Tenants

Indigenous people face serious housing issues. Indigenous people are more likely to live in crowded housing and to be living in a place that needs major repairs. Knowing your rights can help.

Not for a reason based on discrimination like your race, having kids or being on social assistance. For example, a landlord cannot restrict who can rent a place by saying: 

• “no immigrants”
• “no Aboriginal people”
• “no children”
• “must be working”

Refusing to accept a guarantee from the Ministry of Social Services instead of a damage deposit is also discrimination.

A landlord can ask you to give them the names of people who can be character references. This could be your employer, an earlier landlord or someone who knows you. They may also check your credit history with a credit reporting agency.

A landlord cannot charge a fee for:                               

• processing your rental application
• accepting your rental application
• deciding if you are a suitable tenant
• accepting you as a tenant

They can ask for the first month’s rent and half of the damage deposit when you agree to rent the place. A damage deposit cannot be more than one month’s rent. Because they can ask you to pay half at the time you agree to rent, they could ask for a total of one and a half months’ rent—not two. You must pay the other half of the damage deposit within two months.

Yes, if you do not have a lease. But there are limits on how often they can do this and notice requirements. They must give you 12 months’ notice. If they belong to an approved landlord association, they only need to give 6 months’ notice. They can give the notice to you in person. It can also be posted on your door and sent by mail, email or text.

A landlord must: 

• keep your unit in a good state of repair even if you knew the repairs were needed when you started renting the place
• maintain smoke detectors
• keep pests under control
• look after a yard you share with other tenants, such as the yard of an apartment building
• clean and repair any common areas such as hallways, entry areas, a shared laundry room and the outside of the building
• maintain any services, facilities or appliances that are included in the rent such as heating, water, electricity, laundry facilities, and a fridge and stove

You should speak to your landlord right away about any problems and give them a chance to fix things. If they do not, you have  options.

You can make an application to the ORT. You can use their online portal or ask them for another way to apply. 

You can report certain problems to these places: 

• concerns about fire safety (such as lack of smoke detectors, issues with electrical wires) go to the fire department in your city or the town office if there is no fire department
• public health concerns (such as pests in the home) can be reported to your local public health office who may want to do a public health inspection
• concerns about a lack of yard maintenance can go to city hall or the town office 

Landlords can end your rental agreement but only for certain reasons and they must give you notice. The amount of notice needed depends on what the landlord says is the problem and sometimes depends on whether you have signed a lease or not. A common reason is being 15 days or more late with rent or being repeatedly late with rent for months.

You have the right to challenge your eviction if you think the landlord does not have a reason allowed under the law. A landlord who wants to evict you must serve you with a Notice to Vacate. It must include the landlord’s reasons for the eviction. If you do not agree with it, you fill out the bottom part called the Tenant Dispute Notice. You give this to the landlord. You should keep a copy for yourself.

Once you dispute the notice the landlord must apply to the ORT. The ORT will give the landlord a Notice of Hearing. The landlord must give you a copy of this. It will have the hearing date. If it is an urgent case the landlord must give it to you at least 2 days before the hearing. If it is not urgent the landlord must give it to you at least 10 days before the hearing.

The landlord can make a claim for the deposit or part of it for a number of reasons including if… 

• They need to repair damage to your unit that is not just reasonable wear and tear.
• They need to clean your place because you did not leave it reasonably clean.
• You did not return the keys.
• You owe money for rent or utilities that you are responsible for.

The landlord must give you notice that they want to keep your deposit. You can dispute their claim. If your landlord used the ORT’s online portal there will be a link code on the notice. You can use this to go online and dispute the claim. If there is no link code, you may need to start your own application using the online portal. If you cannot access the portal contact the ORT. There is a fee to dispute a landlord’s claim on a damage deposit. The ORT will set a date and time to hear your case. 

You must gather your own evidence to explain why the landlord should not be allowed to take the action (for example, evict you or keep your damage deposit) or should be required to take an action (for example, clean the unit of any hazards). Your evidence could come from witnesses, photos or text messages. You can also give evidence yourself about what happened.

You serve the landlord with your evidence and show the ORT that you have done this by filing a certificate. You can serve the landlord in- person, electronically (email, text, social media) or by mail. You also need to give the ORT your evidence by uploading it to the ORT’s online portal. If you cannot access the portal, you can ask the ORT to allow you to provide your evidence to them by email, in-person or by fax.

At the hearing both sides present their evidence. You can ask the landlord and any witnesses they call your own questions. When you present your side the landlord can ask you and your witnesses questions. Each of you make a closing argument summarizing your side of the case. After this the ORT makes a decision. They may not make the decision the day of the hearing.
 

For more information about tenant and landlord rights and responsibilities visit the Renting a Home section of plea.org or order PLEA’s booklet Renting a Home free of charge by visiting plea.org. Your city or town may have specific information on housing as well. For example, the City of Saskatoon publishes a Housing Handbook.

Office of Residential Tenancies
Phone: 1.888.215.2222
Email: ORT@gov.sk.ca

Public Health Inspectors
Can do inspections when the condition of a rental is a potential health hazard.

Saskatchewan Housing Corporation
Provides affordable housing for low-income families, seniors and persons with disabilities and a Housing Benefit to help renters with their rent and utilities costs.
Phone: 1.800.667.7567