Innkeepers Act Overview - RSA 2000

A place where an innkeeper provides lodging services.

A person responsible for guest property and providing lodging to paying guests.

A member of municipal police, RCMP, or an appointed peace officer.

Includes motor vehicles, horse-drawn carriages, and related items.

A person who seeks and is in a fit state to be accommodated in an inn.

The innkeeper is legally obligated for the property of their guests.

The amount a guest is expected to pay for accommodations and services.

Lodging capacity managed by an innkeeper.

An innkeeper can legally seize a guest's belongings if the guest owes unpaid board or lodging fees.

The innkeeper can detain trunks and other personal belongings.

If the charges remain unpaid for a month, the innkeeper can sell the detained property after publishing required notices.

The innkeeper must sell the property publicly after publishing required legal notices at least one week before the auction.

The notice must include the debtor’s name, debt amount, item description, date & time and location of sale, and auctioneer's name.

The innkeeper can use the sale proceeds to cover the debt plus advertising/sale costs. Surplus goes to the rightful owner.

The innkeeper's right to sell is in addition to other legal options.

The law and legal rules allow an innkeeper to take these actions.

An innkeeper is generally not liable for lost, stolen, or damaged property brought by non-registered guests, unless it's proven that the innkeeper or their employee was negligent or the goods were explicitly deposited for safekeeping.

An innkeeper is only liable for a guest's lost, stolen, or damaged property if it was caused by the innkeeper's negligence or if the property was specifically entrusted to the innkeeper for safekeeping.

An innkeeper must display a copy of their legal obligations regarding guests' property in a prominent location in the inn's office and each bedroom.

An innkeeper can only rely on the legal protection provided by the act if they have properly posted the required notice regarding their obligations to guests regarding property.

The law protects the property of registered guests at an inn from loss, theft, or damage caused by the innkeeper's negligence. This protection has specific conditions.

If an inn, boarding house, or lodging house keeper has surplus proceeds from a public auction, they must pay it to the Minister. The Minister holds it for a year before releasing it or adding it to the General Revenue Fund.

The owner, mortgagee (someone with a loan on the property), or creditor of the sold property can apply to the Minister for the surplus proceeds.

The Minister has the authority to either directly decide about the surplus or delegate handling to a judge. They decide who gets part or all of the surplus.

If the Minister delegates,the judge reviews claims from different parties disputing the surplus and decides how to distribute it fairly.

Regardless of how the judge decides to handle the surplus, creditors will receive an amount based on the order of their claims.

The judge's decision to distribute surplus funds is legally binding on the Minister, who must follow the judge's order.

The Minister is the designated government official responsible for enforcing the Innkeepers Act.

Interpleader proceedings are a way to resolve disputes between multiple parties claiming the same surplus money.

An innkeeper is generally not responsible for guest property loss unless it's due to their negligence, theft, or willful act.

An innkeeper can be liable for guest property if it's specifically delivered for safekeeping, like when a guest asks the innkeeper to store valuables.

For vehicles, innkeepers are liable as bailees for reward if they offer designated storage or parking.

An innkeeper can refuse to accept a guest's property for safekeeping, but they can't rely on the law's protection if they lack proper facilities (safe, vault, or vehicle storage).

The law protects an innkeeper from responsibility for guest property loss if the innkeeper refuses or fails to receive it due to lack of facilities (safe, vault, or vehicle storage).

A guest has the right to deliver property for safekeeping to the innkeeper, and the innkeeper must have adequate facilities for this.

An innkeeper must have a proper safe or vault, or a designated area for vehicle storage, to rely on the legal protection for property loss.

If an innkeeper lacks a safe or designated vehicle storage and refuses to receive property, they must inform the guest of this at the time.

Conduct that disrupts the peace and quiet of an inn's occupants, such as fighting, screaming, or making loud noise.

A person who causes a disturbance in an inn and refuses to stop after being asked, or fails to leave when requested, commits an offense.

An innkeeper must request the disruptive person to stop and leave if they fail to do so after the first request.

An innkeeper who knows about a disturbance but fails to request the person to stop or leave can be fined or imprisoned.

A peace officer can arrest someone without a warrant if they are caught causing a disturbance or have reasonable grounds to believe someone committed a disturbance offense.

Disturbing the peace in an inn can lead to fines, imprisonment, or arrest without a warrant.

Innkeepers have a responsibility to manage disturbances and ensure the peace and quiet of guests.

Guests are expected to be respectful of others and refrain from causing disturbances in an inn.