Manitoba Landlord Selling House: Tenant Notice Rules

Selling a Rental Does Not Automatically End the Tenancy

Listing or selling your Manitoba rental property does not give you an automatic right to remove the tenant. Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), the tenancy survives a sale. The new owner inherits the existing tenancy agreement, including its terms and notice obligations.

You can only serve notice to end the tenancy if the purchaser, their spouse, a parent of either, or an adult child of either intends in good faith to occupy the unit — and the sale conditions have been met.

The Three Preconditions for a Sale Notice

Before you can serve Form 11A on behalf of a purchaser, three things must be true:

1. The sale agreement's conditions precedent are satisfied — the deal must be unconditional (financing approved, inspections complete)
2. The purchaser or a qualifying family member intends to occupy the unit in good faith — buying for investment or re-rental does not qualify
3. The purchaser submits a written request asking you to serve notice on their behalf

If any of these is missing, the notice is invalid and the RTB will dismiss a subsequent application for an Order of Possession.

Notice Periods for Sale

The regulation sets specific notice periods for purchaser occupancy tied to the local CMHC vacancy rate:

• Vacancy rate 3% or higher: One month for periodic tenancies
• Vacancy rate below 3%: Three months for periodic tenancies
• Fixed-term tenancies: Three months, but the notice cannot take effect before the end of the fixed term

For a fixed-term tenancy, the notice cannot take effect before the end date in the agreement.

School-Age Child Protection

Under sections 98 and 99 of the RTA, if notice is given during the school year (September 1 to June 30) to a tenant who lives with a child attending a school reasonably accessible to the rental unit, the landlord cannot require the tenant to move out before June 30. The school-year floor applies on top of the vacancy-rate notice period — whichever date is later controls.

Moving Expense Compensation

When a tenancy ends under a sale-related Form 11A, the landlord must reimburse the tenant's actual, reasonable moving expenses up to a statutory cap of $500 (Residential Tenancies Regulation, section 17). Covered expenses include truck hire, utility connection and disconnection fees, service transfers, and mail forwarding.

The RTB generally expects receipts to support the claim, though it may accept estimates. If you refuse to pay, the tenant can apply to the RTB for an order compelling payment.

What You Cannot Do

You cannot serve notice simply because you want to sell the property vacant — the purchaser must intend to live there. You cannot issue a generic letter demanding the tenant leave. And you cannot use an informal agreement or an out-of-province form. Manitoba requires the prescribed Form 11A.

If the intended occupant does not move into the unit within a reasonable time or does not remain for at least 12 months, a tenant who moved out after receiving the notice can apply to the RTB for reasonable additional expenses.

Selling a Condo with a Tenant

The same rules apply whether you are selling a house, a condo unit, or any other residential rental. The form, notice periods, and preconditions do not change based on the type of property. The purchaser must still intend to personally occupy the unit.

The Ending a Tenancy in Manitoba guide includes a pre-service audit checklist that walks through the sale preconditions, notice period calculation, and compensation duties before you fill out Form 11A.

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