Know Your Rights: Tenant and Consumer Protection in PEI

1. IRAC Runs Landlord-Tenant Disputes, Not the Courts

The Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (IRAC), through its Rental Office, administers the Rental of Residential Property Act and handles the vast majority of landlord-tenant disputes directly, without going to court first. Filing a dispute costs nothing.

2. If You Get an Eviction Notice, the Clock Is Short

You have 10 days from receiving a Notice of Termination (Form 4) to dispute it, by filing Form 2 (Application to Determine Dispute) with IRAC's Rental Office. Miss that window and your options narrow considerably.

• You have the right to written notice stating the exact reason for eviction
• You have the right to remain in your unit through the dispute process; a landlord cannot force you out before an IRAC order
• IRAC holds a hearing where both sides present evidence, then issues a binding order

3. Disputes That Aren't About Eviction

Outside of eviction, tenants and landlords can each file an Application to Determine Dispute for issues like unpaid rent, property damage, illegal rent increases, or unmet repair obligations, using Form 2A (tenant) or Form 2B (landlord). Whoever files must serve a copy on the other party within 5 days. IRAC can order rent adjustments, security deposit rulings, repairs, or termination of the agreement, and its decisions are enforceable through the Supreme Court if not followed voluntarily.

4. Consumer Complaints Run Through a Completely Different Office

For a dispute with a business (a purchase gone wrong, a contract issue, misleading credit terms), that's the Financial and Consumer Services Division, not IRAC. Covered transaction types include investments, insurance, real estate trading, trust and loan companies, payday lending, direct selling, debt collection, and more.

You must try to resolve the issue directly with the business first, in writing, before the Division will accept your complaint. If that fails, submit:

• Your written complaint
• A copy of what you sent the business
• Any response the business sent back
• Any other supporting documents

By email to ccs@gov.pe.ca, or by mail to the Financial and Consumer Services Division, PO Box 2000, Charlottetown, PE C1A 7N8.

5. What This Office Can't Do

It cannot award you damages, provide legal advice, or recommend a specific lawyer. For anything requiring actual legal recourse, Community Legal Information's Lawyer Referral Service offers an initial consultation at a nominal rate, a practical middle step before hiring a lawyer outright.

6. Fraud Is a Different Track Entirely

Scams, fraud, and cybercrime go to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or local police/RCMP, not the Financial and Consumer Services Division, since those are criminal matters rather than civil consumer disputes.