Renting

Finally! Ontario has a new standard lease document. Staring April 30th, 2018, most residential tenancies must be entered into using this form. Exceptions include care homes, sites in mobile home parks and land lease communities, most social housing, certain other special tenancies or co-operative housing.

This is great news for everyone as the form is easy to understand and lays out many of the rules that were not being implemented properly in previous lease agreements created by landlords themselves. One of the most commonly misunderstood rule is whether landlords are allowed to restrict tenants from having their pets on the premises. Banning pets is illegal. The only exception is in condominiums that have a restriction on pets in their by-laws. The lease document clearly states this rule as well as many of the other misunderstood rules.

Tenants have the right to ask the landlord for a standard lease in writing. The landlord is required to provide one within 21 days of the request. The tenant can withhold one months rent if this is not provided within that time frame.

For more information, feel free to contact me anytime or contact the Landlord and Tenant Board:

Toll free 1-888-332-3234

Toronto Area: 416-645-8080

Website:  www.sjto.ca/ltb