Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17

• Jurisdiction: Ontario

Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

S.o. 2006, chapter 17

Consolidation Period: From December 1, 2023 to the e-Laws currency date.

Last amendment: 2023, c. 10, Sched. 7.

CONTENTS

part i
introduction

Purposes of Act

1 The purposes of this Act are to provide protection for residential tenants from unlawful rent increases and unlawful evictions, to establish a framework for the regulation of residential rents, to balance the rights and responsibilities of residential landlords and tenants and to provide for the adjudication of disputes and for other processes to informally resolve disputes. 2006, c. 17, s. 1.

Exception, Part V.1

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to Part V.1. The purpose of Part V.1 is to provide protection to members of non-profit housing co-operatives from unlawful evictions under this Act and to allow non-profit housing co-operatives and their members access to the framework established under this Act for the adjudication of disputes related to the termination of occupancy in a member unit of a non-profit housing co-operative. 2013, c. 3, s. 20.

Section Amendments with date in force (d/m/y)

2013, c. 3, s. 20 - 01/06/2014

Interpretation

2 (1) In this Act,

“Board” means the Landlord and Tenant Board; (“Commission”)

“care home” means a residential complex that is occupied or intended to be occupied by persons for the purpose of receiving care services, whether or not receiving the services is the primary purpose of the occupancy; (“maison de soins”)

“care services” means, subject to the regulations, health care services, rehabilitative or therapeutic services or services that provide assistance with the activities of daily living; (“services en matière de soins”)

“guideline”, when used with respect to the charging of rent, means the guideline determined under section 120; (“taux légal”)

“land lease community” means the land on which one or more occupied land lease homes are situate and includes the rental units and the land, structures, services and facilities of which the landlord retains possession and that are intended for the common use and enjoyment of the tenants of the landlord; (“zone résidentielle à baux fonciers”)

“land lease home” means a dwelling, other than a mobile home, that is a permanent structure where the owner of the dwelling leases the land used or intended for use as the site for the dwelling; (“maison à bail foncier”)

“landlord” includes,

(a) the owner of a rental unit or any other person who permits occupancy of a rental unit, other than a tenant who occupies a rental unit in a residential complex and who permits another person to also occupy the unit or any part of the unit,

(b) the heirs, assigns, personal representatives and successors in title of a person referred to in clause (a), and

(c) a person, other than a tenant occupying a rental unit in a residential complex, who is entitled to possession of the residential complex and who attempts to enforce any of the rights of a landlord under a tenancy agreement or this Act, including the right to collect rent; (“locateur”)

“member unit” has the same meaning as in the Co-operative Corporations Act; (“logement réservé aux membres”)

“Minister” means the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing or such other member of the Executive Council to whom responsibility for the administration of this Act, or any Part or provision of this Act, may be assigned or transferred under the Executive Council Act; (“ministre”)

“Ministry” means the ministry of the Minister; (“ministère”)

“mobile home” means a dwelling that is designed to be made mobile and that is being used as a permanent residence; (“maison mobile”)

“mobile home park” means the land on which one or more occupied mobile homes are located and includes the rental units and the land, structures, services and facilities of which the landlord retains possession and that are intended for the common use and enjoyment of the tenants of the landlord; (“parc de maisons mobiles”)

“municipal taxes and charges” means taxes charged to a landlord by a municipality and charges levied on a landlord by a municipality and includes taxes levied on a landlord’s property under Division B of Part IX of the Education Act and taxes levied on a landlord’s property in unorganized territory, but “municipal taxes and charges” does not include,

(a) charges for inspections done by a municipality on a residential complex related to an alleged breach of a health, safety, housing or maintenance standard,

(b) charges for emergency repairs carried out by a municipality on a residential complex,

(c) charges for work in the nature of a capital expenditure carried out by a municipality,

(d) charges for work, services or non-emergency repairs performed by a municipality in relation to a landlord’s non-compliance with a by-law,

(e) penalties, interest, late payment fees or fines,

(f) any amount spent by a municipality under subsection 219 (1) or any administrative fee applied to that amount under subsection 219 (2), or

(g) any other prescribed charges; (“redevances et impôts municipaux”)

“non-profit housing co-operative” means a non-profit housing co-operative under the Co-operative Corporations Act, and “co-operative” has the same meaning; (“coopérative de logement sans but lucratif”, “coopérative”)

“person”, or any expression referring to a person, means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, trust or body corporate, or an individual in his or her capacity as a trustee, executor, administrator or other legal representative; (“personne”)

“prescribed” means prescribed by the regulations; (“prescrit”)

“regulations” means the regulations made under this Act; (“règlements”)

“rent” includes the amount of any consideration paid or given or required to be paid or given by or on behalf of a tenant to a landlord or the landlord’s agent for the right to occupy a rental unit and for any services and facilities and any privilege, accommodation or thing that the landlord provides for the tenant in respect of the occupancy of the rental unit, whether or not a separate charge is made for services and facilities or for the privilege, accommodation or thing, but “rent” does not include,

(a) an amount paid by a tenant to a landlord to reimburse the landlord for property taxes paid by the landlord with respect to a mobile home or a land lease home owned by a tenant, or

(b) an amount that a landlord charges a tenant of a rental unit in a care home for care services or meals; (“loyer”)

“rental unit” means any living accommodation used or intended for use as rented residential premises, and “rental unit” includes,

(a) a site for a mobile home or site on which there is a land lease home used or intended for use as rented residential premises, and

(b) a room in a boarding house, rooming house or lodging house and a unit in a care home; (“logement locatif”)

“residential complex”, except in Part V.1, means,

(a) a building or related group of buildings in which one or more rental units are located,

(b) a mobile home park or land lease community,

(c) a site that is a rental unit,

(d) a care home, and,

includes all common areas and services and facilities available for the use of its residents; (“ensemble d’habitation”)

“residential unit” means any living accommodation used or intended for use as residential premises, and “residential unit” includes,

(a) a site for a mobile home or on which there is a land lease home used or intended for use as a residential premises, and

(b) a room in a boarding house, rooming house or lodging house and a unit in a care home; (“habitation”)

“Rules” means the rules of practice and procedure made by the Board under section 176 of this Act and section 25.1 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act; (“règles”)

“services and facilities” includes,

(a) furniture, appliances and furnishings,

(b) parking and related facilities,

(c) laundry facilities,

(d) elevator facilities,

(e) common recreational facilities,

(f) garbage facilities and related services,

(g) cleaning and maintenance services,

(h) storage facilities,

(i) intercom systems,

(j) cable television facilities,

(k) heating facilities and services,

(l) air-conditioning facilities,

(m) utilities and related services, and

(n) security services and facilities; (“services et installations”)

“spouse” means a person,

(a) to whom the person is married, or

(b) with whom the person is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage, if the two persons,

(i) have cohabited for at least one year,

(ii) are together the parents of a child, or

(iii) have together entered into a cohabitation agreement under section 53 of the Family Law Act; (“conjoint”)

“subtenant” means the person to whom a tenant gives the right under section 97 to occupy a rental unit; (“sous-locataire”)

“superintendent’s premises” means a rental unit used by a person employed as a janitor, manager, security guard or superintendent and located in the residential complex with respect to which the person is so employed; (“logement de concierge”)

“tenancy agreement” means a written, oral or implied agreement between a tenant and a landlord for occupancy of a rental unit and includes a licence to occupy a rental unit; (“convention de location”)

“tenant” includes a person who pays rent in return for the right to occupy a rental unit and includes the tenant’s heirs, assigns and personal representatives, but “tenant” does not include a person who has the right to occupy a rental unit by virtue of being,

(a) a co-owner of the residential complex in which the rental unit is located, or

(b) a shareholder of a corporation that owns the residential complex; (“locataire”)

“utilities” means heat, electricity and water; (“services d’utilité publique”)

“vital service” means hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas or, during the part of each year...