No action against Nova Scotia rent loophole out of fears for housing supply: minister

Service Nova Scotia Minister says her department won’t crack down on instances of abuse involving fixed-term rent leases.

HALIFAX — The minister responsible for Nova Scotia’s rental property rules says her department won’t crack down on instances of abuse involving fixed-term rent leases because it doesn’t want to affect the housing supply.

Service Nova Scotia Minister Jill Balser told reporters following a cabinet meeting Thursday that her department is monitoring trends and wants to avoid disrupting the housing supply as vacancy rates appear to be improving. The government has said the province’s vacancy rate has risen over the last year to two per cent from one per cent.

“An unintended consequence is that we wouldn’t want to see anything that is going to impact supply,” said Balser.

However, she did not specify how the housing supply would be affected, under repeated questioning by reporters.

“We have seen the misuse of fixed-term leases and it is extremely disappointing, but again our focus has always been on supply,” she said. The minister stressed that it’s important for people to know what they are getting into before signing a lease.

“For people who find themselves in a situation where they think the rules are being broken, the residential tenancies program is there to help,” said Balser.

But the Opposition NDP and Liberals both said Balser’s explanation for not acting doesn’t make sense.

Interim Liberal leader Derek Mombourquette has suggested the government wants to give landlords a loophole to get around the five per cent cent cap that is in place until the end of 2027, a charge Balser denied as “not true” on Thursday.

“I don’t buy this idea that there are unforeseen consequences, I just don’t,” said Mombourquette. “There’s an obvious problem that’s impacting renters across this province … and the government is not acting on it.”

NDP caucus chair Sue Leblanc said addressing a problem that allows landlords to jack up rent beyond the cap is not a government priority.

“People come into my office every single day worried about getting evicted or not being able to find a place to live when their fixed-term lease runs out,” said Leblanc. “The government’s focus does not seem to be on them … we need to focus on the people that are most vulnerable.”

Unlike a periodic lease, a fixed-term lease does not automatically renew beyond its set end date. The provincial rent cap covers periodic leases and situations in which a landlord signs a new fixed-term lease with the same tenant, but it does not cover fixed-term leases with new tenants.

Last fall, a number of landlords defended the use of fixed-term leases before a legislature committee, saying it helped them recoup costs in the face of the government’s rent cap.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.

Keith Doucette, The Canadian Press