Choosing a manager in Halifax / HRM
If you're comparing property management companies, these are the questions that decide it, and our answers to every one. Read them before you call anybody, including us.
The complaint owners make most often is fees they never saw coming: leasing, renewal, admin, inspection, statement, early exit. The problem is rarely that a charge exists. It is finding out about it after signing. Ask for every charge in writing first. Ours are published on the pricing page, including what it costs to end the agreement early, where anyone can read them without talking to us.
Vendor markups in Halifax run from nothing to around 15%, and they quietly change whose side your manager is on: a percentage on every repair is a reason to prefer the expensive fix. We don't mark up maintenance. You pay the vendor's price, and you see it. Ask every company you shortlist this question and get the answer in writing.
A manager paid a leasing fee has a reason to fill fast and price low. Ask what the number is based on. Ours comes from live Halifax asking rents on active listings, by bedroom and neighbourhood: the same data we publish, so you can check the reasoning yourself.
You want a fixed disbursement date and a written arrears process, not a promise. Ask what happens on day 1, day 15, and day 30 of non-payment, and who serves the notice. Nova Scotia's process has hard timelines, and missing them costs you weeks.
Ask for the notice period, the renewal terms and any exit cost in writing before you sign, and confirm who holds the deposit and lease on the way out. What matters is knowing the number beforehand, not discovering it later. Ours: a 12-month term that renews for another 12 months unless either of us gives 60 days' written notice before it ends. Give that notice and leaving costs you nothing. End it partway through a term and the balance of that term is payable, which is why we put it on the pricing page instead of in a clause. We don't offer a 30-day exit from a legal agreement, and you should be wary of anyone who does: a manager who can be dropped inside a month has no reason to invest in your tenancy.
Where our answer is different
A manager earning a placement fee has a quiet incentive to fill your unit fast rather than well, and the easiest way to fill fast is to under-ask. We publish the Halifax rent data we price from, median asking rents by bedroom and neighbourhood, refreshed as new listings land, so the number we give you is one you can check yourself. That is the whole point of publishing it.
Print this list and use it on every company you shortlist. The answers should be immediate and specific; hesitation on any of them is the finding.
Rent and damage deposits should sit in a separate trust account, never mixed with the company's operating money. Ask directly: the answer should be immediate and specific.
Agree a dollar threshold in the management agreement. Below it we act so a tenant isn't waiting; above it you approve first. Emergencies that threaten the property or a tenant's safety are the documented exception.
Credit, income verification, employment, previous-landlord references and rental history: applied consistently, and within Nova Scotia human-rights rules. Ask what would make them decline someone, and what they do when nobody qualifies.
Rent-cap limits, notice periods, fixed-term rules, and the forms all change what you can legally do. Ask a specific question and see whether the answer cites the Act. Ours are written down publicly in our landlord guides.
Damage beyond the deposit, a hearing at Residential Tenancies, a tenant who stops paying. Ask who handles it, who attends, and what it costs you. Get it before you need it, not during.
You should be able to read the actual invoice for every repair, the inspection photos, and a monthly statement that reconciles. If reporting is a number in an email, you're being asked to trust rather than verify.
Four steps, and you can stop after the first: the rental analysis is free and yours to keep whether you hire us or not.
We price your unit against live Halifax asking rents by bedroom and neighbourhood, and show you the data behind the number. Free, and yours whether or not you hire us.
Fees, repair threshold, disbursement date and the 12-month term with its 60-day notice window, all in writing. We collect the lease, deposit records and keys, and document the unit's condition.
Listing, photos, showings, and consistent screening. You see the applicant summary before anyone is approved.
Rent collection and disbursement, maintenance coordination, periodic inspections, compliant rent increases, and a monthly statement with the invoices attached.
Every repair shows the vendor's price, unmarked-up, so the statement reconciles against a real document rather than a summary line.
Rent received, fees, expenses and what was disbursed to you: monthly, in one place.
Lease, addenda, condition reports, inspection photos and rent-increase notices, kept and retrievable when you need them.
What your rent is against the current market median for that bedroom count and neighbourhood, so you know whether you're leaving money on the table.
Compare on five things, in writing: the complete fee schedule including leasing and renewal charges, whether maintenance invoices are marked up, how they decide what your unit rents for, the exact date you are paid and the arrears process, and the notice period and penalty to terminate. A company that answers all five plainly before you sign is telling you how it will behave afterwards.
The Halifax market generally runs 8 to 10% of monthly rent for single-family and small residential, 6 to 8% for multi-unit, and 40 to 60% of one month's rent for tenant placement. The number that matters is the total, not the headline percentage: ask whether leasing, renewal, inspections, admin and maintenance markup are extra. We publish our full fee schedule on the pricing page.
Many do, either as a percentage added to the contractor's invoice or as a rebate taken from the trade. Halifax markups run from nothing to about 15%. It is legal when disclosed, and it is the largest hidden cost in property management because it gives your manager a reason to prefer the more expensive repair. We do not mark up maintenance: you pay the vendor's price. Ask every company you shortlist this question directly, and get the answer in writing before you sign.
Nova Scotia caps increases for sitting tenants at 5% through the end of 2027, with required notice periods that vary by tenancy type. A manager should be raising rent on schedule every year you are entitled to, serving notice correctly, and pricing at market on every turnover, because turnover is the only time in-place rent resets. Missing an increase costs you that year permanently.
Yes. Check your current agreement for the notice period and any termination fee, and confirm who holds the tenant's deposit and lease. Existing tenancies continue unchanged: a change of manager does not alter the tenant's rights or the lease. We handle the transfer paperwork and take over communication with your tenant.
Our management agreement runs an initial 12-month term and renews for a further 12 months unless either of us gives 60 days' written notice before the current term ends. Give that notice and there is nothing to pay. If you end the agreement partway through a term, the balance of that term remains payable, and we publish that on the pricing page rather than leaving it to be found in a clause. We don't offer a 30-day exit from a legal agreement, because a manager who can be dropped inside a month has no reason to invest in your tenancy. Whenever you do go, we hand over the lease, deposit records, keys and condition reports.
Halifax and the wider HRM, including Dartmouth, Bedford and Sackville, with surrounding communities added over time.
Full cost breakdown in our guide to Halifax property management fees, or see our published pricing. Weighing it against doing it yourself? Self-manage vs. hire a manager.
Prefer to just ask? Call 902-580-6170.
A free rental analysis priced from live Halifax market data: yours to keep whether or not you hire us.
