Evicting a Tenant for Non-Payment of Rent in PEI: The 20-Day Notice Process

The Non-Payment Ground

Section 60 of the Residential Tenancy Act lets you serve notice when rent hasn't been paid on the due date. It's the most common termination ground, and it's also the one with the most moving parts — including a cure right that lets the tenant kill the notice by paying up.

Serving Form 4A

Complete Form 4A (Eviction Notice — Tenant Has 10 Days to Dispute), checking the non-payment-of-rent ground. Attach or reference an itemized rent ledger showing exactly what's owed: which months, how much, any partial payments received. Vague descriptions — "the tenant owes several months of rent" — can get your application dismissed at a hearing.

The statutory minimum is 20 days from the date the tenant receives the notice. Unlike the cause or no-fault grounds, the non-payment notice period doesn't need to align with the day before rent is due — it's a straight 20-day countdown from receipt.

The 10-Day Cure Right

This is the part many PEI landlords don't expect. Under Section 60, the tenant can void the notice by paying the overdue rent within 10 days of receiving Form 4A. If they pay within that window, the notice has no effect.

You cannot refuse the payment or insist on proceeding. The cure right is statutory.

Counting the Days with Mailed Service

If you mail Form 4A, deemed receipt is 3 days after posting. Here's a concrete example:

• Rent due: October 1 (unpaid on October 2)
• You mail Form 4A: October 2
• Deemed receipt: October 5
• Deadline to cure: October 15 (10 days after receipt)
• Earliest effective vacate date: October 25 (20 days from October 5)

If the tenant pays all arrears by October 15, the notice dies. If they don't pay and don't file Form 2A to dispute, you proceed to enforcement.

If the Tenant Pays Late but Before the Hearing

What if the tenant pays after the 10-day cure window but before your Form 2B hearing? The cure right has expired, so the notice technically survives. But at the hearing, the Rental Officer has discretion to consider the circumstances. Late payment doesn't guarantee the eviction proceeds — it depends on the full picture. An itemized, up-to-date rent ledger strengthens your position.

When the Tenant Doesn't Pay or Dispute

If the 20 days expire and the tenant hasn't paid, disputed, or vacated:

1. File Form 2B with the Rental Office
2. Serve the tenant a copy within 5 days
3. Attend the teleconference hearing with your rent ledger, lease, and proof of service
4. If the Director grants an Order of Possession, wait for the appeal window (7 days for non-payment evictions — a shorter window than the standard 20 days)
5. After the appeal period expires, the possession order may be sent directly to Sheriff Services for enforcement. Filing the order in court is another route, not a prerequisite; the court fee schedule lists $50 to file an administrative tribunal order without a minute of judgment. The Sheriff fee schedule lists $125 plus mileage, with an additional hourly rate of $50 per sheriff.

Repeated Non-Payment

If you're dealing with a tenant who pays just before the cure deadline every time, repeated late payment is a separate ground under the Act (served on Form 4A with a 1-month notice period, not the 20-day non-payment window). The evidence standard is higher — you'll need a documented pattern across multiple months.

The Ending a Tenancy in PEI guide includes a deemed-service worksheet for calculating your exact timeline and a document log for tracking rent payments, notices, and hearing evidence.

See more Prince Edward Island guides →