What must be included in a written rental agreement?
Short Answer
In NL a written rental agreement must reproduce the Act's statutory conditions without change (s.10(2)), and the tenant must get a signed copy within 10 days; until then rent is suspended, though not forgiven (s.7(4)–(5)).
An agreement should cover the names of the landlord and tenant, the address, the rent and when it is due, the term, any security deposit, and anything else agreed. The one content rule the Act sets is that a written agreement must reproduce the statutory conditions in section 10(1) without variation or modification (s.10(2)).
The rest of what the Act requires is about handing it over: at the start of the tenancy the landlord gives the tenant a copy of the Act and regulations, plus written notice of the landlord's name, phone number and address for service. Where the agreement is written, the tenant gets a signed copy within 10 days.
For an oral or implied agreement, the landlord instead gives a written notice with the prescribed information within 10 days. Miss either and it bites. Under section 7(4) the tenant's obligation to pay rent is suspended until the landlord provides it (the withheld rent is then payable, s.7(5)).
- Section 7(1)–(5), (7); Section 10(2), Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 (Newfoundland and Labrador)