Landlords and tenants across Nova Scotia will soon be able to resolve private rental disputes by telephone.

The conference calls were born out of a pilot project that heard 650 disputes in 18 months, according to Service Nova Scotia.

"Introducing telephone hearings to help resolve residential tenancy disputes will reduce wait times for tenants and landlords, increase accessibility for clients and make the process faster, more efficient and cost-effective," Service Nova Scotia Minister Geoff MacLellan said in a statement.

5,000 applications each year

Until the launch of the pilot project, tenancy disputes could only be heard in person. More than 5,000 dispute applications are filed with the province each year, according to a statement from Service Nova Scotia, but it's unclear how long it takes for those cases to be heard.

Telephone hearings start rolling out across the province next week, with the service available to everyone by Sept. 4. Nova Scotia is the second province offer to mediate disputes by telephone.

One of the province's largest residential landlords said in a statement that the company supports the change.

"The property managers here at Killam really appreciate the convenience of the phone hearings," said Kathy Kerr-Miller, senior property manager at Killam Apartment REIT. "They eliminate travel time to and from Access Nova Scotia and the phone hearing dates are more readily available."

The province also surveyed 90 participants who took part in the pilot project; about 80 of them said they were either satisfied or very satisfied after going through the telephone hearing, according to Service Nova Scotia.