NORTHWEST TERRITORIES · RENTAL OFFICE · INDEPENDENT GUIDANCE
NWT deposit return and statement deadline planner
Count the ordinary ten days after vacancy.
Check your dates
This gives you a starting date. Your actual deadline may be different.
Start date
Use the actual date the tenant vacated or abandoned the rental unit rather than an unrelated lease-paperwork date.
What the landlord must provide
The statute generally requires return of deposit and interest plus an itemized statement. For claimed repairs or arrears, notice and further accounting duties can apply.
Repair estimates: 10, 30 and 45 days
Under section 18, if the landlord cannot determine repair costs within ten days after the tenant vacates or abandons the unit, the landlord must give an estimated itemized statement within those first ten days. A final itemized repair account and any remaining deposit balance are generally due within 30 days; the period may extend to 45 days for significant damage where repair costs still cannot be determined. The calculator displays only the ordinary 10-day benchmark, not approval of any deduction or an extension.
An important one-year exception
Section 18.2 addresses a narrow situation in which the right to return of an unclaimed deposit can be extinguished after one year only if the landlord made all reasonable efforts during that year to locate the tenant and return the money but was unsuccessful. This does not replace the ordinary section 18 ten-day accounting obligations or excuse unproved deductions. Check the official Act, sections 18–18.2.
Related Northwest Territories tenancy guides
Official sources
Official sources
This is an independent guide. Check the official rules and forms for your case.