What an Alberta residential tenancy agreement is for
Alberta leaves the lease to the landlord. There is no government form to fill in, so every landlord, from someone renting out a basement suite to a company with a few hundred units, writes or buys their own. The Residential Tenancies Act then sits underneath it: a term that takes away a tenant's statutory right is void, and the Act's rules about deposits, inspections, entry, rent increases and notices apply regardless of the lease. A good Alberta lease therefore does two jobs. It records the practical deal (rent, utilities, parking, pets, snow clearing) and it follows the Act closely enough that it will hold up at the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service.
This agreement does both. It covers the parties, premises, type of tenancy, rent and increases, the security deposit in full, the joint inspection, use and occupancy, pets, smoking and cannabis, repairs and seasonal duties, insurance, entry, notices, ending the tenancy, breaches and moving out. Four schedules follow: a rent and deposit record, a combined move-in and move-out inspection report, a rent increase notice and an end-of-tenancy deposit statement.
When to use it
Use it to rent out a house, apartment, townhouse, condo unit, secondary suite or room anywhere in Alberta, whether as a one-year fixed term or a month-to-month tenancy. It is also useful when a fixed term ends and the landlord and tenant want a new agreement at a new rent, provided 365 days have passed since the last increase.
Don't use it for a mobile home site, a room in your own home where you share the kitchen or bathroom with the tenant (generally outside the Act), a hotel or short-term rental of less than a month's stay, or subsidized housing with its own rules. Commercial and farm premises need a different lease; our Alberta Farmland Lease covers the agricultural case.
What's inside
The full list of sections and fields in this template, in the order they appear.
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Parties and premises
- Landlord and address for service
- Agent
- Tenants and occupants
- Premises and type
- Parking storage and appliances
- Keys
- Secondary suite permit
-
Tenancy and rent
- Fixed term monthly or weekly
- Rent and due date
- Payment method
- Utilities
- Optional late fee
- Rent increase rules
-
Security deposit
- One-month maximum including pet deposit
- Trust account in 2 banking days
- Annual interest
- Return in 10 days
- Permitted deductions
-
Moving in and use
- Condition at start
- Joint inspection
- Occupants and guests
- Business and short-term rental use
- Tenant's statutory duties
-
Pets, smoking and cannabis
- Pet options and fee
- Service dogs
- Smoking and vaping
- Growing cannabis
-
Repairs, insurance and entry
- Landlord repairs and housing standards
- Tenant maintenance
- Snow and yard
- Winter heating
- Alterations
- Tenant insurance
- 24-hour entry notice
-
Notices and ending the tenancy
- Service and electronic consent
- Fixed-term end
- Tenant notice
- Landlord's reasons and notice
- Family violence termination
- Notice content
-
Breaches and moving out
- 14-day notice
- 24-hour notice
- Landlord breach remedies
- Abandoned property
- Assignment and subletting
- Move-out duties
-
Additional terms and signatures
- Additional terms
- RTA prevails
- Joint responsibility
- Copy in 21 days
-
Schedules A to D
- Rent and deposit record
- Move-in and move-out inspection report
- Notice of rent increase
- Statement of security deposit
-
Landlord's Checklist
- 10 checks before handing over the keys
Preview pages
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Page 1 -
Page 2 -
Page 3
How to complete the agreement
- Name the parties. Give the landlord's (or agent's) Alberta address for service and every adult tenant's name; list other occupants separately.
- Describe the premises. Include parking, storage, appliances and keys, and confirm the permit status of a secondary suite.
- Choose the type of tenancy. Fixed term with an end date, or monthly or weekly periodic.
- Set the rent. Enter the amount, due date, payment method and who pays which utilities; decide whether to include a modest late fee.
- Record the deposit. No more than one month's rent including any pet deposit, placed in a trust account within two banking days.
- Choose the pet, smoking and cannabis terms. Tick one option in each section.
- Assign seasonal duties. Snow clearing, lawn and yard, with your municipality's bylaw deadline in mind.
- Sign and inspect. Both parties sign, inspect together within a week of move-in, and sign Schedule B.
- Give the tenant a copy. A copy signed by both of you, within 21 days.
Example: a Calgary basement suite
A fictional landlord, Harpreet Gill, rents the permitted basement suite of her house in Calgary's Bridgeland to Owen Tremblay on a monthly periodic tenancy from March 1, 2026.
Rent: $1,650 a month including heat and water; Owen pays his share of electricity at 35%. Security deposit: $1,650 (one month's rent), placed in a trust account on February 16, 2026. Interest rate for 2026: 0%. Pets: one cat; no pet deposit, because the deposit is already at the one-month limit. Snow: Harpreet clears the front walk; Owen clears the side path to his entrance, within Calgary's 24-hour bylaw deadline. Rent increase: the earliest it can take effect is March 1, 2027, with written notice served by November 30, 2026.
When Owen gives notice on August 15, 2027, his tenancy ends September 30, 2027, because his notice must cover a full tenancy month.
Alberta rules to know
- Rent increases (section 14). Once every 365 days; 3 full tenancy months' notice for monthly tenancies; no cap on the amount.
- Security deposits (sections 43 to 46). One month's rent maximum, trust account within two banking days, annual interest at the regulated rate (0% for 2026), return or statement within 10 days.
- Inspection reports (section 19). Required at move-in and move-out; without them, no damage deductions.
- Entry (section 23). 24 hours' written notice stating the reason, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., not on the tenant's religious day.
- Ending periodic tenancies (section 11). The landlord needs a listed reason and 3 full tenancy months' notice; a condo conversion needs 365 days.
- Breaches (sections 29 and 30). 14-day notice for substantial breach; 24-hour notice for assault or significant damage.
- Family violence (section 47.4). A tenant can end any tenancy on 28 days' notice with a certificate.
- Service of notices (section 57). Updated in 2025; confirm the rules before relying on email.
Mistakes that cost Alberta landlords
The most expensive mistake is skipping the inspection reports: without them, a landlord cannot keep any of the deposit for damage, no matter how obvious it is. The next is a rent increase served too late or too soon after the last one, which the RTDRS will void. Close behind come deposits that exceed one month's rent once a pet deposit is added, landlords who walk in with only a phone call's notice, and landlords who try to end a month-to-month tenancy without one of the reasons the Act allows. Schedules B, C and D and the landlord's checklist exist to catch each of them.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a standard lease form in Alberta?
No. Unlike Ontario and BC, Alberta does not publish a mandatory lease. Landlords write their own residential tenancy agreement, but any term that takes away a tenant's rights under the Residential Tenancies Act is void, and the Act's rules on deposits, entry, rent increases and notices apply whatever the lease says.
How much can a landlord charge for a damage deposit in Alberta?
No more than one month's rent, including any pet deposit or key deposit. The landlord must put it in a trust account within two banking days, pay interest at the government's yearly rate (0% for 2026), and return it with a statement within 10 days after the tenant moves out.
How much notice does an Alberta landlord need to raise rent?
For a monthly periodic tenancy, at least three full tenancy months' written notice, and rent can rise only once every 365 days. For a weekly tenancy, 12 full weeks. During a fixed-term lease, rent cannot go up unless the lease itself sets the increase. Alberta has no cap on the amount.
Can a landlord end a month-to-month tenancy in Alberta without a reason?
No. The landlord needs a reason listed in the Residential Tenancies Act, such as selling to a buyer who wants vacant possession, moving in themselves or a relative, demolition or major renovation, and must give at least three full tenancy months' notice. A fixed-term lease, by contrast, simply ends on its end date.
Does an Alberta landlord have to do a move-in inspection?
Yes. The landlord and tenant must inspect the premises and sign a report within one week before or after move-in and again at move-out. Without both reports, the landlord cannot deduct anything for damage from the security deposit.
