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What Rights Do You Have as a Residential Landlord in Ontario? Understanding the RTA

December 10, 2020 By Zee J Leave a Comment

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As a landlord of a condominium unit, you may feel nervous entering into lease agreements with certain tenants. Maybe they don’t have a steady income, or you are unsure about their character references. 

The good news is, you have certain legal rights to protect you as a landlord in Ontario. So, if the worst happens, for example, your property is damaged or your tenants fail to pay their rent, you won’t be left high and dry. 

It’s crucial that you understand exactly how your legal rights work and what limitations are placed on these rights. With an in-depth knowledge of landlord rights in Ontario, you’ll always know exactly what you can and can’t do when it comes to troublesome tenants. Here is a simple guide to some of your most basic landlord rights.

Become Familiar with the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA)

The best place to begin is with the Residential Tenancies Act (the “RTA”). The RTA is where you’ll find everything you need to know about both your legal rights and your tenants’ rights in Ontario. It’s a pretty long and dull read, but if you will be leasing property in Toronto or anywhere in Ontario, it’s definitely worth examining in detail. You can find the RTA in full here.

Find Out If You Qualify as a Landlord Under the RTA

In the RTA, there are several specifications about who actually qualifies as a “landlord.” You may be surprised to learn that your current rental situation doesn’t afford you the same rights provided to residential landlords governed by the RTA.

There are a few situations in which the RTA will not apply to you:

  • If you run a seasonal or temporary rental business.
  • If your units include shared kitchen or bathroom areas with you and your family.
  • If you operate a long-term care facility.
  • If you are providing emergency shelter.

If you are in any of these rental situations, your rights and responsibilities will be dictated by other statutes and the Ontario licensee-licensor relationship laws.

Some Important Landlord Rights Granted by the RTA

Here is a run-down of some of your most important rights as a landlord.

The Right to Vet and/or Deny Tenancy (With Limitations)

The RTA stipulates that you may vet potential tenants and deny occupancy to applicants for a range of specific reasons. These reasons could be:

  • Income source information
  • Poor credit checks
  • Poor credit references
  • Unsatisfactory rental history
  • Insufficient rental guarantees

There is a range of reasons that are not suitable reasons to deny occupancy. These reasons relate to the tenant’s personal profile and are governed by the Ontario Human Rights Code. For instance, you cannot vet or deny tenancy based on race, religion, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, and so on.

The Right to Evict Tenants in Certain Circumstances

As a landlord, it is your right to evict your tenants from your property in certain situations. All evictions have to be justified by one of the reasons provided by the RTA, and can include one of the following:

  • The tenant has failed to pay rent or has persistently paid their rent late.
  • There have been illegal activities committed on the rental premises.
  • The tenant has interfered with other residents’ reasonable enjoyment of the rental premises or has unreasonably interfered with the landlord’s lawful rights.
  • The tenant has invited other people to live in the residence without the landlord’s consent.
  • The landlord has an intention to move into the premises for their personal use.
  • The landlord has a plan to demolish the building.
  • The landlord plans to use the unit for a means other than housing. 

Landlord and Tenant Board applications and evictions can take a long time to process, and they often require extensive legal knowledge of the RTA, so it is ideal to attempt to resolve the issue amicably before resorting to formal legal proceedings.

The Right to Increase Rent in Certain Circumstances

You may wish to increase your rental amount during the tenancy. The RTA specifies a timeframe in which these increases are allowed. 

You can increase the rent once in every 12-month period in accordance with the Rent Increase Guideline published by the Government of Ontario. The current rent increase guideline is 2.2% for increases between January 1 and December 31, 2020. You must also give your tenant a minimum 90-days’ written notice before the rent increase comes into effect.

The Right to Enter the Property With Notice (With Limitations)

You may be surprised to learn that your right to enter the property comes with several limitations. This is to accommodate the tenant’s right to privacy and quiet enjoyment of the rental premises. Here are the guidelines to follow when it comes to entering the premises:

  • Entry is allowed between 8AM and 8PM
  • You must give written notice at least 24 hours prior to entry
  • You can enter for repairs, maintenance, safety inspections, and to show the property to potential new tenants

Keep Your Rental Unit Compliant. Hire Del Condominium Rentals Today

Becoming familiar with your many rights and obligations as a landlord can be a long and time-consuming task. To avoid making a mistake about your rights and obligations as a landlord, let a rental management company take over the day-to-day running of the property for you. 

Here at Del Condominium Rentals, we have decades of experience managing condominium units. We collect rent, carry out inspections, and find tenants, so you don’t have to.

Are you ready to simplify the entire rental process? Get in touch with the Del Condominium Rentals team today by emailing sales@delrentals.com

Are You Interested in Working With Del Condominium Rentals?
Submit your info below to download FREE eBook and learn more about our services, management cost and more


Filed Under: Condo Rentals Featured Story Tagged With: Landlord, RTA

4 Common Landlord Tenant Disputes That You Should Know About

September 13, 2019 By Zee J Leave a Comment

Landlord Tenant Disputes

Landlord Tenant Disputes

The relationship between a tenant and a landlord is often a delicate one. While some relationships can be rewarding, others can be challenging.

One side is paying to make this condo their home, and they want to feel like they are getting what they paid for. And the other side is looking to maintain the value of their investment and to ensure rules are followed.

It’s not uncommon for issues to arise between these two parties. As long as the landlord is experienced and professional, and they understand current regulations, all matters should be solved easily without incident.

But that is not always the case. Sometimes things go wrong, and when they do, it can waste a lot of time and money for both parties.

We’ve created this blog to highlight a few of the common disputes that can occur between a landlord and their tenant.

  1. Violating Clauses in the Residential Tenancies Act

Tenants have to follow many rules when they sign a lease for a condo. Some are enforced through the building, while others are laws created by the city and province. However, it’s not uncommon for tenants to violate these laws.

The Residential Tenancies Act governs all rental properties in Ontario.

When violations happen, either the landlord or the condo management company will need to step in and resolve the problem.

These violations could be something like a noise complaint, an issue with parking, or something completely unrelated. If a neighbour has an issue, they may contact the landlord or condo management board, and they will need to correct these issues if they want to avoid potential penalties.

If a tenant cannot follow the codes and doesn’t agree that they are breaking any rules, a dispute between them and the landlord can quickly arise. After a few months of issues, this dispute could quickly get out of hand, and legal action might have to be taken by either side.

Disputes with the Landlord and Tenant Board are often long and gruelling unless you have the necessary experience.

  1. Missed or Late Rent Payments

Late and missing rent payments are the number one thing you should fear as a landlord.

Rent is due at the start of every month and making sure it’s been received and processed is up to the landlord. You must collect on missing and late rent payment whenever possible because this issue can quickly develop into a larger, long-term problem.

If this is happening every few months and warnings were issued, you may have to consider evicting the current tenant.

These missed and/or late payments can cause a dispute between the tenant and landlord. If the landlord is not experienced and fails to implement an effective way of collecting payments, this increases the chances of there being issues every month when rent is due.

Remember, a positive tenant and landlord relationship are important, but you must treat your rental property as a business. Don’t be afraid to start the eviction process if a tenant isn’t working out. The entire process takes months to years to resolve but is often necessary to remove a nightmare tenant.

  1. Excessive Damage to the Condo

There are many risks when a condo owner turns their property over to a new tenant. While we all dream of finding ideal tenants, nightmare tenants do exist, and they can damage your property.

When general damage happens because of wear and tear on things like plumbing (sinks, toilets, faucets, etc.), this is normal damage that the condo owner will look after. But if you are dealing with damages like broken drywall, doors, and other similar things, it is the tenant’s problem.

Both types of damages will need to be managed by the landlord, and understanding the appropriate regulations is important.

Dealing with damages to the property can become a sore point between the tenant and the landlord.

Experienced landlords should document damages closely and keep a running tally of what has been repaired and replaced. When you hire a condo management company, their maintenance teams can keep an eye on the current condition of the property.

  1. Eviction Notices

Many of the above items can lead to an eviction notice being handed down by the landlord.

The tenant is given a stated amount of days to pack up and leave the premises when served with an eviction notice. But the tenant has their own rights, and there will be laws the landlord will need to follow.

A landlord must respect the terms of eviction. Violating them can cause additional delays and could provide your tenant with additional legal options.

If the tenant feels they are being treated unfairly, or the landlord is not following specific laws, the tenant could take up legal action. This is the worst-case scenario for a condo owner, and it will cost them money and valuable time.

A successful landlord must stay aware of the laws that govern rental properties. But doing this isn’t easy, and getting caught up in legal battles will drain your resources. Condo management companies can help you navigate your legal options when dealing with tenants. They have developed proven processes for dealing with each of these scenarios.

Let Del Condominium Rentals Handle Your Tenant Disputes

Hiring a condo management company lets you avoid many of the disputes mentioned earlier. Property management companies have extensive experience dealing with these issues.

Del Condominium Rentals has over 30 years of experience managing properties in Toronto and throughout the GTA. We know how to properly enforce the rules for your condo, limiting the number of disputes that you’ll receive.

And if something does come up, we’ll minimize the overall disruption and handle it for you.

Please call us at 647-952-3644 if you’d like to learn more about hiring Del Condominium Rentals or email us at sales@delrentals.com .

Are You Interested in Working With Del Condominium Rentals?
Submit your info below to download FREE eBook and learn more about our services, management cost and more


Filed Under: Condo Rentals Featured Story Tagged With: Eviction Notices, Excessive Damage to the Condo, Landlord, Landlord Disputes, Landlord Tenant Disputes, Late Rent Payments, Tenancies Act, Tenant Disputes

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About Del Condominium Rentals

Del Condominium Rentals (DCR) is a full service rental management company. For more information about our program and how to have your suite professionally managed, please contact our Head Office at 416-296-7368 or email us at info@delrentals.com

Recent Condo Rentals Post

  • 5 Tax Tips All Ontario Landlords Should Know to Stay Tax-Efficient
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