How to Serve a Rent Increase Notice in Newfoundland and Labrador

You have filled out Form RT-2018-00050 and calculated your dates. Now you need to actually get it to your tenant — and the delivery method you choose changes when your six-month notice clock starts ticking.

Permitted Delivery Methods

Section 35(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 lists the permitted methods to serve a rent increase notice. Using a phone call, verbal conversation, or a third-party app that the tenant did not provide as an electronic address for receiving documents risks invalidating the service.

1. Personal hand delivery. Hand the form directly to the tenant. Deemed received the same day.

2. Delivery to a co-occupant. Hand it to a person aged 16 or older who apparently lives with the tenant. Same-day deemed receipt.

3. Conspicuous posting. Post the notice in a visible location on the tenant's premises — taped to the front door, for example. Same-day deemed receipt.

4. Mailbox or under the door. Place the form in the tenant's mailbox or slide it under their door. Same-day deemed receipt.

5. Registered mail, express post, or courier. Send by prepaid registered mail or express post, or use a courier, at an address the tenant provided or where the tenant carries on business. Registered mail and express post are deemed served on the fifth day after mailing. Section 35 does not assign that fifth-day rule to courier service.

6. Electronic delivery. Send the notice electronically, but three conditions must all be met: it must be in the same or substantially the same form as the written notice, the tenant must have provided an electronic address for receiving documents, and you must send it to that address. A notice sent before 4:00 PM is deemed received the same day. A notice sent after 4:00 PM is deemed received the next day that is not a weekend or statutory holiday.

Why the Delivery Method Matters So Much

The difference between personal delivery and registered mail is five calendar days. That gap can push your effective date into the next month.

Consider this: you mail a notice by registered post on January 26. Deemed receipt is January 31. Six full months from January 31 gives you a July 31 deadline — and since the effective date must be the first of a rental period, the increase takes effect August 1.

Now imagine you mailed it on January 27 instead. Deemed receipt: February 1. Six months from February 1 is August 1 — but that is already the first of the next period, so you might still make it. However, if your tenant's rental period starts on a different day, the math shifts again.

Personal delivery removes this uncertainty entirely. You hand over the form, the clock starts immediately, and you know exactly where you stand.

Proof of Service

Whichever method you use, keep proof. For hand delivery, have the tenant sign a copy or bring a witness. For registered mail, keep the tracking receipt and delivery confirmation. For email, save the sent message and any read receipt.

In a dispute hearing, the burden is on the landlord to prove the notice was served. An uncorroborated statement that you "dropped it off" is unlikely to hold up against a tenant who says they never received it.

Email: Convenient but Conditional

Email is the most convenient option, but it has the tightest conditions. The tenant must have provided an electronic address for receiving tenancy documents — not just any email you happen to have. And the notice itself must be in substantially the same format as the printed form, not a casual message saying "rent is going up."

The safest approach is to attach the completed Form RT-2018-00050 as a PDF to a straightforward email sent to the address the tenant designated for receiving documents.

For a complete service method comparison table with worked date calculations, see our NL Rent Increase Guide.

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