T
he Nova Scotia government has no plans to regulate fixed-term leases, a type of lease that some critics call a loophole in the province's rent cap legislation. However, real estate listings are advertising these leases as a financial benefit for potential buyers. A CBC News search of multi-unit residential buildings for sale in Halifax found at least 11 listings mentioning tenants on fixed-term leases.

    Some listings boasted about double-digit returns and increasing rents, while others mentioned leases ending soon and touted the money-making potential for investors. Tim Allenby, chair of the Dartmouth chapter of tenant group ACORN, said this marketing tactic is not surprising given the incentives in the current system.

    According to Nova Scotia's Residential Tenancies Act, fixed-term leases are entered into for a set period with a specific end date, allowing landlords to decide whether or not to offer an existing tenant a new lease. Critics argue that fixed-term leases allow landlords to force tenants out and increase prices more than five per cent for new renters.

    The Nova Scotia Association of Realtors declined to comment on why this type of lease is attractive for property buyers, but Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia defended the use of fixed-term leases as a way to mitigate risk when renting to tenants with poor credit or no landlord references. Kevin Russell, executive director of Rental Housing Providers Nova Scotia, said that 86.1 per cent of landlords who responded to a survey used fixed-term leases for risk management and other reasons.

    The province has been criticized for not taking action to prevent the abuse of fixed-term leases, despite acknowledging that some landlords are using them in this way. Tenant group ACORN is calling for the government to conduct its own research on the prevalence of fixed-term leases and to take steps to address the issue.