Manual

The Tenant Survival Manual was first created in 1985 in the hope of providing tenants in Toronto with a better understanding of the landlord and tenant law at the time and how it affected them. Since then, the Tenant Survival Manual has gone through many changes and has been constantly updated to provide tenants with the most current information about their rights and responsibilities.

On January 31st, 2007, the law that governs the relationship between property owners and tenants was changed. The new law is called the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Tenant Survival Manual is designed to give tenants a better understanding of the Residential Tenancies Act and to help answer questions that you may have about your rights and responsibilities.

For this online version of the Tenant Survival Manual, just click the green words to link to external resources

The Tenant Survival Manual is also meant to act as a resource for tenants looking for services that can help them enforce their rights. It is not a substitute for legal advice – if you need legal assistance, contact a lawyer, a qualified paralegal, or your local Community Legal Clinic. You can also call the Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494 for help finding your local Community Legal Clinic.

In addition to the Residential Tenancies Act, there are two other laws in Ontario that protect the rights of tenants:

· The first of these is the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC). It is responsible for ensuring that people are not discriminated against because of their race, colour, sex, citizenship, ability, gender, family status, sexual orientation or because they are on welfare or other financial supports.

· The second law, called the Social Housing Reform Act (SHRA), is responsible for determining how social housing is administered and particularly how rent is calculated.

The Tenant Survival Manual is mainly concerned with helping tenants understand the Residential Tenancies Act.

Text Box: NOTE: Anything that you read in the Survival Manual will apply if you are a tenant in Ontario. However, many of the resources we list are only available in the City of Toronto. If you don’t live in Toronto but have questions about the law, you can contact the Landlord and Tenant Board or your local Community Legal Clinic.

We are currently testing this online version of the Tenant Survival Manual: If you notice something that needs to be clarified; if you want more information on a particular subject; or if you simply would like to comment on the Tenant Survival Manual, please click here to send us an email.