Status: Received royal assent May 12, 2020
Ministry Responsible: Service Alberta

Overview

The Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Amendment Act gives tenants and landlords of mobile home sites access to the same dispute resolution service for tenancy disputes that renters and landlords of apartments and houses have, instead of having to go through the courts.

The Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service (RTDRS) is faster, less formal and less expensive than going through the courts. It also relieves some of the burden on the court system.

Key changes

Tenants of mobile home sites will be able to apply to the RTDRS to:

  • get their security deposit returned
  • end the tenancy due to a landlord’s breach of the rental agreement
  • claim financial damages from a landlord’s breach of the rental agreement
  • get their rent reduced for loss of benefit of a rental agreement
  • receive compensation for performing the landlord’s obligations as outlined in the rental agreement and the Mobile Home Sites Tenancies Act

Landlords of mobile home sites will be able to apply to the RTDRS to:

  • resolve unpaid rent and/or utilities
  • end the tenancy and take possession of the mobile home site
  • order a tenant to vacate the mobile home site
  • claim financial damages from a tenant’s breach of the rental agreement
  • receive compensation for losses when a tenant has not vacated the mobile home site at the end of a tenancy

Tenants and landlords will still have the option of going through the courts for disputes valued at over $50,000, and for issues that cannot be resolved through the RTDRS, such as specific repair orders and infrastructure issues.

Next steps

The act came into effect on May 12.

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