Dartmouth landlord switched lease to fixed term without tenant's knowledge, court rules

A small claims court adjudicator has ruled in favour of a tenant after the landlord changed their lease from a year-to-year agreement to a 12-month fixed-term contract without their knowledge. 

In his decision earlier this month, Darrel Pink said Ocean Breeze Apartments of Dartmouth, N.S., didn't do enough to inform a longtime tenant their lease agreement would change when they were moved to a new unit.

The tenant, identified only by the initials W.M., is a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who suffers from chronic depression, bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.  

W.M. first signed a lease with the company in June 2015 before eventually being moved to another apartment last year due to renovations, the decision said. 

Staff at the rental company knew the tenant's move would result in a fixed-term lease, according to the decision, but didn't clearly explain the consequences of the change, which would have meant the tenant had to vacate the apartment at the end of the fixed term.

"Though the Residential Tenancies Act is intended to ensure landlords and tenants have equivalent rights and opportunities, there are times when the landlord has much more power than the tenant," the decision said. "This is one of those cases."

Known for affordable housing

The Ocean Breeze Village is made up of more than 40 low-rise buildings and townhouses built in the 1960s on a 23-hectare plot just north of the A. Murray MacKay Bridge.

Parts of the expansive apartment complex that was once home to more than 1,000 people and loved by tenants for its low rents are being torn down to make way for denser housing.

The complex was recently sold to new owners who directed management to move existing leases to fixed-term rather than year-to-year agreements as renovations got underway, according to the adjudicator's decision.

Issues with apartment from the start

There were several problems with W.M.'s apartment from the time the tenant moved in, the decision said, but the most significant issue was flooding.

"From 2016 onwards, flooding was a recurring problem," it said. The walls and floors in the building where the tenant lived had to be removed in 2019, so the tenant was moved to a hotel for two months. 

The decision said the tenant raised issues with the apartment to the landlord and "some repairs were made, often after substantial delays."  

The landlord's approach to the situation was very stressful for the tenant and significantly affected their health, the decision said. 

By March 2023, the frequent flooding had caused "great stress" for the tenant, who asked the property manager if they could move to a townhouse owned by the rental company. 

'Significant power imbalance'

The tenant went to the landlord's office on April 6, 2023, to sign a lease for the new unit they were going to move into, the decision said. 

There's disagreement between the tenant and landlord about what exactly was said at this meeting and if it was clearly stated the tenant knew they were signing a fixed-term lease.

An employee of the rental company had the tenant initial the new lease seven times, but she did not make the tenant initial the section that specified the lease was for a 12-month fixed term. 

In addition, the decision said a landlord, "especially one as sophisticated as the Respondent," has to do more than a routine lease signing in a situation like this. 

Even a boilerplate statement in the lease explaining the tenancy is finished at the end of the fixed term "does not provide sufficient information to a tenant to allow for an informed and conscious choice," it said.

The adjudicator ruled that considering how long the tenant had lived in the community, their efforts to find other affordable housing and the stress they endured from the recurring flooding, they would not have knowingly signed a fixed-term lease.

The tenant was desperate to move to a new unit because of the condition of the apartment they were living in and the landlord could have addressed those concerns without forcing the tenant into a fixed-term lease, the decision said. 

"In the circumstances of this case, there was a significant power imbalance."  

The fixed-term lease is not in effect and did not replace the existing year-to-year lease that was never terminated by the landlord, the adjudicator ruled. 

Management at Ocean Breeze Apartments did not respond to several requests for comment on the decision.