Residential Tenancies Act: Ending a Tenancy, Issues Paper 8

Alberta has a higher than average turnover rate in the rental market than most of Canada. It is unclear why Alberta has a higher turnover rate, but we have heard that the options available to tenants and landlords to end a tenancy are ineffective or too severe. There are more than a dozen reasons a landlord or tenant may end a tenancy under the Residential Tenancies Act. The rules and conditions for ending a tenancy […]

AREA OF LAW	Property Landlord and Tenant Personal Property Real Property
TAGS	periodic lease, Residential lease agreement, security deposit refund, tenancy rights, security deposit, condition report, landlord-tenant law, eviction notice, habitability standards, rent control, property management, notice to vacate, fixed-term tenancy, rent increase notice, rental application, tenant screening, lease renewal, rental arbitration, housing tribunal, wear and tear, emergency repairs, rental arrears, utility responsibility, co-tenant, lease termination, fair housing act, pet policy, rent receipt, lease addendum, rental inspection, maintenance request, occupancy limits, subletting, guarantor, quiet enjoyment, right of entry
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	IPNo.8.pdf

May 6, 2026

Reviewing Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act: Before and During a Tenancy

The Residential Tenancies Act governs the relationship between landlord and tenant. More specifically, it governs the relationships between people renting a place as a home. The Residential Tenancies Act does not govern the relationships created when renting a commercial place, and it does not govern the relationships of people renting mobile home sites. The Residential Tenancies Act affects hundreds of thousands of people living in Alberta, more than one quarter of all households in the […]

AREA OF LAW	Landlord and Tenant Property Real Property
TAGS	Alberta Residential Tenancies Act, RTA Handbook Alberta, Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, RTDRS, security deposit interest rate Alberta, move-in inspection report requirements, 14-day eviction notice Alberta, 24-hour notice of entry, substantial breach of tenancy agreement, periodic vs fixed-term tenancy, rent increase notice period Alberta, normal wear and tear vs damage, habitable premises standards, Alberta Public Health Act housing regulation, unauthorized occupants Alberta law, landlord's right to distraint, abatement of rent Alberta, overholding tenant remedies, service of documents Alberta RTA, abandoned goods regulation Alberta, security deposit deductions Alberta, peaceful enjoyment Alberta tenancy, notice of landlord requirements, and Alberta Law Reform Institute residential tenancy papers.
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	IP7-Visual-Summary.pdf

March 16, 2026

Residential Tenancies: Distress for Rent, Final Report 122

This is one out of a series of reports related to residential tenancy issues in Alberta. This report addresses issues eight and nine identified in ALRI’s Residential Tenancies Act: General Issues paper. Distress for rent is an ancient common law self-help remedy that, under certain conditions, allows a landlord to seize and sell a tenant’s property to recover unpaid rent. While there are many aspects of the English common law that still inform the law […]

AREA OF LAW	Landlord and Tenant Personal Property Property Real Property
TAGS	Alberta Residential Tenancies Act, RTA Handbook Alberta, Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, RTDRS, security deposit interest rate Alberta, move-in inspection report requirements, 14-day eviction notice Alberta, 24-hour notice of entry, substantial breach of tenancy agreement, periodic vs fixed-term tenancy, rent increase notice period Alberta, normal wear and tear vs damage, habitable premises standards, Alberta Public Health Act housing regulation, unauthorized occupants Alberta law, landlord's right to distraint, abatement of rent Alberta, overholding tenant remedies, service of documents Alberta RTA, abandoned goods regulation Alberta, security deposit deductions Alberta, peaceful enjoyment Alberta tenancy, notice of landlord requirements
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	FR122.pdf

March 2, 2026

Reviewing Alberta’s Residential Tenancies Act

The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) is working on a project to look at the rules for landlords and tenants in Alberta. This includes reviewing a law called the Residential Tenancies Act. The Residential Tenancies Act explains the basic rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants. It says what each side must do or not do. It also gives ways to solve problems between landlords and tenants. This summary document highlights some of the issues […]

AREA OF LAW	Landlord and Tenant Property Real Property
TAGS	houseless, building, rental, apartment, pest, homeless, condo, home, house, cost, eviction, landlord, lease, maintenance, Property, rent, tenant
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	IP6_Visual_Summary.pdf

February 2, 2026

The Residential Tenancies Act: General Issues

The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) has published Residential Tenancies Act: General Issues. This is the first in a series of reports summarizing issues in the law that affects tenants and landlords on a daily basis. The Residential Tenancies Act is important because it affects over 25% of households in Alberta and often involve not just money, but also the basic necessity of shelter, quality of life, health and well-being of landlords, tenants and families […]

AREA OF LAW	Landlord and Tenant Personal Property Property Real Property
TAGS	rental, apartment, townhouse, housing, evict, roommate, pest, vacancy, manager, neighbour, homeless, condo, home, house, dispute, agreement, contract, control, eviction, landlord, lease, Property, rent, residential, tenant
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	IPNo.6.pdf

March 25, 2025

Alberta Dower Act Consultation Summary

This document summarizes the results of consultations ALRI conducted for the it’s law reform project on the Alberta Dower Act. ALRI ran two online surveys. Both surveys were open from 3 December 2021 to 7 March 2022. One survey was aimed at the general public – the general survey. Another survey was aimed at professionals who use the Dower Act in their work, including lawyers, real estate brokers and agents, landmen, and estate planners or administrators […]

AREA OF LAW	Wills and Succession Family Law Property Real Property
TAGS	homeowner, trailer, bank, occupant, landmen, life estate, homeless, adult interdependent partner, estate plan, condo, home, homestead, house, husband, wife, disposition, real estate, partner, common law, consent, death, dower, lease, loss, mobile home, mortgage, owner, spouse, tenant
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	Dower_consultation_summary.pdf

September 9, 2022

What is Adverse Possession?

Adverse possession allows a person who has occupied another’s land for at least 10 years to potentially claim ownership of that land. The occupation must be exclusive, open, notorious and continuous. In today’s Alberta, it involves two people: the person in actual possession of the disputed property (the occupier) and the registered owner of the disputed property (the registered owner). This executive summary outlines the most common adverse possession claims as well as our recommendations […]

AREA OF LAW	Property Real Property
TAGS	property rights, boundaries, improvements, property line, survey, farm, rural, border, real property, fence, real estate, Possession, Property, title
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	AP_Brochure.pdf

May 28, 2022

Improving Alberta’s Dower Act

AREA OF LAW	Wills and Succession Family Law Marriage & Divorce Property Real Property
TAGS	senior, life estate, estate planning, home, disposition, ownership, real estate, dower, estate, mortgage, Property, spouse, title, will
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	Dower_Summary.pdf

February 15, 2022

Should Alberta Abolish Adverse Possession?

Adverse possession allows a person who has occupied another’s land for at least 10 years to potentially claim ownership of that land. The occupation must be exclusive, open, notorious and continuous. In today’s Alberta, it involves two people: the person in actual possession of the disputed property (the occupier) and the registered owner of the disputed property (the registered owner). This infographic outlines the three most common adverse possession claims.

AREA OF LAW	Property Real Property
TAGS	property rights, boundaries, improvements, property line, survey, farm, rural, border, real property, fence, real estate, Possession, Property, title
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	Adverse-Possession-Infographic.pdf

May 28, 2020

Adverse Possession and Lasting Improvements to Wrong Land, Final Report 115

Adverse possession allows a person who has occupied another’s land for at least 10 years to potentially claim ownership of that land. The occupation must be exclusive, open, notorious and continuous. Adverse possession is commonly, but mistakenly, referred to as squatter’s rights. ALRI is recommending that the law of adverse possession be abolished in Alberta. This change would prevent new claims from being brought in the future, but would not affect claims that have been […]

AREA OF LAW	Limitation of Actions Property Real Property
TAGS	quiet, lasting, fence, real estate, dispute, claim, Improvement, Land, Limitations, Possession, Property, Rights, Squatters, title, trespasser
FORMAT	Publications
FILE	FR115.pdf

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