Tenant abandoned rental in Alberta? The landlord may enter without notice and choose: accept the abandonment as ending the tenancy, or keep the tenancy alive and hold the tenant to the rent. Either way, section 27 of the Residential Tenancies Act requires reasonable efforts to mitigate the loss, usually by re-renting, and that limits what the landlord can recover.
This guide covers the unit and the money. Things the tenant left behind follow a separate rule, explained in belongings left behind and the $2,000 rule.
How do you know a tenant has abandoned an Alberta rental?
The Residential Tenancies Act does not list the signs; it asks whether the tenant, by abandoning the premises or otherwise, has given the landlord reasonable grounds to believe they have repudiated the agreement (RTA s.27(1)). The landlord has to be able to point to facts. Typical ones are unpaid rent, mail piling up, utilities cut off, furniture gone, and no answer to calls, texts or a written message.
One rule cuts the other way. If the tenant has paid rent to the end of the tenancy but not returned the keys, they are not treated as having given up possession unless the two of you agree they have, or the landlord reasonably believes they have repudiated the agreement or abandoned the premises (s.1(4)).
Can the landlord go in?
Yes. An Alberta landlord may enter without consent or notice if the landlord has reasonable grounds to believe the tenant has abandoned the premises (RTA s.23(2)(b)); the province says the same on its During a tenancy page. Take dated photos or a video of every room as you find it. If you conclude the tenancy is over, do a move-out inspection report. A landlord may inspect without the tenant only after proposing 2 inspection times on different days that are not holidays, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., with no adult tenant agreeing to take part (s.19(3)), so record the proposals you sent. Our guide to inspection reports in Alberta sets out those steps.
Should you accept the abandonment or keep the tenancy going?
Section 27 gives an Alberta landlord two options, and each one decides what the landlord can later claim.
| Accept the repudiation (s.27(1)(a)) | Refuse it and continue the tenancy (s.27(1)(b)) | |
|---|---|---|
| Tenancy | Ends | Continues |
| What you can recover | Damages for breaches before the repudiation, plus damages for the loss of the agreement's benefit to the end of the fixed term, or for a periodic tenancy to the termination date (s.27(3)) | Rent as it falls due, to the end of the fixed term or the periodic termination date, while the unit has not been re-rented (s.27(7)) |
| Duty to mitigate | Reasonable efforts to mitigate the damages (s.27(4)) | Reasonable efforts to mitigate the tenant's liability for rent (s.27(5)) |
| If you re-rent | You are treated as having accepted the repudiation when the new tenancy starts, and can recover damages as if you had accepted it (s.27(6)) | |
For a periodic tenancy, the tenant's acts of repudiation count as a proper notice ending the tenancy on the earliest date the tenant could have ended it (s.27(2)). Take a monthly tenant, rent due on the 1st, who disappears on November 10, 2026: a notice served that day would have ended the tenancy on December 31, 2026 (s.10(2)(b)(i)), so that is the termination date for the claim. The rules for that count are in ending a tenancy in Alberta.
What counts as reasonable efforts to re-rent?
The Act requires reasonable efforts but does not define them. The conservative approach is to start quickly, at a market rent, and keep proof: dated listings, the rent you asked, enquiries, showings and the date the new tenancy began. A landlord who leaves the unit empty, or asks far more than the old rent, risks being found not to have made reasonable efforts, which can reduce the claim.
How do you recover the rent and damages?
Start with the security deposit. Within 10 days after the tenant gives up possession, the landlord must return it, or return the balance with a statement of account of the deductions the tenant agreed to (RTA s.46(2)). For anything left owing, a landlord can apply to the RTDRS for unpaid rent, damages and other losses, within 2 years of discovering the claim and up to $100,000; the filing fee is $75 for claims of $7,500 or less and $150 above (RTDRS, how to apply). RTDRS explained covers the process, and deposit return deadlines covers the 10-day rule.
What if a friend or relative is still living there?
If the tenant has abandoned the premises and someone who is not a tenant is living there, the landlord may serve that person a written, signed notice to vacate giving at least 48 hours from service and the time and date to leave (RTA s.33(1)-(3)). If they stay, the landlord can apply for an order ending the abandoned tenancy and recovering possession, supported by an affidavit (s.33(4), (5)). The prescribed form is Form 5 in the Ministerial Regulation (AR 211/2004).
Frequently asked questions
How long must a tenant be gone before a unit counts as abandoned in Alberta?
The Act sets no number of days. The test is whether the landlord has reasonable grounds to believe the tenant has repudiated the agreement (RTA s.27(1)), so the facts you can document matter more than the calendar.
Can I change the locks on an abandoned unit?
Once you have reasonable grounds and have accepted the repudiation, the tenancy is over. While a tenancy continues, a landlord who changes locks must make a key available to the tenant at once (RTA s.24(2)).
Does the tenant owe rent for the rest of a one-year lease?
Only to the extent the landlord could not reduce the loss by reasonable efforts to re-rent. Once a new tenancy starts, the old one is treated as ended (RTA s.27(4)-(6)).
What about the things they left?
They are abandoned goods under RTA s.31, with rules on value, storage and sale; see the $2,000 rule.
Can a tenant who left come back?
If the landlord refused the repudiation and kept the tenancy going, the tenant is still a tenant. If the landlord accepted it on reasonable grounds, the tenancy ended, which is why the evidence of abandonment matters.
Someone still living in an abandoned unit?
Fill out the AR211-F5 Landlord's Notice to Vacate to Person(s) who are Not Tenants online and download the PDF.
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