Bill 178: Safe and Clean Apartments Act

This bill directly affects residential landlords in Nova Scotia — whether they own a single rental unit or manage a larger apartment building. Day-to-day property management tasks like pest control, maintaining locks, fixing mould, keeping common areas clean, and ensuring tenants have running water and electricity will need to meet formally defined government standards. Landlords will also face regulated deadlines for addressing maintenance deficiencies, meaning informal or slow responses to tenant complaints could become a compliance issue. Smaller landlords operating a single property or a small portfolio without dedicated staff may feel the administrative burden most, particularly around documentation and turnaround timelines.