r/OntarioRentals

Just looking for some general advice here. I just started renting a condo in Toronto and have only been in the unit about 2 months. Since living there I have already had a handful of issues including smoke detectors, landlords being unresponsive, HVAC not working, etc. The building is marketed as a “luxury” condo and is only a few years old so I was not expecting to have so many problems so quickly and unfortunately majority of the repair/maintenance responsibilities fall on the owner (LL) of each unit and not the building management. For context, the owners are a married couple and I was told the husband is a trades worker.

Most recently was the HVAC, I had tried to turn on the AC (included in my rent) and discovered it was not working. Since letting the landlord know immediately about a week ago, my landlord and a “technician” who I believe to be a friend of his have spent approximately 12 hours across 4 separate visits in my unit attempting to repair it. This has been incredibly disruptive as I work from home most of the time, and I have been getting increasingly frustrated as I believe they could have just hired an HVAC company to have the problem diagnosed on the first visit and resolved very quickly. As disruptive as this has been I prefer to be home while they are in the unit as the idea of them being in my space when I’m not there, especially as a woman, makes me uncomfortable.

During the last visit I was working in my office and heard a clanging noise and looked up to see the technician using a cast iron pan that I had left out from breakfast that morning. I got up to see what was going on and he had put it back on the stovetop, stating that he needed to use it for water. I was immediately annoyed because a) cast iron pans really shouldn’t be submerged in water and b) I was sitting right there and he didn’t ask if he could use my personal property, but I was busy and just returned to what I was doing. This was not the first time I had witnessed them being careless with my stuff: they were standing on my barstools to access vents and hanging things off of my TV mount, all without asking.

They leave again that day with the unit still not being fixed. Later that night as I was using the stovetop to cook dinner, I heard a cracking noise and discovered the glass stovetop had a large crack in it running all across the bottom. I immediately turned the stove off and took photo/video for my landlord. I then went to the sink to clean the dishes and discovered that when I went to drain the sink that had been plugged, the plumbing below was leaking a ton of water (only when draining, not while running water normally). I immediately took photo/video again and started cleaning up with towels to try to prevent damage to the cupboards. I sent my landlord all of the photo/video from the stove and the sink and explained that I was feeling very stressed due to the amount of issues I had experienced in such a short time. I made sure to mention that the technician had also been using a very heavy pan on my stovetop, which may not have been smart since they seem to know him personally, but I was trying to think of any reason this would possibly have happened when I’ve been using it with no issues for two months. All power was turned off for the stovetop and I have not used the kitchen sink since, despite there not being an active leak.

My landlord responded and was apologetic about the issues and about the AC still not being fixed. She requested that they come look at the kitchen today to inspect the damage, to which I responded I had to go into the office but they were welcome to come when I got home that afternoon. She requested permission to come while I wasn’t home, to which I responded I would be more comfortable if they came while I was there (I considered letting them go briefly but given the circumstances I felt uncomfortable with it - if I hadn’t been home yesterday I wouldn’t have even known that the technician was touching my pan/stovetop).

I am still at work now and my landlord just emailed me a “friendly reminder” with maintenance tips for all of the appliances in the unit. I understand the sentiment but I am getting nervous that they are going to try to blame any of these issues on me, and if that’s the case I’m not sure what to do, as I can’t prove the technician actually did anything to the stovetop.

I am also curious about the timelines for repairs. It has now been 10 days since I reported the AC was not working; the weather is not quite hot enough yet for it to be an issue but it will be soon. At what point is it unreasonable for them to keep bringing the same person over who doesn’t seem to be able to fix the problem? And given how long this has taken I am expecting the stovetop to not be repaired quickly, but at what point do I have recourse to be able to file against them if it becomes an issue? I am really stressed about this, I have never had an issue with a landlord before and I don’t want to cause a bad relationship but I feel they are trying to cut corners and I pay a lot of money to live here.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

I’m about to move in with my partner to a new place, we’ve been living together at his place for half a year now but I’ve kept my name on the lease / utilities at my old apartment because my roommate doesn’t have a CC. I don’t want to pull my name from everything since she might get re-checked and denied if they decide she is unfit without credit.

She has had the rent coming from her account for about 6 months, with her paying me for utilities/internet/insurance via e-transfer each month. She has been fine paying everything but I worry without a credit card they’re going to suddenly decide she can’t pay rent for whatever reason or they might make her sign a new lease / up her rent. I know she can likely have utilities etc. switched over so we will do that first.

She works a full cash job, makes more than I do actually but because it’s all under the table she has never been approved for a CC. She makes more than enough each month and has bank statements to prove this, however we were accepted under pretence that we both were paying and I had a CC / great credit.

What are the chances they raise rent / recheck and possibly deny her? We are both tenants on the lease together 50/50 though she has been paying alone from her account for the past while and can prove this to the mgmt company.

Hello,

This post might seem a bit stupid because is such little things that has been bothering me at my current place but I want to know if I’m in the right to say anything to my landlord or if I should just shut up honestly.

Just for context: I moved in September 2025. I rent this room on a house, share the all place with other two tenants, each of us have our own room. The landlord lives on her basement apartment downstairs and has absolutely nothing upstairs. She has everything she needs downstairs and it is considered like she doesn’t live with us on this case. Up until
February this year I had 0 issues with her, quite the opposite we would chat a lot, the only thing I noticed was that she text spam a lot, always sending those messages to everyone about things like garbage, snow removal, and bla bla. Is annoying but whatever.

I had one big situation earlier this year with her where I could see a side of her a bit unstable I would say. I signed a no pet lease, but I had issues with my ex and the pet we had together so I asked her if the cat could come visit me and stay for like 1-2x at a time, she agreed, I spoke with everyone at the house and people were excited to have my cat staying with us.

Things turned left ( doesn’t matter for this post) but I wanted to permanently stay with the cat which is matter of fact SHE OFFERED for him to stay and live with us on the condition that people wouldn’t mind ( which no one did) THE DAY AFTER she freaked out because I was taking a lot of space for the cat? I had just a tree and litter box downstairs ( common area), she said I didn’t told her the cat would stay, and that i should move out in two months before the lease is up. That day it was only me and her and she was yelling at me , and again spamming with messages.

For my unhappiness my cat ended up passing away 3 weeks later, he was sick already when all happened.

Anyways I was too sad to look for anything plus I spent so much with him and vet bills than even now I’m still paying for some stuff.

Now I see like a micromanaging every time she texts.

I left a cardboard box on the kitchen because we are out of recycling bags so i need to purchase more and had been literally a day. She sent me a message saying the common area isn’t storage and that I should break down the box and but on the recycling bin outside. I explained to her why I didn’t do it yet and she sent another saying the bag doesn’t matter bla bla.

The other day she was complaining about a Walmart bag that was on the living room and again saying that we shouldn’t keep things there. The bag wasn’t mine but I didn’t care lol who cares honestly. She always gives 24hrs notice before entering the house someone was moving in and that is why she saw it.

This happens all the time, every opportunity she has to spam us with those micromanaging stuff she does, is always such silly things that honestly the only people who should care is us that share the space!

May I say that I new tenant moved upstairs ( she has this third floor that it is almost like a full apartment there) and is her ex husband lol he left those storage boxes on the living room has been 3 days. I DONT CARE but why isn’t she complaining about that?

I can’t afford to move out in September so I was going to renew the lease but is pissing me off the things that she is bothered about.

Anyone has suggestions on how act on this without making it weird?

my lease ends August 31, but my landlord is saying I have to sign a renewal before May 7 or else she’ll put my unit up for September and start showings after May 7th. Is this allowed?

New landlord. I will be renting a house to my mom and sister. I will pay the mortgage, property tax and all utilities.

What do I need to cover myself to be able to properly report all T076 rental expenses?

1. Do I sign a 1 year lease with my mom and sister and then renew it every year? Is this the the Ontario residential tenancy agreement?

2. If my mom e-transfers me the rent every month, do I still need to maintain rent receipts/invoices? Or are the e-transfer/bank account deposits/balance statements sufficient evidence?

3. What scenarios am I entitled to claim mileage for when travelling to the property? Example - landlord maintenance/repairs to house, lawn cutting?. How do I go about documenting these visits?

Hello,

I’ve been leasing a house with two others for a year and a half, the lease has moved to month to month 6 months ago. I gave 3 months notice of leaving (only 2 required) and said I’d vacate the house by May 31st. Here’s the thing, the landlord promised the basement tenants my room for May 1st (double dipping) even though I’ve paid up until May 31st. I’m trying to compromise and said id vacate early for a half month rent back but he’s refusing that but pushing me to let them move in. My question here is can I have the room empty as long as he’s got my money for May and I pay my 1/3 of utilities for May?

My husband and I live in Mississauga and are looking to move out of our condo. We saw that giving 60 days notice was preferred… totally fine with that! We like our landlord and don’t want to screw her over. We contacted a real estate agent and he said we should ideally give a months notice before the 60 day notice… but wouldn’t that be 90 days notice?? Do we really need to tell our landlord we’re moving out 3 months in advance?? This seems a little excessive to me but we are immigrants so want to adapt to Ontario standards

Hi everyone, looking for advice on a rental situation in Oshawa, Ontario.

I was looking for a master bedroom to rent and found a house where the master bedroom was advertised/agreed at $1,250/month + utilities. I viewed the place, signed the rental agreement on April 15, and paid first and last month’s rent, so $2,500 total. My move-in date was May 1.

A day before move-in, the landlord called and said the previous tenant in the master bedroom wanted to stay for another month. I clearly told her no, I was not okay with that because I specifically agreed to rent the master bedroom. She said she would talk to the tenant.

The day before move-in, I messaged her again and clearly said I had signed for the master bedroom and was supposed to move in on May 1. She replied that I could move my stuff into the master bedroom, so I assumed the issue was resolved.

When I showed up, she told me the previous tenant was still living in the master bedroom and that I would have to stay in another room for the next three weeks.

I told her that was not okay because I did not agree to rent the other room. I said I could help the other tenant move into the other room, but I could not accept being placed in a different room.

I asked for my money back since she could not provide the room I paid for. She said she “doesn’t do refunds.”

When I said I would go to the Landlord and Tenant Board, she said the LTB would not apply because she has a room upstairs and a room downstairs and “lives here” / shares the kitchen and common areas. However, I feel that she is lying to prevent me from going to LTB. The house is rented out to multiple tenents and I think she lives nearby in another house.

UPDATE: she has two cases filed against her as a tenant of the house on CanLII. She probably does live in the house, so I guess this is a small claims court issue.

My main goal is just to get my $2,500 back. I did not move into the other room because that is not what I paid for or agreed to. I have all the communication, contract and emails saved.

Questions:

1. Should I file a T1 with the LTB for return of money owed, since she took first and last but did not provide the agreed-upon room?
2. If she claims she lives there and shares the kitchen/bathroom, does that automatically remove this from the LTB, or would the LTB decide whether the RTA applies?
3. If the LTB says they do not have jurisdiction, would Small Claims Court be the right next step?
4. Is there anything specific I should include in a demand letter before filing?
5. What evidence should I organize besides the contract, payment proof, and text messages showing I only agreed to the master bedroom?

Any advice from people familiar with Ontario tenant law / LTB / Small Claims would be appreciated.