The Residential Tenancies Deed (RTA) is an Ontario law that gives landlords and tenants specific rights and responsibilities. It provides rules for increasing the hire, evicting a tenant, maintenance, etc. Under the RTA, the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) was created to solve disputes between tenants and their landlords.

The RTA covers people living in rental housing. It does not apply to people living in:

  • emergency shelters
  • hospitals or nursing homes (long-term care facilities)
  • prison
  • student residents or dormitories
  • temporary or seasonal utilize units
  • units that share a kitchen or bath with their landlord or a member of their firsthand family
  • people not on a lease

Tenant Pick

A landlord has the right to choose a tenant using income data, credit checks, credit references, rental history, guarantees. A landlord can ask:

  • what your income is
  • if you work, and where you work
  • how many people will be living with you
  • the names of people who will exist living with you
  • if you have pets
  • if yous smoke
  • permission to do a credit cheque (requiring: full proper noun, date of nascence, electric current accost)
  • references from past landlords
  • in some cases, if you accept a guarantor or co-signer

Landlords tin can reject a prospective tenant based on the answers to the above questions. For example: poor rental history (including rental arrears), having pets, or if your landlord is not confident your income is sufficient to embrace the rent.

A landlord is not allowed to enquire:

  • if you are pregnant or have children
  • if you lot plan to have children, or if y'all plan to have more children
  • if yous are married, single, or divorced
  • your religion or ethnic groundwork
  • your sexual orientation
  • if y'all get welfare or other public assistance
  • if yous have a disability
  • your age (even if you are 16 or 17 every bit long as you are living away from your parents)
  • if you are a Canadian citizen

A landlord must not discriminate confronting potential tenants.

Charter

Leases and tenancy agreements are contracts betwixt a property owner and a tenant. They usually indicate:

  • the length of a tenancy (east.thousand., 12 months)
  • the corporeality of hire
  • services that will be included in the hire (e.thousand., parking, cable, heat, electricity, air conditioning)

Landlords

Most landlords must use the standard lease template.

The lease must comprise the legal name and address of the landlord.

The landlord must provide a copy of a signed tenancy agreement to the tenant within 21 days of the tenancy beginning.

Tenants

Read your lease carefully earlier you lot sign information technology and ask for help if y'all do not understand it (you tin call the Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494).

Tenants practise not have to renew the lease when information technology expires, you automatically become a calendar month-to-month tenant. All the terms of your original lease proceed even if you do not sign a new lease.

If you want to motility out, you must requite the property owner 60 days (two full months) written observe before the end of your tenancy if on a fixed term lease. 28 days if on a weekly or daily tenancy. You lot may owe your landlord more rent if you practise not give notice in proper time.

Rent

Landlords

Landlords are entitled to collect rent, in full, on the twenty-four hours that it is due.

The landlord must provide tenants with a receipt for hire paid upon request.

The landlord or tenancy agreement cannot require post‐dated cheques or require automatic debit.

Tenants

Tenants are responsible for paying rent in full on the solar day that it is due.

Deposits

Upon signing a new lease or tenancy agreement, the landlord may collect a rent deposit. The maximum amount of this deposit is the aforementioned every bit the rent for one rental menses (e.1000., ane month or ane week). This deposit will be used as the tenant'south final rent payment for the last month or week living in the rental unit of measurement.

A landlord may also ask for a primal eolith, merely information technology cannot be more than the cost of replacing the key.

It is illegal for a property possessor to charge a damage deposit or other additional charges.

Rent Increases

Guideline Increases

The landlord is allowed to enhance the rent by a guideline amount once per year. This can happen 12 months later on:

  • a tenant first moves in, or
  • the final rent increase

The annual hire increase guideline amount is set past the Ontario regime every year (e.g., between January 1 and Dec 31, 2020, hire increases upward to two.2 per cent may be applied).

The landlord must provide the tenant with written notice of a rent increase at least ninety days earlier it takes outcome.

This guideline does non apply to new buildings, additions to existing buildings and most new basement apartments that are occupied for the first time for residential purposes after Nov fifteen, 2018.

Higher up Guideline Increases (AGI)

If the landlord wants to increase your rent above the guideline amount, they must first apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board and notify you ninety days before the increase. A landlord may utilise for an AGI if:

  • there has been an extraordinary increment in municipal taxes or costs associated with the residential circuitous,
  • the landlord has eligible capital expenses related to meaning renovations or repairs, or
  • the landlord has additional operating costs related to security of the residential complex.

Tenants

If you lot have any questions or concerns later receiving a notice for an Above Guideline Increase, please call the Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494 (the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations besides works with tenants facing Above Guideline Increases).

Entry to the Rental Unit

A landlord must provide 24 hours written detect to enter a unit and can merely enter an occupied rental unit:

  • if something needs to be fixed
  • to do a maintenance inspection
  • if you accept given notice to movement out, and the property possessor is showing your apartment to new tenants

Landlords

Landlords are required to requite 24 hours written notice to enter the rental unit of measurement. A landlord can only enter a unit without written detect if it is an emergency state of affairs (east.chiliad., a fire or flood) or if the tenant agrees to information technology.

The written notice has to detail the reason for the entry, the 24-hour interval of entry and the time of entry, which must fall between 8 a.m. and 8 p.k. (a tenant does not accept to exist home for the landlord to enter).

The landlord must have a reasonable reason to do a maintenance inspection – unreasonable entries may interfere with reasonable enjoyment and/or be considered harassment.

If the landlord and tenant have agreed to end the tenancy, the landlord may enter the unit to testify prospective renters between 8 a.m. and viii p.grand. and must brand a reasonable effort to inform or notify the tenant before entry.

A landlord can only enter a unit without written notice if information technology is an emergency state of affairs (similar a fire or flood) or if the tenant agrees to it.

Repairs & Maintenance

Landlords

The landlord must keep the edifice and the rental units in a skilful state of repair complying with all wellness, prophylactic, housing and maintenance standards. Landlords are responsible for repairs even if the tenant knew about problems before like-minded to rent the domicile.

The landlord is responsible for fixing anything that breaks or does not piece of work properly (e.g., a cleaved fridge, a clogged drain or leaking pipes).

The landlord is responsible for getting rid of pests (e.g., cockroaches and mice). Tenants should work cooperatively with landlords and abide by whatever treatment plans to accomplish pest removal.

Tenants

Tenants are responsible for fixing any harm that they or their guests crusade.

If you lot are facing maintenance issues that your landlord has not dealt with, do not withhold rent. If you withhold your rent to get repairs done, the property owner may employ to adios you.

If the property possessor has filed an eviction awarding against yous, you may bring up any repair and maintenance issues at the hearing.

Acquire more nigh rental housing standards and enforcement.

Common Areas & Outdoors

Landlords

The landlord is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the mutual or shared areas of the edifice, such equally hallways and yards. The landlord is also responsible for removing snowfall from driveways, walkways, etc.

Indoor Temperature

Landlords

The landlord must provide oestrus betwixt September 15th and May 31st so that the temperature in the rental units is at least 21˚Celsius according to City of Toronto bylaws.

If the building has ac, the landlord is required to plow it on betwixt June 2nd and September 14th to maintain a maximum temperature of not more than 26°C.

Tenants

If you are experiencing indoor temperature issues in your apartment, learn more about rental housing standards and enforcement.

Vital Services

Landlords

The landlord must provide access to hot and common cold water, electricity, oestrus and fuel (e.chiliad. natural gas). The landlord cannot shut-off these services, even if the tenant has not paid rent.

Vital services may be temporarily shut off for the minimum period necessary in order to make repairs. Landlords must notify tenants of the interruption of vital services.

The landlord and tenant can agree in the charter that the tenant will pay for these services equally a standard fee each month (i.e. utilities are included in the rent) or based on what the tenant uses.

Learn more about rental housing standards and enforcement.

Pets

Landlords

Landlords take the correct to turn down tenants if they doubtable they will move in with pets. Yet, once a landlord accepts a tenant, in spite of whatever verbal agreements or contract stipulations, landlords cannot evict tenants for pet ownership nether well-nigh circumstances.

Tenants

A tenant cannot exist legally evicted considering they have a pet in violation of a "no pets" clause in the rental agreement.

A landlord may take a valid reason to apply to evict a tenant for having a pet if the pet:

  • damages the property
  • disturbs the reasonable enjoyment of other tenants or infringes on the rights of other tenants
  • is unsafe or an illegal breed (due east.chiliad. Pit Balderdash)
  • contravenes municipal law (e.g. too many pets)
  • if you don't clean up after your pet

Discrimination

Landlords

A landlord must adhere to the Human Rights Code and cannot select or reject tenants based on:

  • race
  • place of origin
  • ethnic origin
  • religion
  • sex
  • historic period
  • sexual orientation,
  • marital status
  • family unit status (e.g. children)
  • inability

For example, a landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you are a newcomer to Canada or because you take children.

Tenants

If yous are experiencing bigotry, find legal help.

Eviction

There is a legal process nether the Residential Tenancies Act which a landlord must follow in order to evict a tenant. In that location are many points in this process at which a tenant tin try to fix the state of affairs and/or pay deficit and have the eviction stopped.

Landlords

A landlord cannot change the locks or cut off vital services to evict a tenant. This tin just exist washed past the Courtroom Enforcement Office (the Sheriff) on the basis of an order from the Landlord and Tenant Lath (LTB).

Tenants

You do not accept to motility out upon receiving a observe of eviction (any LTB course that begins with an "Due north" or an informal letter notifying you of eviction). This is just a notice. If you practice not want to move out, your landlord must and then file an application to evict with the LTB. Information technology will be determined at your LTB hearing whether or non the eviction will proceed.

Visit Understand & Fight Evictions to learn more most the eviction process and your options.

If your landlord changes your locks, cuts off any vital services or is harassing you by telling yous to leave your apartment, contact the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (Toll Complimentary: i-888-772-9277 or 416-585-7214) to address this issue. Discover Legal Help right away. Y'all may be eligible for free legal services or, if y'all are not eligible, learn well-nigh your options.

You may also file a T2 form: Application almost Tenant Rights with the LTB.

Annals with RentSafeTO

Landlords

Every rental apartment building with three or more storeys and 10 or more units must register with RentSafeTO: Apartment Building Standards. One time registered, owners are required to renew their registration every year by July 31.

Learn how to register or renew.