Editor’s note: This Lifestyle Blog builds a basis for understanding the Residential Tenancies Act, the Landlord & Tenant Board and legal clinics. It should not be used as legal advice.
In the summer of 2018, I first moved out of Carleton’s residence and into a house with two roommates. Over the years, I had to sign and renew my lease, deal with rent increases and communicate with my landlords. As a legal studies student, tenancy law became one of the few areas of life where I could directly apply what I’m learning.
Here are a few of the things I have learned over my years as a tenant:
Getting started
Once you’ve found a house or apartment you’re happy with and the landlord has agreed to rent it to you, you’ll have to sign a standardized lease. Like most parts of landlord/tenant law in the province, this is regulated by Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).
The landlord must give you a copy of the lease within 21 days of signing it.
The landlord may then ask you to pay a deposit. According to ss. 105 and 106 of the RTA, the only deposit they can legally make you pay is your last month’s rent.
Your rights and responsibilities
After settling in, it’s important to know your responsibilities. Section 33 of the law makes you responsible for the “ordinary cleanliness of the rental unit,” unless otherwise agreed upon in the lease. The next section makes you responsible “for the repair of undue damage to the rental unit or residential complex caused by the wilful or negligent conduct of the tenant, another occupant of the rental unit or a person permitted in the residential complex by the tenant.” That means you have to keep your unit clean and avoid damaging your home.
The landlord’s responsibilities are set out in ss. 20–27. They must maintain the building “in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.” This means you can call them when things break (or when you’ve moved in and realized after signing the lease that something is broken).
Generally, the landlord must give a 24 hour written notice before entering a rental unit and may only do so for specific reasons including making repairs or carrying out health and safety inspections. Otherwise, they may enter without notice in an emergency, for regularly scheduled cleaning or (under specific circumstances) to show the unit to prospective tenants.
Subletting
As a student, you may find yourself leaving your house or apartment for long periods to spend the summer in your hometown, study abroad or work at a co-op in another city. In this case, you may want to sublet—to find a subtenant who temporarily moves in while your name is still on the lease.
Section 95 of the RTA allows tenants to “assign a rental unit to another person” with the landlord’s consent. However, “a landlord shall not arbitrarily or unreasonably refuse consent to an assignment of a rental unit to a potential assignee.”
Disputes
If you know all of this—and if you develop a relationship of mutual respect—you should have no problems navigating the world of residential tenancy. But problems arise sometimes despite your best intentions.
Disputes between landlords and tenants are heard by the Landlord and Tenant Board. This is an administrative tribunal, not a court of law. It is designed to be accessible even if you’re not a lawyer or can’t afford one.
If a dispute arises, the best thing you can do is familiarize yourself with the procedure of the board and know your rights as a tenant. It’s also important to talk to your neighbours. They could have the same landlord and similar problems. In that case, you may have an opportunity for collective action.
If you need help from experts but can’t pay for a lawyer because you’re too busy paying for tuition, you may want to look for a legal clinic that deals with tenancy law.
The University of Ottawa runs a satellite legal clinic at Carleton that can be found on the sixth floor of the University Centre. It “provides legal services free of charge to… undergraduate students of the University of Ottawa and Carleton University” and others who financially qualify.
Set yourself up for success
When I first moved into a rental house three years ago, I didn’t have a guide like this. My roommates and I were flying blind, Googling anything we needed to know or simply trusting our landlords’ word.
With a guide like this, you should have the basic information for dealing with renting.
Other documents that might be helpful include this guide by the City of Toronto on eviction notices and this one on rent increases by the Government of Ontario (which also includes a summary of the COVID-era rent freeze).
For many people, moving into a place of their own—especially with friends—is one of the most exciting times of their life. Knowing your rights as a tenant can make living alone a bit less stressful and ensure scummy landlords don’t get in the way of your comfy living situation.
Featured image by Aaron Sousa via Unsplash.
