The five most important things you should know about renting in Canada

Newcomers may not be familiar with important information about renting in Canada.

For example, tenants may enjoy many protections under some provincial rental regulations, but may not take advantage of these protections if they are unaware of them.

Moving to Canada? Sign up for our special newsletter!

To give you the tools to navigate this foreign rental market, CIC News has compiled a short list of the most important things you need to know before renting a property in Canada.

Rent control

Some provinces have rent control regulations.

These regulations limit when a landlord can increase the rent on a property and by how much.

You can save money by considering rent control regulations when choosing a property.

If rent control doesn’t apply to your property, you may benefit from budgeting for larger increases at renovation.

The following table provides some details about rent control in applicable provinces:

No other provinces or territories have rent control policies at this time. Landlords in non-rent-controlled jurisdictions can usually increase the rent to whatever amount they want once the lease ends or is renewed.

End of lease/evictions

You should consider several factors before signing a lease:

• If your lease will automatic renewal or is it renewableversus whether you will have to vacate at the end of your lease.
• THE notice duration you must terminate your lease (for a monthly rental).
• Errors for which your landlord may be able to dump you.
• THE situations in which your landlord can dump it without any irregularity on your part.

The above factors will be determined by a combination of your lease agreement and applicable provincial regulations.

For a fixed-term tenancy, you will be expected to vacate the property at the end of the tenancy.

There are exceptions, such as Ontario, where your lease will automatically move to month-to-month at the end of the fixed term unless you notify the landlord that you will vacate.

For monthly rentals, you will generally be required to give months’ notice before terminating the contract.

In Prince Edward Island and Ontario, you must give 2 months or 60 days notice (whichever is greater).

Under certain circumstances, you can be evicted from a property, which occurs when the landlord terminates your lease, regardless of whether you want to move out.

The situations in which a landlord can terminate your lease vary depending on the provincial jurisdiction and/or your lease agreement. But in general, landlords can evict you for failing to fulfill your obligations as a tenant or for bad behavior, such as

• non-payment of rent;
• material damage;
• violation of lease terms;
• health and safety violations; or
• interfering with the enjoyment of other occupants.

There may also be reasons why a landlord might evict you that are out of your control. Again, this varies by province, but here are some common examples.

• The owner wants to sell the house.
• The owner requires the property for personal use.
• The building will be demolished.
• The building is no longer safe to occupy.

Landlords will have to provide a written notice with the date they will evict you. Tenants across Canada have the right to challenge lease terminations through local tenancy boards or tribunals. The process for this will vary by province and local housing authority.

How much should I expect to spend?

This will largely depend on the property and its location.

The table below shows the average monthly rent for some major cities for single, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments (source: rental search portal zumper.com).

Be careful with the condominium statute

A unique type of property often found in Canada is the condominium, or condominium. These are privately owned units within residential buildings.

Condominiums have different rules than other residential properties.

Tenants looking to rent a condominium should make sure they are aware of the applicable statutes specific to that property.

The condominium bylaw may impose much greater restrictions on occupants, such as

• Pet restrictions; and
• Restrictions on the number of occupants.

Any of the above restrictions would be prohibited under the Residential Tenancies Act in Ontario, but are perfectly legal when it comes to condominiums.

Tenants should also keep in mind that condominium regulations are not set in stone – there is always the possibility that the condominium board will change regulations and/or implement new regulations, which could have a significant impact on the day-to-day life of the condominium. . tenants.

Avoiding rental scams

Newcomers should be careful about possible rental scams, which are unfortunately very common.

Falling for a scam can put your personal funds, data or even your physical safety at risk.

A typical rental scam would work like this. The “owner” or “leasing agent” shows you a unit and it’s a great deal. You sign a lease with them and pay a deposit or something like first and last month’s rent (in Ontario).

You later discover that the person who showed you the property was not actually the owner or the leasing agent – ​​they were never authorized to rent the property and simply pocketed your funds and fled.

Another rental scam can be simple identity theft – the “leasing agent” asks for your identity and other personal information, makes copies of it, and then pretends to be you to take out a loan.

The best way to protect yourself from rental fraud is to ensure that the person you are dealing with is a bona fide landlord or rental agent.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) provides examples of warning signs to watch out for:

• The rent is well below the current market rate.
• You are asked to leave a deposit without any formal rental or lease agreement.
• You are required to send a security deposit to an owner outside the country.
• You are offered a rental unit with no background check.
• When you inquire about the rental property, you receive an email that directs you to a website asking for personal or financial information.
• Ads only show photos of the exterior of the unit or photos that do not match the actual property.

Moving to Canada? Sign up for our special newsletter!