Proposed changes to Nova Scotia’s Residential Tenancies Act would allow domestic violence sufferers to displace their abusers and retain occupancy rights. Under current rules, tenants can terminate their leases, free from financial penalty, with just one month’s notice if they have applicable documentation from the provincial Director of Victim of Services. That will trigger a blanket termination for all occupants, regardless of whether they are also parties to the lease.

It’s now proposed that qualified applicants can simultaneously give notice that they wish to enter a new lease, with the same terms, for the same premises. Landlords would then have 10 days to apply to Nova Scotia’s Director of Residential Tenancies for permission to deny the request, and a decision must be rendered within 14 days. The subject tenant can continue to occupy the unit during that period.

Landlords would not be permitted to “arbitrarily or unreasonably” withhold consent when requested, and would be obligated to keep certifying documents that tenants have supplied confidential. New leases under this clause would have the same expiry date as the legacy lease agreement.

The Nova Scotia government is also looking to reduce the timeline for the required advance notice to quit rental space within a landlord’s private home. Another proposed amendment would set that period at a minimum of seven days, for both landlords and tenants, in cases where the two parties share either or both a common kitchen and bathroom and are not in a domestic relationship.

This is framed as a move to “encourage more people to rent out rooms”, which is also consistent with the rules in other Canadian provinces.