Landlords will face fines for breaching confidentiality

WINNIPEG — The province is amending legislation to allow landlords to be penalized if they breach the confidentiality of tenants who break their lease by obtaining a domestic violence certificate.

“Hopefully, now there’s going to be measures in place so that if this happens again, and God forbid it happens again to anyone else, that there would be penalties imposed on landlords who do that,” said one victim whose concerns were published on the front page of the Winnipeg Free Press last month.

“Hopefully, now there’s going to be measures in place so that if this happens again … that there would be penalties imposed on landlords who do that.”

Under current legislation, landlords must ensure that any information received from those tenants regarding the termination of the tenancy is kept confidential, but there are no penalties for landlords who violate that section of the act. After hearing from victims put at risk when landlords broke the law by violating their confidentiality, the government announced Monday that it is amending the Residential Tenancies Act to allow for penalties.

The young woman who spoke to the Free Press showed that her landlord copied her alleged abuser in email correspondence that included her personal email address and the domestic violence certificate she obtained in 2025 to end a tenancy agreement early and leave an abusive relationship.

In 2019, the Residential Tenancies Act was amended to allow someone experiencing domestic violence or stalking to end a lease early by obtaining a domestic violence certificate.

Rather than requiring the tenant to go to court to obtain an order, the legislation allows a physician, psychologist, social worker or shelter employee to provide confirmation that violence or stalking occurred to Manitoba Justice’s victim services branch, which then issues a certificate that can be used to break a lease.

The section of the act related to domestic violence requires the landlord to ensure that any information received from the tenant regarding the termination of the tenancy is kept confidential.

When the young woman complained about her landlord’s breach to the Residential Tenancies Branch, she learned that there were no penalties for a violation. She contacted her MLA, Cindy Lamoureux (Liberal, Tyndall Park), who raised the matter during question period this spring.

At a committee meeting Monday night considering Bill 13, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act, Public Service Delivery Minister Mintu Sandhu announced an amendment to allow the director of the Residential Tenancies Branch to issue an administrative penalty to a landlord when a breach occurs.

“We don’t want the landlords to provide any personal information to the abusers.”

“We want to make sure we provide protection to the people who have been abused,” Sandhu said at the legislative building. “In the future, we don’t want the landlords to provide any personal information to the abusers.”

The bill, which is on track to become law this session, increases the maximum administrative penalty to $10,000 from $5,000.

Landlords need to know there is a price to pay for violating the confidentiality of a tenant’s domestic violence certificate, the minister responsible for gender equity, Nahanni Fontaine, said Thursday.

“The reality is that people start to respond when there are penalties attached to breaching people’s privacy and putting folks at risk,” Fontaine said in an interview.

“We’ve heard loud and clear in respect of protecting victims of (intimate partner violence), their privacy … and ensuring that they don’t come into contact with their abuser.”

The victim who spoke to the Free Press said she hopes landlords get the message.

Her MLA said she’s thankful to Sandhu for taking action, and to her constituent for having the courage to raise the issue.

“Because they have spoken up, they have helped shine a light on an important issue that others have experienced,” Lamoureux said Friday.

“Their initiative will help strengthen protections for others going forward.”

» Winnipeg Free Press