Renting Apartments

Chapter 4, pages 66 to 83

Outcomes

Learn some terminology about renting an apartment in Nova Scotia

Learn rights/responsibilities of a tenant

Learn rights/responsibilities of a landlord

Framing Questions

Has anyone ever rented an apartment before?

Why would you rent an apartment?

What would you want in an apartment?

Can you afford an apartment?

Can you get kicked out of an apartment?

Key Terms – What do they mean?

Lease

Landlord

Tenant

What is a lease?

Lease: A written or oral contract between a landlord and a tenant for renting a residential property.

Landlord: A person who rents land, a building or part of a building to a tenant

Tenant: A person who rents a residence from the owner

What does a lease look like?

http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/pdf/ans-residential-tenancies-standard-form-lease.pdf

LandlordsBefore signing a lease with a new tenant ask yourself the following questions:

Is the unit in good repair?Does the tenant’s income support the rent?Do the tenant’s references support the application?Have I told the tenant about any and all rules for the premises?Am I willing to do the repairs the tenant wants?

Tenants

When looking at an available unit, ask yourself these questions

Do I want to live here?Can I park my car?What other costs are there?Can I afford the rent and other costs?Must I sign a lease? For how long?Must I pay a security deposit?Are there waste management facilities?

More Key Terms

Anniversary Date: Yearly date when the tenancy began.

Fixed-term Lease: the specified period of time for a lease. The lease ends at the end of this time and no written notice is needed to end the lease.

Terminating a Tenancy

Type of Tenancy

By the landlord

By the tenant

Yearly 3 months prior to the anniversary date

3 months prior to the anniversary date

Monthly 3 months 1 month

Weekly 4 weeks 1 week

Who is protected by these termination rules???

TENANT!!!

Security Deposit

Security Deposit: Money paid by the tenant when the lease is signed and held until the end of the tenancy.

It is used to protect the landlord against damages or unpaid rent.

The landlord can ask for up to one half of a month’s rent.

Interest on the Security Deposit

Landlords have to pay an interest rate on the deposit.

The rate is set by the Residential Tenancies Act.

It is currently 1%

http://www.gov.ns.ca/snsmr/access/land/residential-tenancies/security-deposit-interest-calculator.asp#calculator

Who is protected by these security deposit rules???

LANDLORD!!!

Rent Increases

Can only increase on the anniversary date of the tenancy

Landlords must give the proper amount of time of rent increase (in writing)

4 months before the anniversary date of a yearly or monthly tenancy

8 weeks before the anniversary date of a weekly tenancy

Who is protected by these rent increase rules ???

TENANT!!!

Questions

1) If a tenant moves into an apartment on June 1, 2011, what is the anniversary date?

June 1, 2012

2. a) Anthony signed a monthly lease for an apartment. How much notice must he give his landlord to terminate his lease?

1 month

b) If the landlord wishes to terminate the lease, how much notice must be given to Anthony?

3 months

3) What are 2 questions you should ask yourself before renting an apartment?

- Can I afford this?- What utilities are included?- Can I park?- How long is the lease?

4) a) If a landlord leases you an apartment for $850 per month, what is the most the landlord can charge for a security deposit?

- half of 850 = $425

b) If you do not damage the apartment and you pay every month’s rent, how much will you get back at the end of your lease?

- $425 + 1% = 425 + 4.25 = $429.50

Apartment Listings

Where can you find apartment listings?

Newspaper

Internet

http://www.myidealhome.com/

kijiji

“For Rent” signs around your area