THE FEDERATION OF METRO TENANTS' ASSOCIATIONSTenant Survival Manual
Chapters
Are You Covered by the Law?
Above Guideline Rent Increases
Conversion, Demolition or Renovation
Tenancy Agreements
A tenancy agreement is a legal agreement between you and a property owner that allows you to live in your place. A tenancy agreement can be spoken (verbal) or it can be written. If it is written, it is usually called a Lease or Rental Agreement. Tenancy agreements are usually either weekly or monthly, or for a fixed term. All tenancy agreements are automatically renewed when they are over and they can only be ended by a notice, by agreement, or by an order from the LTB.
When you are
filling out an application for an apartment, a property owner is allowed
to ask for different kinds of information. That information may be:
· Your name and current address
· Your employment history and work references
· Previous property owner references
· Income and banking information
· Credit checks and credit references
· A guarantor (someone who can be legally held responsible if you do not pay your rent)
You do not have to give out your social insurance number and you do not have to supply proof of citizenship. The Ontario Human Rights Code allows property owners to ask for any of the above information as long as they do not use any single one as the reason for refusing to rent to you. For example, a property owner may ask for income information as long as they also ask for previous property owner references and employment history.
Before you sign a
lease, it is important to know:
· Who the property owner is
· How long the tenancy is (usually 12 months)
· What you are paying for (hydro, heat, parking, cable)
· How much rent you are expected to pay
· When you are expected to pay (monthly or weekly) and on what date
It is important to know that the RTA supersedes anything written in a lease. This means that if something in your lease conflicts with the Residential Tenancies Act, it is the RTA that must be followed.
If you signed a lease, a property owner must give you a copy of the lease within 21 days of signing it. If a property owner does not provide you with a copy of the lease within 21 days, you can stop paying your rent until you get a copy of the lease.
If you entered into a tenancy agreement but did not sign a lease, a property owner must give you their name and address within 21 days. If a property owner does not provide you with their name and address within 21 days, you may stop paying your rent until they give you their name and address. See Section 12 of the RTA for more information.
You do not have to move out when your lease expires and you do not need to sign a renewal of your lease in order to stay in your apartment. When your lease expires, you automatically become a ‘month-to-month’ tenant. (Month-to-month tenancy means that you choose to automatically renew your tenancy on a monthly basis, until you give a property owner 60 days written notice that you would like to move.) A month-to-month tenant is still covered by the terms of the original lease and protected by the RTA. See Section 38 of the RTA for more information.
Even if you have never signed a lease, you are still protected by the law.
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