marital breakdown and leasing
 

Hi all

I’m looking for a little advice both about ending our lease and our PR status. My family and I moved to NS 2 years ago. We’ve had a rollercoaster ride of up and downs and really worked at it but after 12 years my partner and I have come to the end of the line in terms of our relationship. I think we both knew it was coming but neither wanted to make the 1st move.
So were permanent residents, I have 2 teenagers from a previous relationship, we both work but are not high earners and live paycheque to paycheque. At this moment in time I am hoping to stay in NS with the kids. Although all my support is in the UK the kids have been doing fantastically and not only excelled at school, but in confidence and positive attitudes too. A friend has offered up her home to us rent free for a few months, which will allow me time to get on my feet and pay off debts etc. My OH is currently unsure whether to stay in NS or go back to the UK to be around family support. We have 10 months left on the current lease, and although I would love to think we could live amicably in the same house for the next 10mths, I know emotionally we couldn’t. I think my partner will have no choice but to sell the car and a few other things to pay for the flight home, which leaves me stuck with the house, and I wouldn’t be comfortable having a stranger house sharing with my kids in the house. If one of us leaves the home the other cannot afford to run the home by a long way. This is our 1st year at this house and the landlord isn’t what I would call the friendliest, Is there anyway legally we would be entitled to give in notice on the house? Through financial hardship or anything else??
The other question I have is I was the main applicant for our PR application. If I am now a single mum with two kids will it affect my PR status? Can my ex stay in NS if were not together? Do we have to inform anyone? Obviously all our ties and commitments are now here, we do both love NS and weve made it our home.
Normally I would spend hours finding out this info but at the moment, I’m just totally drained. Thanks in advance.

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Sorry to hear your news.

We're landlords in NS. Check your lease but you should be able to give three months notice to get out of it...

Once you have PR you are both eligible to stay...together or separated.

Good luck with it all :fingerscrossed:

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Is it a fixed term lease? If so, does the lease provide you with any way to leave early without financial penalty?

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

I have nothing on the legallity of your lease but you are both PR card holders and have the same rights in Canada as the day you arrived
I too have split and divorced since being in Canada ....... It will get better - Be strong

Hugggggs

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

I checked the Tenancies Act for Nova Scotia and it looks like you have the right to get out of the lease if you can get someone to take it over. You would have to find the new person though. Below is the excerpt from the Government of NS webpage.

Letting Someone Else be Responsible for your Lease

There are two ways to have someone else move into your unit while you are still under a lease:
If you plan to leave for a period and then return, you may wish to use a sublet. A landlord must have a good reason to refuse to allow you to sublet. The landlord may charge $75 to assess a sub-tenant.

If you do not wish to continue with your lease, you may ask to assign any months remaining on your lease to a new person. The new person then becomes responsible for following the lease and paying rent until it has ended.
A landlord must have a good reason to refuse to allow you to assign your lease. The landlord may charge $75 to evaluate a person you wish to assign your lease to.

and here is the link to the page
During a Tenancy | Access Nova Scotia | Government of NS

I hope this helps.

Best wishes.

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Assuming they can find somebody...as I said though, three months notice and they can leave anyway :)

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Rules vary across the provinces but whatever you're on the hook for (3 months has been suggested) there is the likely principle that a landlord should still try to let for the period left.

Even if you can't find a replacement as suggested, he might. You never know he might have someone lined up waiting for someone to leave one of his rentals.

Of course this might involve some work for him, but then so might taking some action to recover unpaid rent for the time left.

Also, one assumes he can't increase the rent for what's left of the lease whereas he probably could for a new tenant.

So he might be amenable to the idea of you quitting early.

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Not if it is a fixed term lease.
If you have a new job, a work transfer, or need to leave early for any other reason (*other than health*), you must sublet or assign your lease. (See "Letting Someone Else be Responsible for your Lease.")

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Hmm, I want to believe you but I'm sure in the standard leases we use it states 3 months notice...shall have to double check in case one of our tenants asks :)

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

If you follow the link I posted earlier and search a bit on that site you will find the information that Siouxie posted. If you are on a fixed term lease and want to break it you either have to prove a medical reason for a drop in income or find someone to take over the lease. However as Bristol UK said, it may be worth telling the landlord and seeing if you can come to some arrangement.

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

https://www.novascotia.ca/snsmr/pdf/...dard-lease.pdf

:)

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Hmm, interesting. Our tenants don't bother giving us notice though, they just disappear owing lots of money so we don't need to worry about notice periods! lol

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Weird things "standard" leases. A few years ago the then current version had a delete as applicable option for the tenant to agree for the landlord to retain the deposit rather than pass it on to the rentalsman which, in this province, is illegal - and was then too.

And very costly that can be too, having to start whatever procedure you need to in order to see about getting a replacement. :(

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Well we're in the preparation stages of taking two of them to the small claims court where we will probably be awarded $10 per month for the next 50 years!!

Re: marital breakdown and leasing
 

Does that work any better than in NB? I looked up the details last year.

It seems you have to do the "serving of notices" so you can't do much if you don't know where they went.

If you can do that and win your case there doesn't even seem to be any enforcement of it. That's another legal action again.