TRENDING
ONTARIO INTRODUCES
NEW RENTAL LEASES MANDATORY FORM PROTECTS TENANTS AND LANDLORDS by MARLENE EISNER There’s soon going to be a lot more clarity for landlords and tenants when it comes to any ambiguity surrounding what belongs in a rental agreement. The province recently introduced a new mandatory 13-page standard lease for all private residential leases, effective on or after April 30, including tenancies in single- and semidetached houses, apartment buildings, rented condominiums and secondary units (such as basement apartments). Until now, there hasn’t been a standardized form for rental agreements between landlords and tenants in Ontario. Often, landlords and tenants created their own agreements or used a variety of online forms. Some of the terms that cropped up in leases included things like the landlord determining how many guests a tenant could have and how long they could stay, and clauses around maintenance that required a tenant to do work like mowing the lawn, shovelling the driveway and doing minor repairs inside the unit. The new lease form is written in easy-to-understand language using a template to capture basic information such as names and addresses, the total rent and when it’s due, and any rules or terms about the rental unit or building. It also outlines the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords and explains what
can (and cannot) be included in a lease. For example, landlords cannot ban guests or pets, require post-dated cheques or stipulate the landlord can give a tenant notice that they have to leave at any time. There is a section at the end of the new lease that allows a landlord to attach a document with additional terms not already in the lease, but a tenant still should not be paying damage deposits, more than one month’s rent in advance, interest on arrears or penalties on missed rental payments, and they shouldn’t be expected to waive their liability or their landlord’s liability for maintenance and repair issues. Leases that have been signed before April 30 are still in effect and enforceable, as long as it is consistent with the Residential Tenancies Act. With new leases
on or after April 30, tenants whose landlords fail to provide a new standard lease following a written request from the tenant are allowed to withhold rent. If a tenant requests a standard mandatory lease, the landlord has 21 days to provide it, and if they don’t, the tenant can withhold up to one month’s rent — giving the landlord another 30 days to provide the lease. The mandatory lease does not apply to most social and supportive housing, retirement and nursing homes, mobile home parks and land lease communities or commercial properties. A standard lease guide will be available in 23 languages. There are approximately 1.25 million private rental tenancies in Ontario with an estimated monthly turnover of 19,000 units per month. FEB 17 - MAR 3, 2018 37