Arha Law

Protecting your rights

Landlord and Tenant

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How We
Can Help

Whether you are landlord facing an unruly tenant or you are a tenant who has an unhinged landlord. We are here to help! 

The law is clear, ones rights cannot be arbitrarily withheld. We are there to make sure all your rights are protected and your assets secured.  

helping you Protect your Rights

Landlord & Tenant Board

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Your Rights as a Landlord

Being a landlord comes with its own challenges. There are many hurdles a landlord has to jump through to protect their assets. We are here to make it easy to deal with an unruly tenant. Our team is experienced in dealing with the Landlord and Tenant Board with speed and efficiency.

your Rights as a Tenant

A tenant’s position is always of an underdog, the system is designed in a way to always favor the owner. Luckily tenants in Ontario have many rights that they are not aware of. We are here to make sure your landlord does not abuse their power and act in unlawful ways. Whether you are living under an oppressive landlord or experiencing unlawful behavior. Our team is here for you. 

important things you should know

Questions And Answers

Only the Landlord and Tenant Board has the jurisdiction to evict anyone. As a landlord you must serve N4 Notice which is a notice to end tenancy for non payment of rent. If tenant has been persistently late in paying the rent you may serve N8 Notice. After you have served them notice you must file a L2 Application which is an application to end a tenancy and evict a tenant.

In Ontario, many properties are subject to rent control which means that you can only increase the rent by a certain amount set by the government. If you home or building was first occupied after November 15, 2018 then your property is not subject to rent control and you can increase the rent by any amount. You must serve your tenant N1 Notice which is a notice of rent increase, you must serve this 90 days before the rent increase. If your home or building is not subject to rent control you must use N2 Notice.  If you made substantial upgrades to the home you can ask for an above guideline increase by serving a N10 Notice to the tenant. 

Moving into your home is one of the best way to reclaim your home. N12 Notice is a proper notice you must fill and serve the tenant, you must give the tenant one month compensation on the termination date. You must also file a L2 Application as soon as you issue the N12. Beware that you must not rent your home to anyone for the next 12 months or your tenant can file to the LTB for bad faith eviction. 

If one of your tenant, the tenant’s guest or another occupant of the rental unit is substantially interfering with another tenant’s or your reasonable enjoyment you can serve the tenant N5 Notice which is a notice to end tenancy for interfering with others. You can serve the tenant a N7 Notice which is a notice to end tenancy for causing serious problems in the rental unit if the tenant has seriously impaired the safety of another person, and this event occurred in the housing unit. 

The landlord is responsible for all maintenance of the property including shoveling the snow and mowing the grass. The only exception is when you sign a separate maintenance contract with your lease. 

No you do not, a landlord cannot evict to sell. Only the Landlord and Tenant Board can evict a tenant. When the landlord sells the house the lease transfers with it, the only thing changes is who you pay rent to. A tenant may have to move if the new owners decide to move into the rental unit. To do this, they must serve you a N12 Notice and provide you with 1 months rent as compensation on the termination date.

Due to the increase in interest rates landlords think that they should be able to charge more for rent, some complain that the unit is under the market rate. This is not a valid reason to increase rent, the rent can only be raised by the amount set by the government. The increase for the year 2022 is 1.2% and for the year 2023 is 2.5%. The landlord must provide you 90 days notice by way of N1 Notice and can only increase rent once every 12 months. 

The landlord has a duty to  maintain the unit in is good state of repair which means that all appliances must be in good working order. If your landlord does not do so timely you must inform them by way of T6 Application which is tenants application about maintenance.  

A landlord may only enter a rental unit with a written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry under the following circumstances:

  1. To carry out a repair or replacement or do work in the rental unit.
  2. To allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the residential complex to view the rental unit.
  3. To allow Professional Engineers or another qualified person to make a physical inspection of the rental.
  4. To allow a potential purchaser to view the rental unit.
  5. To carry out an inspection of the rental unit, if, 
    • the inspection is for the purpose of determining whether or not the rental unit is in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and complies with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.
    • it is reasonable to carry out the inspection.
 
The written notice under subsection must specify the reason for entry, the day of entry and a time of entry between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.