Ottawa Rental Rules

Rental residential housing

Exemptions: co-op housing when occupied by a member of the co-op, vacation, seasonal or temporary accommodations: hotels, motels or motor hotels, resorts, lodges, tourist camps, cottages or cabins, inns, campgrounds, trailer parks, tourist homes, bed and breakfasts vacation establishments or vacation homes, staff accommodation for farm employees, accommodation in a business or enterprise, non-profit housing in some situations, penal and correctional facilities, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitative or therapeutic facilities, short term emergency shelters, staff or student accommodations provided by an educational institution, accommodation whose occupant or occupants are required to share a bathroom or kitchen facility with the owner, the owner's spouse, same-sex partner, child or parent or the spouse's or same-sex partner's child or parent, and where the owner, spouse, same-sex partner, child or parent lives in the building in which the living accommodation is located.

All types of rental periods are allowed; however, the Tenant Protection Act (TPA) takes precedence over leases. In other words, when terms in the lease do not comply with TPA, the TPA takes precedence over the lease.

No. If the tenancy agreement is not in writing, the tenant must be provided with written notice of the legal name and address of the landlord for the purpose of giving notice or delivering other documents. The landlord must provide the tenant with this information within 21 days after the tenancy begins. If the landlord fails to provide the required information, the tenant's obligation to pay rent is suspended until the landlord complies.

No. A checklist is recommended but not required.

Landlords can collect a rent deposit up to one month's rent, but this deposit is not a security deposit. In Ontario, security deposits are not allowed. Last month's rent may be collected as a deposit, but it can never be used to apply to damages. Landlords collect the last month's rent, or if rent is paid weekly the last week's rent, at the beginning of the tenancy and pay the tenant 1.4 per cent interest at the beginning of the next year, to be paid out every year. This deposit may only be applied to the last month's rent. It is not considered a damage or security deposit.

Requiring key money is illegal.

Post-dated cheques can be suggested, but a person cannot be refused a rental unit for refusing to give them. Landlords must provide tenants with a rent receipt.

The landlord and tenant can agree to extend or renew the tenancy on the same terms and conditions, or on modified terms and conditions. If both parties can’t reach an agreement once the lease expires, the tenancy automatically becomes a month-to-month arrangement.

Prior to a lease terminating, it is the responsibility of landlord and tenant to re-negotiate terms or terminate the lease. Tenants can give notice during a fixed term lease, provided that the date of termination is not any earlier than the last day of tenancy. Landlords may only terminate a tenancy for specified reasons as set out in the legislation and cannot terminate simply because a fixed term has expired. When a fixed term tenancy goes to a month to month term, the landlord cannot force a tenant to sign another lease or agree to another fixed term. When a lease is renewed, unless otherwise agreed, other than the new term of the lease, all other conditions of the lease remain the same with the exception of rent increases, which are not automatically carried forward. The landlord can raise the rent with 90 days written notice.

Landlords must provide notice in writing to the tenant, and required notice times vary depending on the reasons for the notice. Please refer to the detailed online and print brochures: " Terminating a Tenancy by a Tenant" and "Reasons for Terminating a Tenancy by a Landlord".

The tenant can terminate daily or weekly tenancies with 28 days written notice. Otherwise tenants must give 60 days notice when moving.

Landlords must approve or disapprove, in writing, the tenant's request to sublet. The original tenant can dispute a landlord's decision to reject the sublet by applying to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal using the appropriate form. If the original tenant wants to return to the premises after the sublet period and renew the lease, he or she would be subject to a rent increase upon renewal.

Ontario sets rent guidelines each year. Landlords must give 90 days written notice and can only increase the rent once every 12 months. Rent increases must follow the provincial guidelines published each August. To increase rent beyond the guideline, the landlord must apply to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal for permission. (Capital expenses are capped at 4 per cent above the guideline, and any excess of 4 per cent can be carried forward to future years.)

Note: Rent increase rules apply to an existing tenancy. Once the tenant moves, the landlord can increase the rent for that unit to whatever the market will bear.

The day after rent is due, if it is unpaid; the landlord can give a “Notice to terminate for nonpayment of rent.” The tenant then has 14 days if they are monthly or yearly renters, and 7 days if they are daily or weekly renters, to pay. If this grace period passes and no rent has been paid, the landlord can file an application to the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal for rent arrears.

There are numerous grounds for eviction but the main reason is rent arrears. Evictions for rent arrears in Ontario proceed as follows: One day the tenant is late paying rent; landlord serves notice to tenant; tenant has 14 days to pay rent; on the 15th day landlord pays a filing fee for Application to Terminate a Tenancy for Nonpayment of Rent and for Collection of Arrears of Rent; Tribunal gives notice of hearing as soon as possible; landlord serves Notice package on the tenant; landlord signs the certificate as proof; tenant has 5 calendar days to file a written dispute. If a dispute isn't filed, on 6th day a default order terminating the tenancy will be issued. If tenant disagrees with the default order they can file a “Motion to Set Aside the Default Order”. The hearing is held as soon as possible. The landlord arranges with the provincial Sheriff to evict the tenant.

Fine Points

• Permitting Landlord Entry to the Premises (Times and Reasons)
  The situations where a landlord may enter the premises may be written into the lease. Typically, landlords must give 24 hours written notice. The written notice must specify the reason for entry, the day of entry and a time of entry between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. A landlord can enter a unit without written notice if there is an emergency or if the tenant consents to the entry.
• May the tenant withhold rent for repairs?
  No.
• Changing Locks
  Allowed provided the landlord gives the tenant a key for any new lock.

Pets and Smoking

• May a landlord refuse to rent to a tenant who has pets or smokes?
  Ontario’s Rental Housing Tribunal responsible for the Tenant Protection Act (TPA) does not cover individuals before they become tenants, so a landlord could refuse to rent on the basis of smoking and/or pets.
   
  If a no pets and no smoking clause is written into a lease and the landlord discovers that the tenant has a pet and/or smokes in the rental unit, is this grounds for the landlord to evict the tenant?
   
  A landlord cannot evict a tenant because they have a pet in violation of a "no pets" clause in the lease. The TPA does not address smoking. However, a landlord may have grounds to evict a tenant, either for having a pet or for smoking, if the pet or smoke damages the property or bothers other tenants.
   
• Governing or Regulatory Body - The Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal
   
• Name of Act / Regulations - Tenant Protection Act (TPA), Statutory Powers Procedure Act, Types of Housing/Living Arrangements Covered by the Provincial Legislation

Ottawa Apartment Rental Guide

• Overview: Ottawa Apartment Rental Guide
• Ottawa Renting Rules
• Search Current Ottawa Apartment Listings
• Search Ottawa Apartment Rentals by Google Maps
• Getting Started
• Ottawa rental Housing types
• Before Meeting Prospective Landlords
• The Credit Check
• Meeting the Landlord
• Shared Accommodation

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