r/OntarioRenting

https://archive.is/sl23X

basically what the title says. i live in a apartment w 2 other people and we share a kitchen. i received an email from him stating that “It has come to our attention that an additional occupant is currently residing in your room on an ongoing basis.”
She has her own place and is only here a few times a week. Should i be worried about this?

For additional context my roommates are assholes(don’t clean up after themselves, fridge is a nightmare, stealing, roaming around the house butt ass naked at 12 in the afternoon) so i can’t even trust them to not rat me out. i’m tied down here bc of my agreement which expires soon, and it has been a nightmare living w these people but it was fine before this happened.

This was the rest of the email “As per the attached rooming agreement which you signed on [Date] August, 2025, occupancy is limited to one person unless prior written consent is obtained from the landlord. No such consent has been requested or granted. This situation constitutes a breach of the agreement.
You are required to remedy this violation immediately by ensuring that no unauthorized occupant resides in the premises. Please confirm in writing by Friday, May 15th that this has been corrected. If the situation is not corrected within this timeframe, we can proceed with further action which can include termination or re-negotiation of the agreement.
Please treat this matter as urgent. I encourage you to respond promptly to discuss and resolve this issue.”

What could i do in this case. Ideally i would move out but i can’t bc of the agreement i signed previously.

Hopefully this is where I can vent bc I am losing my mind. Gave 60 days notice before I had a place bc unfortunately, places are only coming up for rent 30 days or less before move in and I honestly didnt anticipate it to be this difficult. My credit isnt good (590) but bc of high utilization, not bc of any missed payments. I just paid a cpl thousand down but unfortunately that wont reflect on my report in time. I also am disputing something fraudulent on my report but that wont be resolved in time either. We have been in our current home for over 10 years with a glowing reference letter. My income is good, making more than 3x the rent. I even secured a guarantor bc of the low credit. I am getting denied everywhere. Not even getting in the door to view. I am working with a realtor and he is saying most of these landlords want 2 incomes. So I end up homeless bc im single? I have managed it on my own in the 30 years since I left my parents, im sure I can continue. I clear 6 figures a year and am about to have to live in an air bnb. Disgusting! What are ppl that work min wage or those on assistance doing? I cant believe this

I live in a non rent controlled building. Landlord and realtor were attempting to have me sign a new lease with added utilities or they would sell. In negotiations, we stated our budget, and they did not get back to us. We were waiting for N2 so we could decide from there whether we would like to stay. Instead they listed unit for rent and said we needed to be out by June 30 as we dont agree to new lease. We disagreed. After repeated emails of us asking for proper notice, them asking us to make the unit available for viewings and then finally them asking us to sign an N11, which we explicitly said we are not obligated to sign, they finally gave us an N2.

The main thing right now: the N2 was given on May 8th, and says effective date is August 8th. This is 91 day notice. But, our rent is always due on 1st of the month. We replied saying that the effective date should be September, but Landlord replied saying no, and if we would like to stay we will need to pay pro-rated for that month, and if we would like to leave we would need to pay prorated into August as well.

For ending tenancy there are clear rules it must be per the tenancy agreement, and 60 day notice must be per rental period (rounds up to the next month). But there is no clear rule for this from landlord rent increase notice, I can’t find any hearings on this, and LTB hotline said they are unsure, that the guideline only states that rent increase must be given 90 days in advance of effective date, not when effective date can be given.

TLDR: Which is correct? That new rent increase starts on N2 effective date, or that effective date must fall into the regular rental date?

With how the Ontario market is right now, I’m wondering how people are thinking about renting vs buying.

1. Are you planning to keep renting for flexibility?
2. Trying to save for a down payment?
3. Or have you decided buying doesn’t make sense at current prices/rates?

What factors are influencing your decision the most right now?

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.

I noticed the landlord 40 days before I will leave. The landlord pushed me to stay one more month, because i didn't notice her for 60 days and didn't want to give back to me my cheques.

So i just cancelled my cheques. Today, i received a n4 form, saying that i own here money and need to leave before May 23. I don't think that she can do it, because she holds my last month which is May. When i move in, i gave to her first month and last month and lived in building like 1,5 years. Want to move because the new tenant was dirty, still staff, never cleaned after himself( 4 tenant 1 bathroom)

What will you guys be doing in that situation? Is it legal to kick me out?

Thanks everyone for the future answers

Alex

Our landlord gave us an N12 saying they want to use the basement for themselves. They live upstairs. They have 2 children and claim they want to plan for a 3rd one.

I find the timing suspense because they illegally increased the rent last year and then gave us an N2 in January after confronting us about an issue. I guess they got legal representation after this because their paralegal reached out to us and recanted the N2 saying it was sent in error and tried to give back the money from the increase (we didn’t not accept).

I believe the N12 is in retaliation to the confrontation we had, but I do think they want to use the basement and not rent it out again.

Do I have a chance here with the board? We are a young family with a baby and finances are rough right now. I won’t be able to find another place like this.

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.

Hi, I rent a condo in owner based condominium. We signed a lease in November for a year however, both hubby and I got a job in another far away city so this location is not gonna work out. Additionally I am due in November, so we want to have a less travel time for both of us in order to work this out. We decided to terminate the lease and gave our two month notice, which makes June as our last month of occupancy.
Landlord is asking for penalty to be paid in a month of June . So landlord is going to use the last month rent towards June and want another payment equal to half rent exact to be paid in June as well.
Is this fair? Landlord claims that it has to be used towards advertising and other losses that they are gonna take. Also claiming that they are still loosing equal to half month from their own pocket even after we pay the penalty.
On top of that landlord agent told our agent that we are lucky that landlord is not asking for all the rent up to the year end as they could very much do that. Making us believing that half rent penalty is easy way out.
How does this make sense?
Chat GPT says it is not a reasonable amount and that it only takes a couple hundred $ in Mississauga to advertise it on rental websites. Not sure how landlord is calculating it as exact as half month rent.

Edit: June is last month of occupancy

Hi,

I just signed my first lease in Ontario and my landlord is asking for proof of tenant insurance.

I started looking into gettting a policy and I’m a bit surprised at the price range. I’ve seen quotes anywhere from $20/month to $60/month for what looks like similar coverage.

For context, I live in 1-bedroom apartment in Mississauga.

What are people realistically paying right now and are some companies consistently cheaper than others?

Thanks!

I’m 26 and this is my first rental that isn’t a student house. My parents have always rented, and from what I’ve seen, their leases usually just went month-to-month after the first year.

I’ve been in my current place for a year (lease ends July 1st). I assumed I’d automatically go month-to-month after that, but my landlord wants me to sign another 1-year lease at the same price. The thing is, I don’t plan on moving in the next year, but I’m also at a stage in life where a lot could change. I could get a new job and have to relocate, or worst case lose my job and need to move back home. Signing another full year makes me anxious because it feels like a big commitment with so many unknowns.

I know that this can go the other way around of if I don’t sign for another year they can kick me out. But both me and the landlord are on the same page that he would rather not have to find a new tenant, and I’d rather not move.

Is it normal to keep re-signing a yearly lease like this? When do rentals typically switch to month-to-month, if at all? I really like my landlord and don’t want him to think I’m lying in any way, as I told him I want to stay for another year but also change to a month to month lease. It comes off contradictory but if I tried to explain my thoughts I’d write an essay. So if anyone’s a landlord please also give me advice on how to express my concerns/explain myself without them worrying

Hello!

We are moving to a new rental unit and like our current home, will have a fully fenced backyard.

We have 3 dogs, all well behaved but alas they are dogs. Our backyards tend to take a hit with all the traffic. We reseed and care for it as best we can but only so much can be done. We also have a 1.5yr old so are trying to find a way to allow the dogs and baby to share a yard.

Some questions.

1. Is yard “damage” ie. high traffic areas without any grass considered actual damage, and would tenants be held liable? We haven’t had any issues with this in the past (but I was in the states so lots of things are different when it comes to rentals!) and our current landlord (where we are moving out) hasn’t mentioned anything, when I bring it up he just seems unbothered. Just want to know for my own personal knowledge.

2. Can we install our own fence (no dig fence) in the backyard to split it? We would essentially like to have a dog run, one side for the dogs to run crazy and limit beating up the grass to that specific area, and they can do their business there. On the other side would be a clean (no doggy waste or pee, ever) for our us to enjoy as a family. I personally believe this to also work out better in the long run because grass damage is limited to 1/4 of the backyard.

Just for the people that I’m sure will mention something about not spending time with our dogs - Obviously we would also allow the dogs to play with us in the entirety of the backyard when supervised. We just want a space we can let them out to go potty or out for a bit while we are inside or in the am before work, pm before bed, etc. lol