Reference Guide: Introduction and Definitions

Current landlord/tenant law has a long history that reflects changing views about how to balance the competing needs of landlords and tenants. In the past, the development of the rules pertaining to this balance largely took the form of judgments or precedents handed down by the courts over many years (the common law). In modern times, the law has been further developed by government intervention in the form of statute law.

The arrangements between landlords and their tenants are documented in a contract called a tenancy agreement. One important issue that arose historically when considering a lease was whether to treat it as an interest in land or as a contract between two or more parties. If a lease is an interest in land, it is subject to legal principles as they apply to land. If a lease is a contract, it is subject to legal principles that govern contracts. Property law and contract law both originated in the common law.

In the context of residential tenancies, statute law has made the distinction between property and contract law less important. However, to fully understand landlord and tenant law, it is necessary to understand both common law and statute law as it developed in relation to the lease.

Today, an important issue for the law in dealing with issues between landlords and tenants is to determine exactly what the parties agreed to in the lease and how the terms of the agreement fit into the statutory framework and, to a lesser extent, the common law.

This publication will look briefly at the historical development of the law relating to leases in general and, more particularly, to residential tenancies. However because much of the law regarding residential tenancies in Alberta today is governed by the Residential Tenancies Act,

the greater part of this publication deals with the requirements of that statute and the way in which it attempts to balance the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants.

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Defining the Basic Terms