IMPORTANT POLICIES
Smoking
These are SMOKE-FREE PROPERTIES. This includes No Smoking on Balconies and No Smoking within 100 feet of the building. In case it is not intuitively clear, this includes a complete ban on smoking of cigarettes, cigars, pipes, drugs (including cannabis) and any other smoked products via any means, including vaping. Many people have rented apartments in this building on the basis that there is NO SMOKING ALLOWED. Current residents and the Landlord become very concerned when some tenants do not respect this rule.
This is a “zero-tolerance” policy. If we determine that someone is in non-compliance with the building rules, their lease will be terminated without further notice or warning. If we suspect that someone is smoking in non-compliance (even without hard evidence), we will simply not renew your lease at its maturity.
To remove any uncertainty about how this works legally: under the Nova Scotia Residential Tenancies Act, when a Landlord evicts a tenant “for cause”, the Tenant is still fully responsible for the rent on the apartment until it is re-rented; i.e., if you get evicted, you still need to pay the rent until the end of your lease, even though you have been evicted.
Noise and Behaviour
Tenants are expected to be very respectful of the level of noise they create in the building’s common areas, inside and outside the building, in parking lots and driveways, and in their suites at all times. This is to be an extremely quiet building – to the point that tenants should be constantly aware of the amount of noise they and any guests are creating – 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.
This is not a university dorm. Tenants are not permitted to socialize, entertain or loiter in hallways. Hallways are public places – the possession of open liquor in any form is not only not permitted, it is actually illegal. “Inviting the neighbours over” does not absolve you from having to respect these noise levels.
There is no special provision for people to be loud on weekend evenings or “early in the evening” to “blow off a bit of steam” with the rationale that they are not in violation of HRM Noise Bylaws. People in the building work and sleep based on different schedules and lifestyles. The noise level is to be maintained at the same low level 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It is irrelevant that there is a municipal noise bylaw – residents of the building are held to a much stricter standard than a bylaw that was designed to regulate noise in an exterior neighbourhood environment. It was never intended by the municipality or the Landlord that HRM’s Noise Bylaw would govern acceptable noise levels within a multi-unit residential building.
Also note:
- Pre-authorized debit form must be provided before occupancy.
- Copy of homeowner liability insurance must be provided before occupancy is permitted.
- Tenant is responsible for electricity so remember to call NS Power prior to move in.
- Tenants are fully responsible for any actions or damages caused by themselves or their guests.
Tenant Insurance:
Landlords have relatively few legal obligations to compensate tenants for damage to or loss of their tenants’ personal possessions. Tenants, on the other hand, are responsible for harm they may cause to any part of the building in which they live, or to others who live or visit there. A fire ignited by a tenant’s defective toaster could, for example, gut an entire apartment complex. That’s a lot of liability! Tenants can choose from a variety of insurance policies that remove much of the worry from renting.