Episode 192: Location-Specific Tenancy Guidance for Canadian Province Prince Edward Island
Summary
Today’s location-specific episode features Canadian Province Prince Edward Island. We explore the overview of the housing guiding document called Prince Edward Island Residential Tenancy Act. Each of my location-specific podcasts is set up the same way answering the same four questions:
1) What are the basics of the Prince Edward Island Residential Tenancy Act
2) What are the nuances of this location – what is different that stands out?
3) Some guidance about abandoned items left behind by a tenant in a rental in Canadian Province Prince Edward Island
4) Where to get help in your local area in Canadian Province Prince Edward Island.
Then I’ll go through what I call my “Bingo Card” of standard items I see most often in tenancy laws in different locations. This episode is NOT all inclusive – you must research further in your specific area including your County, Regional District, Parish, City or any other Governing Body that involves your rental location, but today’s episode will get you started!
This episode includes resources for Canadian Province Prince Edward Island including:
Statutes and Regulations | Government of Prince Edward Island
Residential Tenancy Act proclaimed | Government of Prince Edward Island
Listen to the full episode :
This Week’s Blog Post:
Welcome to My Life As A Landlord, where we educate curious US and Canadian landlords, answer rental questions, and clear up confusions about all things housing. I'm your host, Doctor Jennifer Salisbury, and today we're exploring the location-specific tenancy guidelines for Canadian province Prince Edward Island.
The Four Main Questions We Always Answer
Each of my location specific podcast is set up in the exact same way, answering the same four questions. The first one we answer is what are the basics of the Residential Tenancy Act of P.E.I. in this case? The second thing is what are the nuances? What's different? What stands out? The third thing, some guidance about abandoned items left behind by a tenant in P.E.I. and the fourth thing where to get help in the local area of P.E.I.. Like where do you even start if you just start lost, what do you do? At the very end of the episode, I'll go through what I call my bingo card, which is the list of my most standard items that I see when I do these location specific episodes. I have to at least give my disclaimer. My big asterisk here is that there are more guiding documents. There may be more things that apply to you and your rentals that are in P.E.I., so you've got to do your own research. This will get you started. But this is not the end all be all. Because while this may be perfect and it may be great and exactly right at the time of recording, ten minutes later, it could change.
Key Requirements and Unique P.E.I. Provisions
The P.E.I. Residential Tenancy Act is 66 pages long and actually not too legalese. One thing that really caught my attention is that the act applies to tenancy agreement with a minor. I've never seen this called out before. I personally have rent to plenty of people who are not 18 yet, which is amazing to me that they are mature enough to actually do this. Another unique requirement is that the landlord shall prepare a written tenancy agreement with respect to tenancy. You've got to have it in writing. This is interesting because there's some places that say it's okay to have an oral agreement, basically a handshake agreement, but that never works out because it always ends up being a he said, she said. The formal requirements for the landlord include the amount of rent that was charged and the services and facilities that were provided to the previous tenant of the rental unit, unless there was no previous rental unit. You've got to disclose what the previous tenant paid. I've just never seen that before.
Security Deposits and Trust Account Requirements
A landlord shall not charge a person of fee for accepting an application for a tenancy, processing the application, investigating the applicant's sustainability or suitability as a tenant or accepting the person as a tenant. Basically they don't want the tenant paying any money at all, which I'll be honest, that is pretty standard across Canada. The landlord may require a security deposit. The security deposit is not an asset of the landlord, but is held by the landlord in trust and shall be used, retained or dispersed only as provided in the act. Within two banking days of receipt of a security deposit, the landlord shall deposit it in an interest bearing account located in the province at a financial institution authorized to accept deposits. And this is even crazier. Where a landlord has three or more rental units, meaning it's basically a business, the interest bearing account shall be a trust account used exclusively for security deposits. Within 15 days after the tenancy ends or is assigned, the landlord shall either issue payment or make an application to the director claiming against the security deposit.
Rent Increases and How They Work in P.E.I.
This is really interesting because the whole notion that a rent amount goes with the unit, not the tenant, is so different for me. The obligations of a landlord under this part run with the rental unit and not the tenants. So if you increase the rent, you increase the rent of the unit, not on the tenant. Landlord shall not impose a rent increase for at least 12 months after whichever the following applies. Basically, the first time that they've ever rented or once a year. They can't do it closer than once a year. Where a landlord increases the amount of rent payable, the landlord shall give tenant written notice of the increase, which is at least three weeks before the effective date of the increase, where the rental unit is rented from week to week, or at least three months if you're renting month to month. The allowable annual rent increase cannot exceed 3%. The director of residential tenancy has set the annual allowable rent increase effective January 1st, 2026, at 2% on all rental units, heated or unheated, including mobile home sites. The Residential Tenancy Act caps rent increases across the board at 3% completely, but for 2026 you can only increase it 2%.
Abandonment, Evictions, and Getting Help
Where the tenant has abandoned the rental unit, the landlord may enter and take possession of the rental unit, meaning you can change locks. A tenant is considered to have abandoned the rental unit only where a tenant has vacated the rental unit, the tenancy agreement is not terminated in accordance with the act or the tenancy agreement, and the rent is overdue. When a tenant abandons or vacates a rental unit and leaves personal property on the residential property in the unit, the landlord shall either remove said personal property and immediately place it in safe storage, or store the personal property on the residential property in a safe manner. The landlord has to store it for one month and then make reasonable communication to try to get the tenant to let them know that you have their stuff. For evictions, landlord may end tenancy if rent is unpaid after the day it was due by giving notice and termination effective on the day that is not earlier than 20 days after the tenant receives the notice. The tenant has ten days to pay or 20 days to get out.
Any of the hyperlinks that I have in the show notes, every single one of them at the very bottom will have phone numbers, emails, all kinds of contact information to get you where you need to go, get you started. Real estate takes you places. Where do you want real estate to take you?