Questions Your Landlord Should Not Ask You As a tenant you have rights including the right to privacy and the right to notice upon a landlord’s entry into your premise. As a renter, you should be aware that there are questions that a landlord simply cannot ask you, be it once you have occupied the property or in the stages of completing a rental application. Nationality – A landlord cannot discriminate against you based on your nationality, citizenship or anything related to your ethnic background. This question should never be asked. Sexual Orientation – A landlord cannot ask you if you are straight, gay, lesbian, queer bisexual, etc., and they cannot deny you a rental unit based on your gender identity or orientation. Religion – A landlord cannot ask you about your religious affiliation or if you are religious in general. Public Assistance – While a landlord has the right to know if you are employed, they do not have the right to know where all of your money comes from. If you are employed but on public assistance for example, your landlord cannot treat you differently or deny you the unit. Family Status – Though a landlord has the right to ask you how many people will be living in the unit, they cannot ask if you are pregnant or plan to have children in the future. In that same vein, landlords cannot turn applicants away based on their relationship status. Age – Landlords also cannot discriminate against a renter or applicant based on age. This includes people who are 16 or 17 years old and no longer living with their parents. However, note that a landlord is entitled to verify that an applicant is of age to enter into a legally binding contract. For the purposes of housing, age is defined under the Ontario Human Rights Code as 16 years of age or older as long as the applicant has withdrawn from parental control. Physical Disability – A landlord cannot ask you if you have a physical disability. Such disabilities are protected under human rights legislation and can be viewed as a form of discrimination. Mental Disability – Much like a physical disability, a landlord cannot ask you if you have a prior or current mental disability. Such disabilities are also protected under human rights legislation and can be viewed as a form of discrimination. Notice – As mentioned above, landlords must give proper notice before entering the premise. This question cannot merely be asked at the time of entry but must rather be obtained withing 24-hours minimum of the desired entry time. Repairs – Your landlord is responsible for maintaining the appliances in your rental unit. They are not allowed to ask you to make the repairs yourself. Arrest – A landlord may be able to ask you if you have ever been convicted of a crime, but a conviction is much different that an arrest. If you have been arrested in the past but not convicted, there is no obligation to disclose, and the landlord should be refraining from such questions. Pets – Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act does not permit landlords to include “no pet” clauses in rental agreements and landlords should usually refrain from asking a renter or applicant if they have pets. The only exception is if the rental property is a condominium and the condominium corporation’s declaration, by-laws or rules prohibits pets. Smoking – The Residential Tenancies Act does not address matters relating to individuals before they become tenants, so if a landlord refused to rent to a person on the basis of smoking or insists on a “no smoking” clause, an applicant has no recourse and can be refused tenancy. However, while a landlord may refuse an applicant for smoking, a landlord is not able to amend an existing lease to add such a provision, or legally evict someone once they become a tenant merely because they committed the specific act of smoking in violation of a “no smoking” clause in the rental agreement. If a landlord wants to evict someone for smoking, they have to prove more than just the act. The key to evicting someone for smoking is if the smoke damages the property or infringes on the rights of other tenants. If you have been asked any of the following, your rights under the Residential Tenancies Act may have been violated and you may have standing to bring an application before the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario. Contact Robert Adourian at Devry Smith Frank LLP to have your rights assessed and protected. By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Real EstateApril 22, 2020September 30, 2020
Amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act On Friday, September 1, 2017, changes to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (“RTA”) affected how landlords can terminate a tenancy. Bill 124, Rental Fairness Act, 2017 amended some of the RTA provisions on terminating a tenancy. The amendments provide renters with more protections. Background Under the RTA, s. 48(1), a landlord is able to terminate a tenancy for the landlord’s personal use. This means that a landlord can terminate a tenancy in good faith for personal uses such as: possession for a family member, for his or her spouse, for his or her children, for his or her parents or for his or her spouse’s children or parents or a caretaker of any listed family members. The family member has to live in the unit for at least a year. Here’s an example of how this rule plays out: David owns a rental unit in Yorkville and his oldest daughter, Carly, just got accepted to the University of Toronto. David wants Carly to move into the rental unit so that she can be close to school. Under the RTA, David would be able to have the tenant vacate the unit and have his daughter move in. There are specific timelines for how much notice he would be required to give under the RTA. David can legally remove the tenant as long as this is done in good faith and Carly lives in the unit for at least a year. The Changes When a tenant is evicted under this section of the RTA, the landlord will not get off scot free. Under the new section 48.1 of the RTA, landlords will now have to pay the tenant one month’s rent as compensation or offer the tenant a comparable rental unit. This means that when David is evicting his tenant, he either has to pay the tenant one month’s rent or offer the tenant another unit. The Effects Tenants now have more protections against eviction. Landlords will have to be careful to comply with the new eviction rules. If a landlord wants to move a relative into a rental unit, landlords will have to compensate the current tenant or offer another acceptable rental unit. The relative has to actually live in the unit for at least a year. If the landlord bends this rule in order to re-rent at a higher rate or convert the unit, there will be repercussions. This can be in the form of a fine up to $25,000. So if our friend, David, re-rents the unit to a new tenant at a higher rate, there could be monetary penalties. The Landlord and Tenant Board may award a large fine against a landlord if he or she tries to circumvent the rules. This new rule is a way to deter landlords from re-renting a unit at a higher rate or converting a unit. This comes as part of the government’s housing plan, which was announced this spring. This included a cap on rental increases in 2018 at 1.8 percent. “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, Planning and Development Law, Real EstateSeptember 19, 2017June 18, 2020