Overview
In Alberta, the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) applies to most people who rent the place where they live. This law sets out the rights and responsibilities that apply to landlords and tenants. In this section, find out about the different stages of renting and common problems that can arise.
Rental stages
Information on rental agreements, security deposits and sub-meters when starting a tenancy.
Learn about your rights and responsibilities after you have moved in.
Ending a rental agreement, evictions and security deposits.
Find solutions and advice for common problems that can occur between a tenant and landlord.
Tenants
Tenants rent the place where they live. The RTA applies to most residential tenants who live in:
- a house, apartment, duplex or mobile home
- a hotel or motel room if rented for more than 6 consecutive months
- a rooming or boarding house (in most cases)
The RTA does not apply to the following types of tenancies:
- people who share a landlord's living quarters as though they were a part of the landlord's family
- mobile home sites set out in the Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act
- rental premises that are occupied for business purposes that also have living accommodations attached and both are rented under a single agreement
- hotels, motels, trailer parks, tourist homes or other vacation accommodations if a person lives there for less than 6 consecutive months
- rental premises rented to a student by an educational institution unless the student has exclusive possession of self-contained rental premises
- most nursing homes, supportive living accommodations, government-operated senior lodges and correctional institutions, military bases and First Nations Reserve Lands
Tipsheets
Landlords
The landlord may be an individual, a group of people or a corporation.
The RTA says a landlord may be:
- the current or new owner of the rental premises
- the property manager who acts as an agent for the owner
- the person who rents out the rental premises
- any person other than the owner who falls within the definition of a landlord in the Act
Tipsheets
Contact
For more information on topics related to landlords and tenants, contact the Consumer Contact Centre.
For resolving a dispute, learn more about the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service.