New Brunswick renting guide

Renting as a student in New Brunswick

If you rent off-campus, you are a tenant with the same rights as anyone else. On-campus residences run by the school are a different story, they are usually outside the Act.

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What do students need to know about renting in New Brunswick?

For tenants

Renting an off-campus apartment, house, or room makes you a full tenant under the Residential Tenancies Act, your student status changes nothing. A university or college residence is different, that is generally outside the Act and runs by the school's own residence rules, so check your residence contract. If you are on a school-year fixed-term lease, it simply ends on its end date with no notice needed, and if you stay on it becomes month-to-month. Leaving early usually means you owe the rest of the term, so the cleaner option for the summer is to assign your lease, which your landlord cannot unreasonably refuse.

For landlords

A student renting from you off-campus is a tenant like any other, with full protection under the Act. A school-year fixed-term lease ends on its date, and if the student stays it becomes month-to-month. If a student asks to assign the lease for the summer, you cannot unreasonably refuse, though you can vet the replacement.

The key facts

Off-campus student: Fully covered by the Act
On-campus residence: Usually outside the Act
School-year lease: Ends on its date, no notice
Summer: Assign the lease (consent not unreasonable)

Common questions

I am a student renting an apartment. Do I have the same rights as other tenants?

Yes. If you rent off-campus, you are a tenant with the full protection of the Residential Tenancies Act, your student status makes no difference. A university residence is the exception, since it is usually outside the Act and follows the school's own rules.

I am going home for the summer. Can I sublet my place and come back?

Usually yes, by assigning your lease, and your landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. Check your lease, since it can require their consent. Leaving the lease entirely before it ends can leave you owing the rest of the term, so assigning is the cleaner route.