PEI Security Deposit vs Tenant Insurance
PEI's Residential Tenancy Act limits a security deposit to one week's rent for a weekly tenancy and one month's rent in other cases. The deposit is held in trust and is legally distinct from an insurance policy.
Key points
Check the signed tenancy agreement and the current insurance policy before applying this point to a personal situation.
Check the signed tenancy agreement and the current insurance policy before applying this point to a personal situation.
Check the signed tenancy agreement and the current insurance policy before applying this point to a personal situation.
Check the signed tenancy agreement and the current insurance policy before applying this point to a personal situation.
Deposit and insurance solve different problems
The security deposit is statutory security for tenancy obligations. Tenant insurance is a contract with an insurer that can protect belongings, liability and living expenses under covered circumstances.
A landlord cannot simply call any extra fee a deposit
The Act restricts deposits and certain fees. Tenants should compare requested amounts with the current Residential Tenancy Act instead of assuming every move-in charge is permitted.
Do not use the deposit as the household's risk plan
Even a full month's deposit can be much smaller than the value of belongings or a serious liability claim. The legal deposit cap is not an insurance adequacy benchmark.