Rental
RentSafeTO Explained: Which Toronto Buildings Are Covered, How They Are Scored, and What Tenants Can Look Up
Which Toronto apartment buildings actually fall under RentSafeTO — and which do not? The line is three or more storeys AND ten or more units, both at once, so plenty of smaller walk-ups, condos, and houses sit outside it entirely. Ontario real estate broker Arthur Zhao breaks down who has to register, how the City scores qualifying buildings every two years across 50 items, what the green/yellow/red lobby sign means, what tenants can look up on the public map, and what happens to owners who fall short. RentSafeTO is a City of Toronto program under Municipal Code Chapter 354 — not provincial; confirm specifics on toronto.ca.
Renting Out a Condo? You Owe One Duty an Ordinary Landlord Doesn’t: Section 83 of the Condominium Act
Renting out a condo means a second set of duties an ordinary landlord never has to think about. Beyond the RTA and the LTB, Ontario’s Condominium Act, 1998 makes you answerable to the condo corporation — and section 83 is the core of it. Toronto broker Arthur Zhao breaks it down clause by clause: within 10 days of signing or renewing a lease you must tell the corporation the unit is leased, give it the tenant’s name, your address, and either a copy of the lease or the Minister’s prescribed summary, and hand your tenant the declaration, by-laws and rules — and if the tenancy ends without renewal you have 10 more days to notify in writing. It covers the three parts owners most often miss, and the real consequences of skipping it: no fixed fine, but a compliance order, costs added to your common expenses, and a lien on your unit.
A Tenant Asks You to Install Grab Bars and a Ramp. As an Ontario Landlord, Can You Say No?
Can an Ontario landlord refuse when a tenant with a disability asks to install grab bars, a ramp, a widened doorway or a visual doorbell — and who ends up paying? Toronto broker Arthur Zhao maps the duty to accommodate under the Human Rights Code: by default the landlord funds the work up to the point of undue hardship, a bar the law measures on just three things — cost, available outside funding, and genuine health and safety requirements. The guide separates repairs a landlord already owes under RTA s.20 from an added accessibility modification, walks through the request-and-consult process, covers who restores the unit at move-out, points to Ontario’s $15,000 HVMP funding, and explains the one-year HRTO deadline versus raising the Code at the LTB. General information, not legal advice — consult a licensed professional.
When a Sole Tenant Dies: What Ontario Landlords Must Actually Do (and Why It Isn’t an N14)
A sole tenant has died in your Ontario rental — what now? Despite what you may have read, there's no N14 to serve and no application to file with the Landlord and Tenant Board. Under s.91 of the Residential Tenancies Act, the tenancy is deemed terminated 30 days after death, automatically. During those 30 days you must preserve the tenant's belongings (except anything unsafe or unhygienic) and give the estate's executor, administrator, or a family member reasonable access. This guide covers when the tenancy ends, your duty to safeguard property, dealing with next of kin versus the estate representative, rent and deposit, and what N14 is actually for.
Can Your Landlord Ban You From Smoking or Growing Cannabis in Your Ontario Rental?
Legal cannabis let you grow 4 plants at home — but that is a right against the government, not against your landlord. This tenant-side guide explains what your Ontario lease can and cannot take away: when a no-smoking or no-cultivation clause is actually enforceable, why a landlord usually cannot add one mid-tenancy, whether a lease can override your federal right to grow (Cannabis Act s.12(4)), what second-hand smoke and mould can trigger (N5/N7), your landlord's 24-hour entry rules, and medical-cannabis accommodation under the Human Rights Code. Verified 2026-08-05.
Moving Out the Right Way in Ontario: The N9 Notice, the Deposit You Already Spent, and the Inspection That Doesn’t Exist
Here's what catches Ontario tenants off guard on move-out: there is no damage deposit and no legal move-out inspection, so the burden of proving the unit's condition is entirely on you — document it before you hand back the keys. This guide also covers the N9 notice (60 days, ending on the last day of a rental period), how your last month's rent deposit and its yearly interest are settled (2.1% for 2026), and how to sublet or assign if you need to break a fixed term early. Sourced throughout, and written for tenants who would rather get it right than argue later. Verified 2026-08-05.
Your Landlord Just Listed the Place: A Tenant’s Rights Map for Ontario
Your landlord is selling and you rent in Ontario — can you be forced out? No. According to the Landlord and Tenant Board, a sale doesn't end your lease: showings need 24 hours' written notice (8 a.m.–8 p.m.), the buyer inherits your tenancy and deposit, and only a genuine own-use N12 — with 60 days' notice and one month's rent compensation — can end it. Here is your rights map, and the T5 remedy for when an own-use claim turns out to be a pretext.
Renting Your First Place in Ontario as an International Student: No Credit, No Guarantor, No Problem
New to Ontario with no Canadian credit score and no local guarantor? Under the Residential Tenancies Act and the Ontario Human Rights Code, a landlord can only legally take a last month's rent deposit (capped at one month) plus a refundable key deposit at cost — security and damage deposits are illegal here. A landlord cannot force you to prepay months of rent, cannot single you out for a guarantor because you are a newcomer, and cannot treat 'no Canadian credit' as bad credit. This guide covers the document pack that replaces a credit score, the deposit rules, the Form 2229E standard lease, and building credit from month one.
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