The security deposits video is also available in the following languages:
Amharic, Arabic, ASL, Azerbaijani, Burmese, Cantonese, Cree, Dene, Ewe, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Karen, Korean, Mandarin, Patois, Pidgin, Polish, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese and Yoruba.
Security deposits worth no more than the equivalent of one calendar month’s rent may be requested at the beginning of a tenancy agreement by a landlord. At the date the tenancy is entered into, a landlord may only require a maximum of 50% of the total security deposit with the remainder being payable within two months of the tenant taking possession of the rental unit.
Security deposits held by a landlord must either be invested in securities authorized by The Trustee Act, 2009 or deposited in a trust account in a bank, trust company, or credit union. Interest will only remain payable to a tenant by a landlord for tenancies over five years, and it will only accrue up to 30 days after the tenancy end date.
Notice of Claim to Tenant Security Deposits
A landlord may NOT require as part of a tenancy agreement that the landlord will automatically keep all or part of the security deposit at the end of the tenancy. A landlord may make a claim to all or part of a tenant’s security deposit within seven business days of the tenancy ending through the ORT’s online portal. The notice of claim must be served on all tenants at the service address(es) they provided.
Tenants may dispute a landlord’s claim to their security deposit through the ORT’s online portal within 60 days of the tenancy end date by filing an application for the return of their security deposit. A $50 filing fee is applicable to all applications submitted.
Please note some audio videos were recorded prior to the change in legislation requiring a $50 application fee for all types of applications submitted. For more information regarding the change, please view: Summary - The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act, 2021.
Security Deposit Hearings
The ORT will send out a notice of hearing to both the landlord and the tenant(s) by email or mail. The landlord will be directed to pay the security deposit amount in dispute into the ORT through the ORT’s online portal and complete a Notice to Tenant of Claim for Security Deposit specifying if their claim remains the same or if it is being updated. This form MUST be emailed to the ORT at ort@gov.sk.ca. The ORT will forward a copy of this form to the tenant.
If a landlord fails to pay the security deposit amount requested by the specified date, the ORT may issue an ex parte order directing the landlord to pay the security deposit directly to the tenant and cancel the hearing.