New Brunswick Tenant Rights: Lease Help & Renter Protections
New Brunswick's Residential Tenancies Act governs landlord-tenant relationships across Canada's only officially bilingual province. With a 3% annual rent increase cap (effective February 1, 2025), strong notice requirements, and a fully bilingual Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT), NB renters in Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John need to understand exactly what protections the law provides.
New Brunswick Residential Tenancies Act
The Residential Tenancies Act (New Brunswick) governs the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants for most residential rental units in the province. Administered by Service New Brunswick, the Act establishes the Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT) as the body responsible for resolving disputes. The RTT operates offices in Fredericton and Moncton and provides fully bilingual services in both English and French.
The RTT handles a broad range of landlord-tenant issues including security deposit disputes, eviction proceedings, repair orders, and illegal lockout complaints. Hearings can be conducted in person or online. As Canada's only officially bilingual province, New Brunswick gives tenants the right to conduct all RTT proceedings in the official language of their choice — a meaningful protection for the province's Francophone community.
Key Tenant Protections
- Security deposits are capped at one month's rent and must be remitted by the landlord to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT) within 15 days of collection — landlords do not hold deposits themselves.
- Rent can only be increased once every 12 months, and the landlord must give 6 months written notice before the increase takes effect.
- Tenants have the right to give notice to terminate within 15 days of receiving a rent increase notice they do not accept.
- Landlords must give 24 hours written notice before entering a rental unit, except in genuine emergencies.
- Tenants cannot be evicted without a formal order from the Residential Tenancies Tribunal — self-help eviction is illegal.
- Security deposits must be returned within 7 days if there is no dispute, or within 30 days with an itemized written statement.
- The Residential Tenancies Tribunal offers fully bilingual services in English and French — Canada's only officially bilingual province.
- Landlords must maintain the rental unit in a habitable condition and comply with health and safety standards.
New Brunswick Rent Cap Explained
New Brunswick introduced a 3% annual rent increase cap effective February 1, 2025. Landlords may apply to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal (RTT) for up to 9% with demonstrated renovation justification. Rent can only be increased once every 12 months, and the landlord must give 6 months written notice before the increase takes effect.
New Brunswick also provides a key exit protection: if you receive a rent increase notice and choose not to accept the new amount, you have 15 days to give written notice to terminate the tenancy. This exit right means you are never forced to accept an unaffordable increase — but you must act within the 15-day window or the increase becomes binding.
What to Watch for in New Brunswick Leases
- Deposits exceeding one month's rent — this is above New Brunswick's legal maximum and is unlawful.
- Clauses allowing the landlord to enter without 24 hours written notice for routine repairs or inspections.
- Rent increase clauses that do not comply with the 6-month written notice requirement or that allow more than one increase per 12 months.
- Provisions attempting to waive the tenant's right to apply to the Residential Tenancies Tribunal.
- Leases that do not acknowledge the tenant's right to terminate within 15 days of receiving an unacceptable rent increase notice.
New Brunswick Cities
Moncton
New Brunswick's fastest-growing city — strong bilingual rental market, RTT office located here
Fredericton
Provincial capital — government and university rental market, RTT main office in Fredericton
Saint John
New Brunswick's oldest city — affordable rental market with heritage housing stock