How to Evict a Tenant in New Brunswick

A tenant who has stopped paying rent or damaged your property puts you in a difficult spot — but changing the locks or cutting the power is illegal in New Brunswick and can land you in front of a Residential Tenancies Officer for all the wrong reasons. The province requires landlords to follow a specific statutory process before a tenant can be legally removed.

The Lawful Grounds You Must Establish

New Brunswick requires a statutory ground to terminate an ongoing tenancy early, but a fixed-term lease ends automatically on the agreed date. If the tenant stays after that date, the landlord may apply for an eviction order under Section 21 of the Residential Tenancies Act (Acts of New Brunswick, 1975, c. R-10.2).

• Nonpayment of rent — you serve a Notice to Vacate giving the tenant seven days to pay the rent due. The notice must set a vacate date at least 15 days after service. If they pay within seven days, the notice is cancelled unless the repeat-notice exception applies. Mobile home sites have a separate repeat-notice rule under Section 25.5.
• Failure to meet tenant obligations, damage, or nuisance — you serve a notice stating the complaint. A tenant must comply immediately for conduct complaints, or within seven days for other complaints. If they fail to comply, notify the RTO, who may investigate and set a further compliance deadline. If the tenant then fails to comply, the RTO may issue a Form 4 Notice to Quit.
• Personal or family occupation — you, your spouse, your child, your parent, or your spouse's parent intend to occupy the premises for at least three consecutive months. A fixed-term lease ends on its agreed date without a separate termination notice. For ordinary periodic tenancies, notice is at least one month for month-to-month, one week for week-to-week, or three months for year-to-year tenancies. Mobile home sites have separate grounds and six-month notice rules.
• Non-residential use — you plan to use the premises for something other than residential purposes for at least three consecutive months. The same notice periods as personal occupation apply.
• End of related employment — for tenancies other than mobile home sites, the tenancy arose from the tenant's employment maintaining or managing the premises, and that employment relationship ends.
• Major renovations — you need vacant possession for substantial repairs. This ground requires prior written approval from a Residential Tenancies Officer under Regulation 17.3 before you can serve any notice.

How the Process Actually Works

Step 1: Identify your ground and prepare documentation. Gather the lease, payment records, photos, or whatever supports your specific ground. For nonpayment, you need a complete rent ledger showing what is owed.

Step 2: Serve the correct notice. For rent arrears, you serve a Notice to Vacate directly. For an obligation breach, serve a notice stating the complaint; if the tenant fails to comply, notify the RTO. For extensive damage, a health or safety risk, or illegal activity, use Form 3 to request early termination. For personal use or non-residential use, serve a written termination notice citing the statutory ground. For renovations, obtain the RTO's written approval before serving a notice.

Step 3: Wait out the response window. The tenant has seven days to pay rent arrears. A tenant receiving a termination notice under Section 24.12 may apply to an RTO for review within 15 days of receipt; mobile home site terminations have the same 15-day review period under Section 25.6. Renovation approval is under Section 24.13.

Step 4: Apply to the Tribunal if the tenant stays. If the tenant does not vacate after a valid notice expires, file a Landlord Application for Assistance with the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office. The Tribunal assigns a case number, attempts mediation, and if that fails, adjudicates the matter.

Step 5: Enforce through the Sheriff. A Sheriff executes an Eviction Order issued by a Residential Tenancies Officer or a judge. The Sheriff’s fee is $75 to file an order and $75 for each enforcement attempt, plus reasonable disbursements.

What You Cannot Do

Sections 3.1, 14, and 18 of the RTA restrict common self-help tactics. The Act prohibits deliberate interruption of heat, water, or power except in an emergency or when necessary for maintenance or repairs; changing locks during occupancy requires mutual consent or an RTO’s written authorization; and distress for rent is abolished.

The Timeline You Should Expect

The total time from first notice to physical removal depends on the ground, the tenant's response, and the Tribunal's caseload. A straightforward rent-arrears case where the tenant does not cure and does not dispute can move from notice to Eviction Order in roughly four to six weeks. A personal-use termination with a six-month notice period followed by a tenant dispute could take nine months or longer.

The Ending a Tenancy in New Brunswick guide walks through every ground with the exact forms, date-alignment rules, and service logs you need to keep the Tribunal from rejecting your application on a technicality.

The Repeat-Notice Exception for Rent Arrears

For tenancies other than mobile home sites, if you have previously served a Notice to Vacate for nonpayment, Section 19(6) allows a later notice to state that a rent payment made before the termination date will not cancel the notice. The landlord must include that warning in the later notice. For a mobile home site, the Section 25.5 exception allowing a notice to remain effective despite payment requires at least three prior Notices to Vacate, a payment warning in the current notice, and copies of the prior notices with the eviction application.

Getting the process right the first time saves months. The complete guide covers each statutory ground, the prescribed forms, and the date math that keeps your notice legally valid.

See more New Brunswick guides →