14 Clear Days Notice Alberta: How to Count the Days Correctly

Why Clear Days Catch So Many Landlords

"14 clear days" sounds simple until you try to put a date on a notice. Alberta's statutory interpretation rules make the calculation stricter than most landlords expect, and getting it wrong by even one day invalidates the entire notice.

The RTDRS sees miscounted clear days regularly. A dismissed application means paying the RTDRS filing fee again ($75 for claims up to $7,500; $150 for claims over $7,500), re-serving a new notice, and waiting another 14+ days before you can even file — adding weeks to an already slow process.

The Counting Rule

Under Alberta's Interpretation Act, "clear days" means:

1. Exclude the day of service — the day you hand over or post the notice doesn't count
2. Count 14 full calendar days — every day including weekends and statutory holidays
3. Exclude the termination day — the day the tenant must vacate also doesn't count

This means you need 14 days sitting between the service day and the termination day, with neither end counting. In calendar terms, the earliest valid termination date is 15 calendar days after service.

Worked Examples

Example 1 — Standard calculation: You serve the notice on Wednesday, October 7.

• October 7 (service day) is excluded
• Day 1 = October 8, Day 14 = October 21
• The termination date must be October 22 or later

If you write October 21 on the notice, you've given 13 clear days. The notice is invalid.

Example 2 — Long weekend: You serve on Thursday, October 8, with Thanksgiving Monday (October 12) in the period.

• October 8 is excluded
• Day 1 = October 9, Day 14 = October 22
• Thanksgiving counts as a regular calendar day
• Termination date: October 23 or later

Statutory holidays don't extend the count. They're just regular days in the 14-day sequence.

Example 3 — End of month: You serve on October 27.

• Day 1 = October 28, Day 14 = November 10
• Termination date: November 11 or later

The count crosses month boundaries normally. There's no requirement for the termination date to align with a rent period end date.

The Most Common Mistakes

Counting the service day as Day 1. If you include the day you serve the notice in your count, you'll be one day short. The service day is always excluded.

Forgetting to exclude the termination day. Some landlords correctly exclude the service day but then make the last day of the count the termination date. The termination date sits outside the 14-day count — it's the day after Day 14.

Counting business days instead of calendar days. Clear days are calendar days. Weekends and holidays all count toward the 14.

Giving exactly 14 calendar days. This is the subtlest mistake. If you serve on the 1st and write the 15th as the termination date, that's 14 calendar days — but only 13 clear days, because both the 1st and the 15th are excluded.

Building in a Buffer

There's no penalty for giving more than 14 clear days. A notice served on October 3 with a termination date of October 25 gives 21 clear days. It's still valid. Many experienced landlords add 2-3 extra days as a buffer to eliminate any risk of miscounting — especially if they're serving by registered mail, where the delivery date is harder to pin down precisely.

For a clear-day calculator, notice templates, and the full termination workflow, get the Alberta ending a tenancy guide.

See more Alberta guides →