Are you planning on renting out an Ontario property? If so, it’s crucial that you understand Ontario’s rental laws. In Windsor, the Residential Tenancies Act of 2006 governs the landlord-tenant relationship.

    The landlord-tenant laws will help you understand both parties’ rights and responsibilities, important disclosures, eviction rules, rent rules and so much more.

    In this post, we are outlining everything you should know about the landlord-tenant law in Windsor, ON.

Landlord Rights & Responsibilities

In Ontario, the Landlord Tenant Act outlines the rights and responsibilities that each party has to the lease.

As a landlord, here are your rights and responsibilities.

A landlord has the right to:

• Set the rent amount and make any rent adjustments.
• Collect a rent deposit from a tenant.
• Collect a key deposit.
• Request personal information from a tenant in a manner that’s consistent with the Ontario human rights code.
• Enter a rental unit to carry out important responsibilities, such us to inspect the unit or show the unit to prospective tenants.

A landlord is responsible for:

• Maintaining the rental premises to habitable standards.
• Meeting heat requirements.
• Providing tenants with a legal lease agreement.

Tenant Rights & Responsibilities

A tenant’s rights and responsibilities are outlined in the Residential Tenancies Act.

A tenant has the right to:

• Quiet and peaceful enjoyment of their property.
• Be notified when the landlord is looking to access the property to carry out repairs or maintenance.
• Be notified when the landlord is looking to terminate their lease agreement for legitimate reasons.
• Clear details regarding rent, such as the acceptable payment options, when rent is due, and the amount of grace period (if any).
• Reasonable responses for maintenance and repair requests.
• Receive rent receipts when requested.

A tenant is responsible for:

• Ensuring their unit remains clean and sanitary.
• Paying rent on time.
• Abiding by all terms of the lease agreement.

Overview of Landlord-Tenant Laws in Windsor, Ontario

1. Rent Increase

Originally, buildings constructed on or after November 1, 1991 were exempted from any rent control rules. But this changed in 2017 when amendments were made to the Rental Tenancies Act of 2006.

There are new rent increase guidelines each year. In 2020, the guideline was set at 2.2%.

If you’d like to set a higher rent than that provided by the guidelines, you must send an application to the LTB. They will then evaluate your request and make a decision.

2. Tenant Eviction

As a Windsor landlord, you have a right to evict your tenant under certain conditions.

According to the Landlord Tenant Board, the following are some of the reasons you may choose to evict your tenant.

Your tenant is:

• Keeping unauthorized tenants in the unit.
• Impairing the rights of other tenants to enjoy their rented properties peacefully and quietly.
• Failing to pay rent in accordance with the lease agreement.
• Impairing the safety of other tenants.
• Using the property in the illegal sale, manufacture or distribution of controlled substances.
• Violating the terms of the lease agreement.
• Causing excessive property damage.
• Abandoning the unit.

You may be wondering how long it takes to evict a tenant. Well, this will depend on various factors, including:

• The reason for the eviction
• Whether a hearing with LTB is necessary or not
• How long the tenant takes to respond to the eviction notice

In generally, though, a tenant eviction will normally take anywhere between 1 to 3 months. However, if the tenant chooses to move out on their own after receiving the eviction notice, then it could take around 3 weeks.

3. Lease Termination Notice

Determining how much notice to give your tenant to terminate their lease depends on the type of lease you’re operating.

“For cause” evictions, you’ll need to provide the tenant with a notice ranging from 10 to 20 days depending on the specific reason for the eviction.

If you’re evicting your tenant because you no longer want to rent your unit anymore, then a 28-day notice for daily or weekly agreements is required. For longer tenancies, you may require a 60 or 120 days notice.

You can read more here.

4. Ontario Human Rights Code

In Ontario, the Human Rights Code applies to both tenants and landlords. As per the Code, both parties have the right to equal treatment in housing, without any harassment or discrimination.

As a landlord, you cannot treat prospective tenants, or current tenants unfairly based on their:

• Race
• Color
• Religion
• Ancestry, including individuals of Aboriginal descent
• National origin
• Age
• Sexual orientation
• Citizenship, including refugee status
• Receipt of public assistance
• Age, including persons aged 16 or 17 years who are no longer living with their parents
• Disability
• Familial status

When screening tenants, you must do so based on qualifying standards such as:

• Income information
• Credit references
• Rental history
• Criminal status

This will ensure there’s no discrimination!

Bottom Line

If you’re planning on buying a real estate investment property in Ontario, you must understand Ontario’s rental laws.

We hope this article was helpful and that you now have a basic overview of the Ontario Landlord-Tenant laws.

If you have further questions, contact Property Hunters today!

Disclaimer: This blog should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Laws frequently change, and this post might not be updated at the time of your reading. Please contact us for any questions you have in regards to this content or any other aspect of your property management needs.