Bill 82: Real Property Act (amended)

This bill primarily affects commercial landlords, shopping centre operators, and retail property owners across Nova Scotia who have historically used exclusivity clauses or restrictive covenants to protect anchor tenants — typically large grocery chains or pharmacy chains — from nearby competition on their property or adjacent lands. A mall or plaza owner, for example, who signed a lease giving a major grocery tenant the right to block a competing grocer from moving in nearby would find that clause immediately unenforceable. Existing grocery chains and pharmacy chains that relied on these protections to limit competitors at nearby properties will lose that competitive advantage. New or expanding grocers and pharmacies — including independent operators and smaller chains — will find it easier to set up shop in commercial spaces that were previously off-limits due to these restrictions.