Saskatchewan has no rent cap and demands 12 months notice before an increase. Manitoba caps 2026 increases at 1.8% and asks for three months.

Two provinces sharing a border and almost nothing else. If you own in both, or you are moving a portfolio across the prairies, the differences matter more than the similarities.

Saskatchewan

Governed by The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 and administered by the Office of Residential Tenancies (ORT). Notices and applications run through the ORT online portal.

Saskatchewan: ending a tenancy

• Non-payment of rent — once rent is 15 days or more in arrears, you serve an immediate notice to vacate, with no waiting period after service.
• Utility arrears — 15 days notice.
• One calendar month — general for-cause grounds, including repeated late rent, damage, safety issues and breach of a material term, plus employee tenancies, purchaser occupancy and housing-program purposes.
• Two months — landlord, family or friend moving in, or demolition, major renovation, conversion and other specified uses. Neither is available mid-fixed-term. Note the split: purchaser occupancy needs one month, owner occupancy needs two.
• Fixed term — serve the Two Month Notice of Intention at least two months before the end date.
• Tenant notice — one month for weekly or monthly periodic tenancies, given the day before rent is due. Victims of interpersonal or sexual violence exit on 28 days with a Victims Services certificate.

Tenants disputing a one- or two-month notice sign and return the dispute portion within 15 days.

Saskatchewan: eviction

Apply to the ORT through the portal. The filing fee is $50 and the claim cap is $30,000. Hearings are usually by telephone. You serve the hearing notice and file a Certificate of Service.

The sheriff posts the order of possession and enforces the writ — you never remove a tenant yourself. Section 65 prohibits regaining possession without an order, section 12 bars seizing the tenant's property, and section 48 bars changing locks without agreement plus new keys.

Appeals go to the Court of King's Bench within 30 days, on a question of law or jurisdiction only, with a $100 filing fee. An appeal suspends the ORT order. A tenant appealing a non-payment eviction must first deposit one month's rent with the Director.

Saskatchewan: rent increases

No rent control and no cap on the amount.

• Periodic tenancy — 12 months written notice, no increase in the first 18 months, once every 12 months
• Members of NPHPS or SKLA — 6 months notice, no increase in the first 12 months, once every 6 months
• Fixed term — served with the Two Month Notice of Intention, at least two months before the end date, with 30 days for the tenant to accept or vacate

The association-member reduction is a real financial difference — a landlord holding membership cuts the notice period in half and doubles the permitted frequency.

Saskatchewan: deposits, inspections and entry

Maximum one month's rent, and only one deposit — separate pet and key deposits are prohibited. Only 50% is payable up front, with the balance due within two months of possession. The deposit is held in trust.

Return within seven business days of the tenancy ending, or file a claim with the ORT. The tenant disputes within 60 days, at a $50 filing fee.

Interest is 0% where the tenancy ends within five years of the agreement date. Longer tenancies use the Chartered Bank Administered Interest Rate for non-chequable savings deposits.

Condition reports are not mandatory in Saskatchewan. Do them anyway — they are the cheapest evidence available at a hearing.

Entry requires written notice of 24 hours to seven days, stating purpose and time, with entry in a four-hour window between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. No entry on Sundays or the tenant's day of religious worship to show the unit. Two hours notice for showings once the tenant has given notice or within two months of lease end.

Manitoba

Governed by The Residential Tenancies Act and administered by the Residential Tenancies Branch, with appeals to the Residential Tenancies Commission. All notices must use prescribed RTB forms.

Manitoba: ending a tenancy

• Non-payment of rent — notice is permitted once rent is three days past due. The Act sets no minimum notice period, and the RTB's own policy guide confirms the landlord decides how much time to give. Forms 8, 8.1 and 9 depending on the tenancy type.
• Other cause — one full rental payment period after an unremedied breach.
• Serious breach or immediate risk to health or safety — five days, with no prior warning letter.
• Landlord's own use, demolition, renovation or change of use — the notice period scales with the CMHC vacancy rate: five months under 2.0%, four months at 2.0% to 2.9%, three months at 3.0% or higher. You reimburse reasonable moving costs up to $500, and renovation tenants get a right of first refusal.
• School-year protection — where children attend a nearby school, the tenant stays to the end of the school year.
• Tenant notice — one full rental payment period on Form 7, given on or before the last day of the current period.

Manitoba: eviction

Apply to the RTB for an Order of Possession. The filing fee is $60, with separate packages for apartments and houses, condos, and co-ops. Evidence is filed at least two business days before the hearing.

The RTB targets two to three business days to issue an Order of Possession and 10 business days for claims. Serious health-and-safety cases get an urgent hearing.

Appeals go to the Residential Tenancies Commission. The appeal period appears at the bottom of each order. A party who did not attend the hearing must apply for leave. Commission orders are final and cannot be appealed to court.

An unsatisfied Order of Possession is filed with the Court of King's Bench and enforced through the court.

Manitoba: rent increases

Manitoba has rent control through an annual guideline: 3.0% for 2024, 1.7% for 2025, and 1.8% for 2026, effective January 1, 2026.

Notice: at least three months in writing on the prescribed form, generally once every 12 months.

Exemptions from the guideline: units renting at $1,670 a month or more, with the threshold changing annually; social housing and government-owned units; units in buildings first occupied after March 2005, exempt for 20 years from first occupancy, and 15 years for those first occupied after April 9, 2001; and not-for-profit life lease units, co-operatives, approved rehabilitated units, and caretaker units.

Above-guideline increases require evidence of costs already incurred or billed — planned work does not qualify. Tenants are notified, inspect the file and submit comments, and you reply before an officer issues an order. The RTB targets an order before the increase date or within 90 days. Either side appeals to the Commission at no cost.

Manitoba: deposits, inspections and entry

Security deposit maximum is half of the first month's rent, calculated on the full rent rather than a discounted rate.

Pet damage deposit reaches a full month's rent where collected on or after August 1, 2014. Only one pet deposit regardless of the number of pets, and service animals are exempt.

Return within 14 days of the tenancy ending where there is no claim. Where there is a claim, you have 28 days to notify the tenant. Interest is payable at a government-set rate, so confirm the current figure with the RTB before refunding.

Condition reports are not mandatory unless either party requests one — Form 5 is the prescribed report.

Entry requires written notice of 24 hours to two weeks, stating the reason and the time. No notice needed in an emergency, with tenant consent, to provide agreed services, to show a vacant unit after notice to vacate, or for a move-out inspection on the departure day.

Two changes to know in Manitoba

Bill 32 passed in 2025 and lowered the eviction threshold from immediate risk to significant risk to safety. Controlled-substance trafficking, illegal cannabis sales and human trafficking are deemed significant risks. Admissible evidence now includes reports from police, fire and paramedics, building staff, health inspectors, child services and community organizations, and confidential informants are protected. This makes eviction for criminal activity materially easier.

Bill 10 passed in 2025 but awaits proclamation. When it takes effect, a landlord whose tenants are ordered out for health, building or maintenance code violations must refund prepaid rent within 72 hours, pay moving expenses to a prescribed maximum, and is barred from rent increase applications during the vacate order and for two years afterward. Watch for the proclamation date.

The comparison

• Rent cap — Saskatchewan none, Manitoba 1.8% for 2026
• Rent increase notice — Saskatchewan 12 months (or 6 for association members), Manitoba 3 months
• Non-payment trigger — Saskatchewan 15 days in arrears then immediate, Manitoba 3 days past due with no minimum period
• Security deposit — Saskatchewan 1 month with no separate pet deposit, Manitoba half a month plus up to 1 month pet deposit
• Deposit return — Saskatchewan 7 business days, Manitoba 14 days
• Prescribed forms — Saskatchewan uses ORT portal notices, Manitoba requires mandatory RTB forms
• Final appeal — Saskatchewan to the Court of King's Bench, Manitoba to the Residential Tenancies Commission (final)
• Condition reports — optional in both provinces; Manitoba has a prescribed Form 5 on request

LuxOasisOS holds per-unit records for both provinces, so a portfolio spanning the prairies runs on one system rather than two sets of habits. Province-specific templates are on our roadmap.