Can a landlord lock out a tenant or keep their belongings for unpaid rent?
Short answer
No. In Newfoundland and Labrador a landlord may not take a tenant's belongings for unpaid rent (s.33) or change the locks without the tenant's consent. Removing a tenant takes a Director's order, enforced by the sheriff.
No. A landlord shall not take a tenant's personal property to compensate for a contravention of an obligation by the tenant, including a failure to pay rent (s.33). Changing the locks while the tenant lives there requires mutual consent (Statutory Condition 6), and disconnecting heat, water or electric power requires the tenant's written consent (Statutory Condition 8). The lawful route is a notice for unpaid rent under section 19 and, if the tenant neither pays nor leaves, an application to the director. The director can order the tenant to pay what is owed and to vacate (s.47(1)(b), (e)); a certified order to vacate is sent to the sheriff for enforcement (s.47(5)), and a certified order for money can be enforced in the same manner as a court judgment (s.47(3)–(4)). Taking property in breach of the Act can lead to an order to return it or pay its value (s.47(1)(f)), and contravening the Act is an offence (s.51).
- Where this comes from
- Section 33; Section 10, Statutory Conditions 6 and 8; Section 47, Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 (Newfoundland and Labrador)
- Last reviewed