent money would create a landlord-tenant relationship. Since money is being paid in exchange for the right to occupy a residential premises there would be an implied rental agreement between the two parties.

Where a landlord and tenant enter into an oral or implied rental agreement the landlord must provide the tenant with a written notice containing the information shown below within ten days. Where requested by the landlord the tenant shall sign an acknowledgement of receipt. Where a landlord has not complied the tenant’s obligation to pay rent is suspended and the landlord shall not require the tenant to pay rent until the landlord provides the required information to the tenant. Once the landlord provides the necessary information the tenant is responsible for paying any rent that was withheld from the landlord.

A written notice of an oral or implied rental agreement from the landlord must include the following information:

  • the correct legal names of the landlord and tenant
  • the telephone number, electronic address and civic address of the landlord where documents may be received, delivered or served by the tenant (section 7(7)(a))
  • the telephone number, electronic address and civic address of the landlord’s agent where documents may be received, delivered or served by the tenant (section 7(7)(b))
  • telephone and electronic address of the tenant where documents may be received, delivered or served by the landlord
  • the civic address of the rental unit
  • the date the rental agreement was entered into
  • the statutory conditions identified in section 10 of the Act
  • the date the tenancy starts
  • the type of rental agreement: (i) week to week; (ii) month to month; (iii) fixed term
  • the termination date of a fixed term tenancy
  • the amount of rent payable for a specified period
  • the day in the specified period (i.e. week, month) on which rent is due;
  • the other terms and conditions including services, furnishings and other equipment or facilities included in the rental agreement
  • the amount of any security deposit paid
  • the date on which any security deposit was paid

Landlords can use the Standard Rental Agreement form available from Service NL for this purpose. A copy of this form can be found in the Documents section below.

 

Types of Rental Agreements

There are different types of rental agreements, each with some slightly different rules, depending on the length of time covered by the agreement. A rental agreement can be from week to week, from month to month, or for a fixed term.

With a week to week tenancy the tenant would pay rent on a weekly basis. The amount of notice required for a landlord or tenant to terminate the rental agreement is also shorter. More information on that can be found in our Help Topic about Termination Notices.

In a month to month tenancy a tenant would pay rent on a monthly basis, and a landlord or tenant can terminate the rental agreement at any time by providing proper notice as described in our Help Topic about Termination Notices.

With a fixed-term rental agreement the landlord is agreeing to rent to the tenant, and the tenant is agreeing to pay rent to the landlord, for a specific period of time. Most commonly this comes in the form of a one-year lease. A fixed-term rental agreement cannot be terminated unless there is a violation of the Residential Tenancies Act or rental agreement, or the rental agreement expires.

A fixed-term rental agreement can only be for a period of time between six and twelve months. A rental agreement that is for less than six months is considered to be a month to month agreement. A rental agreement cannot be longer than twelve months. Any rental agreement that is entered into for a duration longer than twelve months would switch to a month to month agreement after the first year regardless of what period of time the agreement was for.

If a fixed-term rental agreement expires and neither the landlord or tenant has served a termination notice the rental agreement automatically switches to a month to month agreement, with all of the same rules and conditions as the original rental agreement. A rental agreement doesn’t just end when the expiry date comes, it continues as a month to month agreement unless it is terminated by the landlord or tenant.

 

Contact Information

A landlord must provide a tenant with a written notice stating the landlord’s name, phone number, and an address where notices can be served. If the landlord has an agent or property manager taking care of a rental unit the landlord must also provide their name, phone number, and address. If the property is sold or transferred to a new owner during the term of a tenancy the new owner is also obligated to provide the tenant with a written notice containing their name, phone number, and address. If at any time the information listed here changes, the tenant should be notified in writing. Essentially, the law requires that a landlord always provide a tenant with up-to-date contact information for themselves and anyone responsible for the property on their behalf.

 

Mandatory Information

When a rental agreement is entered into with a new tenant the landlord is obligated by law to provide the tenant with a copy of the Residential Tenancies Act. This is mandatory regardless of whether the rental agreement is written, oral, or implied, and regardless of whether the agreement is week to week, month to month, or for a fixed-term.

If a landlord and tenant enter into a written rental agreement the landlord is required to provide a signed copy of the agreement to the tenant within ten days of it being signed. If the landlord does not provide a copy of the signed rental agreement within ten days, the tenant is permitted to withhold rent until a copy is provided! This is because a written rental agreement is supposed to provide some protections for both the landlord and the tenant. It wouldn’t be fair for a landlord to have a signed copy of the agreement, and the protections that come along with that, while preventing the tenant from having the same protections by refusing to provide a copy of the agreement.

Any written rental agreement must also include the conditions set out in Section 10. (1) of the Residential Tenancies Act exactly as they are written in the Act. You can find more information about this in our Help Topic about Statutory Conditions.

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Files / Documents
Standard Rental Agreement (PDF)
This is a Standard Rental Agreement that can be printed out, and filled in.
Download / View
Resources
Fact Sheet – Other Terms and Conditions (Service NL) (PDF)
A fact sheet from Service NL talking about other terms and conditions that may be found in a rental agreement.
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Fact Sheet – Rental Agreement (Service NL) (PDF)
A fact sheet from Service NL that explains what information is required in a rental agreement.
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Fact Sheet – Statutory Conditions (Service NL) (PDF)
A fact sheet from Service NL that explains the basic obligations of landlords and tenants.
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Fact Sheet – Types of Rental Agreements (Service NL) (PDF)
A fact sheet from Service NL talking about the different types of rental agreements.
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Legislation

Provision of rental agreement and information

7. (1) At the time a landlord and tenant enter into a rental agreement, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a copy of this Act and the regulations, and where requested by the landlord, the tenant shall sign an acknowledgement of receipt.

(2)  Where a landlord and tenant enter into a written rental agreement, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a copy of the signed rental agreement within 10 days after it is signed, and where requested by the landlord, the tenant shall sign an acknowledgement of receipt.

(3)  Where a landlord and tenant enter into an oral or implied rental agreement, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a written notice containing the information prescribed in the regulations within 10 days after entering into the rental agreement, and where requested by the landlord, the tenant shall sign an acknowledgement of receipt.

(4)  Notwithstanding the terms of a rental agreement, where a landlord has not complied with subsection (2) or (3), the tenant's obligation to pay rent is suspended and the landlord shall not require the tenant to pay rent until the landlord complies with subsection (2) or (3).

(5)  Where the landlord has complied with subsection (2) or (3), the tenant shall pay all rent withheld from the landlord under subsection (4).

(6)  Rent paid by the tenant to the landlord while the tenant's obligation to pay rent is suspended under subsection (4) may be retained by the landlord.

(7)  At the time a landlord and tenant enter into a rental agreement, the landlord shall provide the tenant with a written notice stating

(a)  the landlord's name, telephone number and address where documents may be received, delivered or served by the tenant; and

(b)  the name, telephone number and address of an agent or other person where the landlord has an agent or another person who is responsible for the residential premises.

(8)  Where a landlord is replaced by a new landlord, the new landlord shall immediately provide the tenant with a written notice

(a)  containing the information set out in paragraphs (7)(a) and (b); and

(b)  stating the amount of the security deposit held under section 14 and the interest credited under subsection 14(7) to the date when the new landlord replaced the previous landlord.

(9)  A landlord shall immediately notify the tenant in writing of a change to the information under paragraphs (7)(a) or (b).

(10)  Where a landlord is a corporation registered under the Corporations Act , a notice under this section shall include the corporation's name as registered under that Act.

(11)  The information provided by the landlord to the tenant in this section shall be provided without cost to the tenant.

 

Types of rental agreement

8. (1) A landlord may enter into a rental agreement where a residential premises is rented

(a)  from week to week;

(b)  from month to month; or

(c)  for a fixed term of not less than 6 months.

(2)  Where a residential premises is rented for a period that is

(a)  less than one week, the residential premises shall be considered to be rented from week to week;

(b)  more than one week and less than 6 months, the residential premises shall be considered to be rented from month to month; and

(c)  more than 12 months, the residential premises shall be considered to be rented for a fixed term of 12 months.

(3)  Where a tenant continues to use or occupy a residential premises after a fixed term has expired, and notice of termination of the rental agreement

(a)  has not been given, the relationship of landlord and tenant shall continue under the terms and conditions in the rental agreement, but the tenancy may be terminated by giving notice in accordance with paragraph 18(1)(b) or 18(2)(b); or

(b)  has been given, the relationship of landlord and tenant shall continue under the terms and conditions in the rental agreement until the expiration of the notice period.