NSCL  Life Leases

A life lease is a “new” type of housing agreement where a person buys the right to occupy a dwelling unit in a particular development for life, or a specified period of time. In life lease housing, the buyer does not own the property. Rather the life lease holder holds an “interest” in that property with the “right to occupy” (live in) a residential unit. The attraction is that a life lease property is usually priced lower than similarly sized condominiums in the area.

A life lease typically requires paying an upfront lump sum - and monthly maintenance payments plus property taxes thereafter. Depending on the type of life lease, the upfront lump payment may be refundable when the person decides to leave, or the life lease may be sold or transferred to the person’s estate. Within the past year, you may have heard media reports about the difficulties that some Alberta seniors have experienced in trying to get their life savings back after signing up for a life lease. Alberta has enacted new legislation to enhance consumer protection for life leases. Is this new law enough to protect consumers?

Plus “What you don't know about being a tenant or being a landlord in Alberta”