Tenant Rights in Saskatchewan: A 2026 Renter's Guide

Renting a home in Saskatchewan comes with a specific set of rights and responsibilities set out in provincial law, separate from the rules that apply in Alberta, Manitoba, or any other province. This guide covers the essentials for tenants in Saskatchewan: how rent increases work, how security deposits are handled, what has to happen before an eviction, when a landlord can enter a rental unit, and where a dispute goes if a landlord and tenant cannot resolve it themselves.

Saskatchewan's tenancy rules apply to most residential rentals, but some living arrangements fall outside the jurisdiction of the Office of Residential Tenancies. Short-term stays in hotels, motels, and similar accommodations under six months, crisis shelters, personal care homes, and rentals of farmland being farmed by the renter are among the exceptions. If it is unclear whether a tenancy is covered, the ORT can confirm.

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and the Office of Residential Tenancies

Residential tenancies in Saskatchewan are governed by The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, SS 2006, c R-22.0001, along with The Residential Tenancies Regulations, 2007. Together they balance a tenant's need for safe, secure, and habitable housing with a landlord's need to run a viable rental business.

The Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT) is an agency independent of government that provides information about landlord and tenant rights and, when the two sides cannot resolve a disagreement, adjudicates the dispute. The ORT is impartial and has jurisdiction over most residential tenancies in the province, adjudicating matters up to $30,000.

A few arrangements fall outside the ORT's jurisdiction, including short hotel-type stays under six months, crisis shelters, personal care homes, farmland being farmed by the renter, housing provided by the YMCA, YWCA, or Salvation Army, and tenancies for life or over 20 years. Commercial tenancies are covered by a separate statute, The Landlord and Tenant Act, not the residential rules described here.

Neither side can lawfully remove the other from a rental unit without going through the proper process. If anyone other than a sheriff enforcing a Writ of Possession tries to remove a tenant, the tenant should call the police.

Rent Increases in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan places no limit on the dollar amount or percentage by which a landlord can raise the rent. What the rent increase rules control is timing, notice, and frequency, not the size of the increase.

For a periodic tenancy (month-to-month or similar), most landlords must serve a 12-month Notice of Rent Increase. The increase cannot take effect within the first 18 months of the tenancy, and rent can only be raised once every 12 months after that. Landlords who belong in good standing to a prescribed landlord association, currently the Network of Non-Profit Housing Providers of Saskatchewan Incorporated or the Saskatchewan Landlord Association Inc., can instead use a shorter six-month notice, which cannot take effect within the first 12 months of the tenancy and can then repeat every six months.

For a fixed-term tenancy, rent can rise by the amount stated in the written agreement, or through a Term Lease Two Month Notice of Intention form served at least two months before the tenancy end date. A tenant who receives this form has 30 days to accept the new terms in writing or to vacate by the end date. Housing program tenancies, where rent is tied to a tenant's income, can also increase as that income rises.

A verbal rent increase, or one given with too little notice, does not take effect, and the previous rent continues to apply until a valid notice has run its course.

Security Deposits in Saskatchewan

A landlord in Saskatchewan can ask for a security deposit worth no more than one calendar month's rent. At the start of the tenancy, the landlord can collect no more than 50 per cent of the total deposit, with the balance due within two months of the tenant taking possession.

The deposit must go into a trust account at a bank, trust company, or credit union, or be invested in securities authorized under The Trustee Act, 2009. Interest is only payable to the tenant on tenancies that last more than five years, and it stops accruing 30 days after the tenancy ends, so most tenants, whose tenancies run shorter than five years, receive no interest on their deposit.

A landlord cannot write a term into the agreement that lets them automatically keep the deposit at the end of the tenancy. To claim any part of it, the landlord must file a notice of claim through the ORT's online portal within seven business days of the tenancy ending, and serve it on the tenant. A tenant who disagrees can dispute the claim through the same portal within 60 days of the tenancy end date, though a $50 filing fee applies, as it does to every ORT application. If a landlord fails to pay a disputed deposit amount into the ORT by the hearing date, the ORT can order the landlord to pay the tenant directly and cancel the hearing.

Landlord Entry and Privacy

A rental unit stays private even though someone else owns it. Outside a few specific situations, a landlord who wants to enter a Saskatchewan rental unit must give written notice of at least 24 hours and no more than seven days, stating the purpose and the date and time, and can only enter during a single window of up to four hours between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

This general rule does not apply if the tenant gives permission in the moment, the unit appears abandoned, or a genuine emergency threatens life or property.

Shorter notice applies once a tenancy is winding down. If a tenant has given notice to end the tenancy, or a fixed-term tenancy ends within two months, the landlord needs only two hours' notice to show the unit to a prospective tenant, given by phone, email, or posted on the door if no contact information was provided. Showing the unit to a prospective purchaser still needs the standard 24 hours. In both cases, entry runs 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and a landlord cannot enter on a Sunday or a tenant's day of religious worship unless the tenant agrees otherwise.

Ending a Tenancy and Eviction in Saskatchewan

A fixed-term tenancy simply ends on the date written in the agreement, with no notice needed from either side. If a landlord wants to address renewal, they must serve a Term Lease Two Month Notice of Intention at least two months before the end date, and the tenant then has one month to respond in writing.

A tenant ending a periodic tenancy gives notice the day before rent is due, and the tenancy ends the day before rent is next due, roughly one month's notice. A tenant can give shorter notice to vacate early for cause if the landlord significantly breached the tenant's rights and did not fix the problem within a reasonable time, and a tenant certified by Victims Services within the Ministry of Justice as a victim of interpersonal or sexual violence can end a fixed-term tenancy early with 28 days' notice.

On the landlord's side, the timeline depends on the reason. Once a tenant is 15 or more days behind on rent, a landlord can serve an Immediate Notice to Vacate and Notice of Arrears, which takes effect right away with no minimum notice period. Utility arrears carry a 15-day notice instead. Most other grounds, such as a serious breach, damage, or disturbance, need at least one month's notice, and a landlord who wants the unit back for their own or a purchaser's occupancy, or for a specified use such as major renovation, faces notice periods of one to two months depending on the ground. In genuinely serious circumstances, a landlord can apply directly to the ORT for possession without serving notice first, but must bring significant evidence.

If a tenant does not move out once a valid notice has passed, the landlord cannot remove the tenant directly. The landlord must apply to the ORT for an order for possession. That decision can be appealed to the Court of King's Bench, and once an order becomes final, only a sheriff acting on a Writ of Possession can lawfully remove a tenant who still refuses to leave.

Resolving a Dispute Through the ORT

Most Saskatchewan landlord-tenant disputes, including unpaid rent, disputed entry, security deposit disagreements, and eviction, go through the ORT rather than the regular courts. Landlords and tenants create notices, file applications, and submit evidence through the ORT's online portal, which requires a Saskatchewan Account to access, and a $50 filing fee applies to applications submitted.

A hearing officer decides applications after reviewing the evidence, and either party can appeal to the Court of King's Bench. If an order includes possession of the unit, enforcement falls to a sheriff acting on a Writ of Possession, not the landlord directly. Complaints about how the ORT itself handled a matter go to Ombudsman Saskatchewan, and organizations such as Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan offer free legal advice to tenants and landlords who qualify.

For an overview of tenant protections across the country, see the guide to Canada tenant rights, or browse Canadian law by province for other topics.

Frequently asked questions

Disclaimer

This page is general information about tenant rights in Saskatchewan under The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, SS 2006, c R-22.0001, verified against saskatchewan.ca and the Office of Residential Tenancies as of 19 July 2026. It is not legal advice. Rules can change, and specific situations, such as housing programs, tenancies over 20 years, or a unit outside the ORT's jurisdiction, may be handled differently. For advice about a specific tenancy, contact the Office of Residential Tenancies, Pro Bono Law Saskatchewan, or a lawyer or tenant advocacy organization in Saskatchewan.