Bill 64: Rental Fairness and Affordability Act

This bill directly affects residential landlords in Nova Scotia — whether they own a single rental unit, a small apartment building, or a large multi-unit complex. Day-to-day, landlords will need to track their lawful rent carefully, give tenants at least 90 days' written notice before any rent increase, and ensure they never charge above the CPI-based annual guideline without Director approval. Landlords who want to recover costs from major capital upgrades, rising utility bills, or increased municipal taxes will need to apply to the Director at least 90 days before the intended increase and provide detailed documentation. The vacancy decontrol provision — which under the old regime allowed landlords to reset rents between tenancies — is gone, meaning the rent charged to a previous tenant becomes the ceiling for the next tenant.