New report confirms renters living in fear as Houston ignores fixed-term lease issues

HALIFAX –A new report from Dalhousie Legal Aid shows how the Houston government’s failure to act is leaving renters across Nova Scotia vulnerable and afraid of losing their homes.

Nearly half of renters surveyed said they avoided raising concerns with their landlord out of fear of losing their home.

The report also revealed that 55 per cent of those whose lease started in 2025 were on fixed-term leases. That number is on the rise as Tim Houston continues allowing landlords to sidestep the rent cap using fixed-term leases.

“This report confirms what we’ve been hearing from renters for years: people are scared. Our current system gives landlords a financial incentive to evict. With a new Minister of Housing finally in place, there’s no excuse for further delay – renters need real rent control today,” said Official Opposition Leader Claudia Chender. “Renters are afraid to ask for repairs or speak up, because they know they could lose their home if they do. Fixed-term leases are being abused, and this government has ignored this problem for too long.”

The report also found that access to justice is stacked against renters. Most cases before the residential tenancies program are landlord eviction requests, and more than half of landlords in small claims court had a lawyer compared to just six per cent of renters.

Despite calls from renters, landlords, and the NDP, the Houston government refuses to establish a residential tenancies enforcement unit, even after their own report recommended it.

“Renters living in mouldy rooms with leaky ceilings are stuck waiting in the backlogged residential tenancies program while Tim Houston is making it faster and easier for them to be evicted,” said Official Opposition Housing Critic Suzy Hansen. “People deserve security and stability in their homes – not to live in fear of being forced out.”

During the fall sitting of the legislature, New Democrats proposed a plan for real rent control that would tie increases to the unit and cap rent increases at the rate of inflation. It would also create a Residential Tenancies Enforcement Unit to ensure fairness for renters.

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