‘Put me in a very difficult situation’

The provincial government is being asked to penalize landlords who breach the confidentiality of tenants breaking a lease to flee domestic violence after a survivor discovered there’s no consequences now.

“It put me in a very difficult situation,” said the woman, who was stunned to see that her landlord copied her abuser in email correspondence, including the domestic violence certificate she obtained to end a tenancy agreement early and leave an abusive relationship.

“My heart dropped to my stomach — I was in disbelief,” she said, recalling the confidentiality breach that occurred in 2025.

“I don’t know that the next person would be all right.”

“I’m very lucky to be in a situation where it’s no longer a threat to my immediate safety.”

The young woman’s mother said the province has to make sure landlords respect the confidentiality of domestic violence certificates going forward.

“I don’t know that the next person would be all right,” the mother said.

The Residential Tenancies Act was amended in 2019 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.

Although the section of the act related to domestic violence says the landlord must ensure that any information received from the tenant regarding the termination of the tenancy is kept confidential, there is no penalty if they do not.

That is what the young woman, who asked to be identified by the initials AT, found out the hard way after obtaining a certificate.

“… she ended up forwarding the entire email, as well as the hard copy of the certificate to my abuser, who I was trying to leave.”

“The problem was that when I sent my initial email to my landlord with the certificate and my personal email address, she ended up forwarding the entire email, as well as the hard copy of the certificate to my abuser, who I was trying to leave,” AT said, adding the document clearly states that the information is confidential and is not to be shared.

When she complained to the landlord, Dawson Properties, she was told that because she and the other party were co-tenants, both were entitled to receive all tenancy-related documentation.

The Residential Tenancies Branch disagreed. It said the confidentiality obligation under the section of the act that specifically applies to termination due to domestic violence overrides the general co-tenancy disclosure practices, but that the branch has no authority to impose a penalty on the landlord for the breach.

The woman reached out to Tyndall Park MLA Cindy Lamoureux.

“There currently is no real consequence when a landlord fails to follow the regulations in place,” Lamoureux said Friday.

The lone Liberal in Manitoba’s legislature raised the matter during question period in the spring and plans to do so again this fall. She wrote to Public Service Delivery Minister Mintu Sandhu, who oversees the Residential Tenancies Branch, calling for penalties in such cases.

“I do believe that there needs to be some form of a consequence or at least a followup of sorts, otherwise there’s no reason for them to take the regulation seriously,” Lamoureux said.

“I do believe that there needs to be some form of a consequence… otherwise there’s no reason for them to take the regulation seriously.”

A statement issued on behalf of the minister said the government “takes the safety and security of anyone that has experienced (domestic violence) very seriously, and we are fully committed to supporting those Manitobans in any way we can. We are currently looking into what can be done to ensure landlords in violation of the act are held accountable and we will continue to do what is necessary to protect Manitobans.”

Dawson Properties spokesperson Susan Cepanec said the company did nothing wrong.

“How could a co-tenant know the tenancy was terminated and the co-tenant is also required to move out unless they are informed of the termination for domestic violence?” Cepanec said in an email.

She did not address concerns that the landlord shared sensitive personal information about AT, including her email address, with her ex-partner by including him in their email correspondence.

“Perhaps, Manitoba Justice, the Residential Tenancies Branch and the authority issuing the domestic violence certificates need to do a better job of making tenants aware that their landlord is obligated to notify co-tenants that the tenancy is being terminated for domestic violence once the certificate and notice of termination are delivered to the landlord,” Cepanec said.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca