Renting Your Condo

If you are thinking of renting out your condominium unit, you will need to become familiar with your rights and responsibilities as a landlord under the Condominium Property Act and Residential Tenancies Act.

In Alberta, the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) is the law that applies to most owner (landlord) and tenant relationships. It outlines specific rules that both landlords and tenants must follow. Furthermore, it lists the remedies available if those rules are not followed. Additional rules apply under the Condominium Property Act (CPA).

For a complete overview of everything you need to know about your rights and responsibilities as a landlord under the Residential Tenancies Act, visit our website Laws for Landlords and Tenant in Alberta and read Renting Out Your Condo: Six Things You Need to Know.

If you are a tenant interested in renting a condominium unit, you can find important information about your rights and responsibilities in our booklet Renting a Condominium.

Information You Must Give the Condominium Corporation

When renting out your condominium unit, you must provide the condominium corporation with certain written information. The condominium corporation cannot prevent you from renting your unit but they are legally entitled to the following information:

• Your intention to rent your unit, including:
  • an address where you can be personally served with documents
  • how much rent you will be charging the tenant

  Rental Deposits: when you are renting out your unit

  The condominium corporation can ask you for a rental deposit if you are renting out your unit. The rental deposit is intended to cover:

  • Repair and replacement of the corporation’s real/personal property or common property and
  • Maintenance or repair of any common property

  Under the Condominium Property Regulation, the rental deposit cannot be more than $1000 or one months’ rent, whichever is greater. The rental deposit must be held and repaid along with interest earned (if any).

  If you owe the corporation a rental deposit, the corporation has legal rights to recover the deposit from you (for example, by suing you). The corporation may also recover the amount from you as if it were a contribution. For more information on what happens when a contribution is not paid, go to our page on Condominium Contributions.

  Rental Deposits: when you are no longer renting out your unit

  When you give the condominium corporation notice that you are no longer renting the unit to a tenant, the corporation must then deliver to you a statement of account and any unused portion of your rental deposit, along with interest earned (if any) within 20 days. If the corporation deducted from the rental deposit, then it must provide a statement of account with the following information:

  • The amount used and any interest earned, if any
  • The balance of the deposit not used and any interest earned, if any
  • An itemized list of deductions from the rental deposit and why the deductions were made.

  In some cases, a condominium corporation may need additional time to determine the amount to be deducted from the deposit (e.g., a contractor needs to provide an estimate of costs). If this is the case, the corporation must provide an estimated statement of account to the owner within 20 days of receiving notice from the owner. Within 60 days of delivering to the owner the estimated statement of account, the corporation must also deliver to the owner:

  • A final statement of account showing the amount used and any interest earned, if any and
  • The balance of the deposit not used and any interest earned, if any

  Difference between rental deposits and security deposits

  Rental deposits are separate from security deposits. You can ask the tenant for a security deposit on your unit but you cannot use this money to pay the condominium corporation’s rental deposit. Within 2 banking days of receiving the tenant’s security deposit, you must put the money into a trust account. You may also be required to pay interest on the tenant’s security deposit. For more information about security deposits, visit Laws for Landlords and Tenants in Alberta.

  Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), you must do written unit move-in and move-out inspection reports with your tenant and ensure both you and the tenant each have a copy of each. You cannot make any deductions from a tenant’s security deposit to pay for damage they have done to your unit if you have not completed written move-in and move-out inspection reports. For more information about inspection reports, visit these resources:

  • Laws for Landlords and Tenants in Alberta website http://www.landlordandtenant.org/inspection-reports/
  • Service Alberta RTA Handbook for Landlords & Tenants
    http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/pdf/RTA/RTA_Handbook.pdf

  Rental Deposits collected before January 1, 2020

  Any rental deposit that a condo corporation collected from an owner before the coming into force of the Condominium Property Regulation changes (January 1, 2020) may be retained during the tenancy of the owner’s unit. For example, if an owner rented out a condominium on July 1, 2019 and the corporation collected a $1500 rental deposit, then the corporation can still retain that deposit during the remaining tenancy of the unit.

  Know Your Bylaws

  Tenants are required to follow the condominium’s bylaws during their tenancy and they should have access to a copy of the bylaws. As a responsible landlord, you should familiarize yourself with the bylaws so that you can properly advise the tenant about the condominium’s rules and ensure the lease agreement accurately reflects the bylaws.

  For example, if the bylaws do not allow pets in the building, you should ensure the lease agreement has a no pets clause. If your lease agreement states that pets are allowed, that provision is not valid because it violates the bylaws. You could be held responsible if the tenant was a pet owner and was evicted due to your negligence.

  Condominium Board’s Right to Evict

  The Condominium Property Act gives the condominium board the power to evict a tenant who has:

  • caused damage, other than normal wear and tear, to the common property or any other property of the condominium corporation; or
  • violated one of the condominium’s bylaws.

  After the tenant has committed one of the above acts, the condominium board has to give the tenant written notice to give up possession of the unit. The notice must also be served on the owner of the unit. The owner cannot prevent the condominium board from evicting the tenant.

  The tenant must move out by the last day of the month immediately following the month the notice is served. For example, if the notice was served on May 14, the tenant would need to leave by June 30.

  If a tenant has received a notice to give up possession but does not move out, the condominium board has the right to make an application in the Court of King’s Bench for an order requiring the tenant to leave.

  Immediate Eviction

  There are certain cases where a condominium board can go straight to court and request an immediate eviction order.

  A condominium board can make an application for immediate eviction if a tenant:

  • has caused or is causing excessive damage to the common property or any other property of the condominium corporation; or
  • is a danger to or is intimidating the owners or tenants in the complex.

  If such an application is made, the corporation must notify the tenant and owner of the unit. A court hearing will be held where a judge will decide whether to grant an order for the tenant to immediately give up possession of the unit.

  Tip for condo boards: If a corporation makes an application for immediate eviction, it must notify the tenant and owner of the unit at least 5 days in advance (not including holidays and Saturdays).

  Owner/landlord’s right to evict

  The owner of the condominium unit also has the power to evict if the tenant commits a substantial breach under the Residential Tenancies Act. More information about evictions can be found by visiting Laws for Landlords and Tenants in Alberta: Eviction Notices.

  Condominium Contributions (Fees)

  If you are planning to rent your condominium unit, the lease should clearly state whether or not the tenant is responsible for paying the condominium contributions. Keep in mind that serious consequences can result if the condominium contributions are not paid..

  If you are renting your unit and condominium contributions go unpaid, the condominium corporation can require the tenant to pay the rent to the corporation instead of you to cover the unpaid contributions. If you are at fault for not paying the contributions, you cannot take any actions against the tenant.

  Further Resources

  Laws for Landlords and Tenant in Alberta: Everything you need to know about renting in Alberta for landlords and tenants.

  Renting a Condominium: A guide for tenants interested in renting a condominium.

  RTA Handbook: A comprehensive guide on residential tenancies in Alberta, prepared by Service Alberta.

  Consumer Tips: Tip sheets related to renting prepared by Service Alberta.

  Last updated: May 2022

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