Landlord Moving Back In: Saskatchewan Owner Occupancy Notice
You own the property, you want to live in it, and there is a tenant in the way. Saskatchewan law gives you a path to reclaim the unit — but it is narrower than most landlords expect, and the good-faith requirement has real teeth.
The Requirements
Owner occupancy under Section 60(4) or (5) of The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 requires three things:
- Periodic tenancy only. You cannot use this ground to end a fixed-term lease early. If the tenant has a signed lease running through August, you wait until August and use the Form 15 non-renewal process instead.
- Minimum 50% ownership interest. You or your family corporation must hold at least a one-half interest in the property.
- Good-faith intention to occupy. You, a qualifying close family member or friend, or a qualifying family-corporation shareholder or their close family member or friend must genuinely intend to live in the unit.
If all three conditions are met, you serve Form 8b (Notice to Vacate so Owner can Occupy) with two full calendar months' notice.
Getting the Date Right
The termination date must align with the tenant's rental period. For a monthly tenancy where rent is due on the 1st:
- Notice received or deemed received on or before March 31 → tenancy ends May 31
- Notice received or deemed received on April 1 → too late for the March boundary, tenancy ends June 30
The notice must clearly state who intends to occupy the unit and the intended move-in timeline. Vague statements like "the landlord may need the unit" are insufficient.
The Tenant's Options
After receiving the notice, the tenant can:
- Vacate by the stated date — straightforward
- File a Dispute Notice within 15 days — triggers an ORT hearing where you must prove good faith
- Leave early with 10 days' notice — under Section 61, the tenant gives at least 10 days' written notice and pays the prorated rent through the effective date when giving notice; if rent was prepaid, you must refund any amount for a later period
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What Good Faith Actually Means
This is where owner-occupancy notices go wrong. The ORT takes good faith seriously, and the evidence you may need to present at a hearing includes:
- Title documentation showing your ownership interest
- An affidavit or statement from the intended occupant
- Evidence of genuine plans (utility transfers, moving arrangements, change of address filings)
Good faith is judged by what actually happens after the tenant leaves. If you serve a Section 60 notice claiming personal occupancy and then re-list the property at a higher rent, the former tenant has a clear path to compensation.
Bad Faith Consequences Under Section 62
A tenant may apply for compensation under Section 62 for losses resulting from either of these circumstances: no steps are taken to accomplish the stated purpose within a reasonable period after the notice takes effect, or the unit is not used for that purpose for at least six months beginning within a reasonable period after the notice takes effect. The tribunal can order the landlord to pay:
- Reasonable moving expenses incurred by the tenant
- Temporary lodging costs above what the tenant was paying
- Rental price differential if the tenant's new accommodation costs more
These awards can be substantial, and the landlord has the burden of proving they acted in good faith. Simply changing your mind after the tenant leaves is not necessarily bad faith, but failing to take any steps toward occupancy within a reasonable time is strong evidence of it.
A Common Trap: The Fixed-Term Lease
Forum posts from Saskatchewan tenants regularly describe landlords attempting to serve owner-occupancy notices during active fixed-term leases. Section 60 applies only to periodic tenancies, so it does not authorize ending a fixed-term lease early for owner occupancy. A landlord may pursue other statutory grounds or apply to the ORT for possession in circumstances listed in Section 67. For planned re-occupancy, serve Form 15 with a no-renewal notice at least two months before the lease expires. If the parties enter a new periodic tenancy instead, owner occupancy requires Form 8b and the Section 60 conditions; otherwise, the fixed-term tenancy ends on its stated date. You may also negotiate a mutual termination agreement.
The Saskatchewan Ending a Tenancy guide covers the complete owner-occupancy workflow with the evidence checklist, a date calculator, and the Section 62 compensation framework.
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