Landlord wants us to voluntarily break our signed lease bc a tenant who moved in has a severe cat allergy
We signed a 12-month lease months ago for a purpose-built rental in Toronto. Our cat is explicitly named and approved on the lease itself.
We haven't moved in yet (no keys), movers already booked, and our current lease ends in 2 weeks.
The landlord is now telling us that a different tenant (who I believe signed after us but moved in a few weeks ago) has an anaphylactic cat allergy, and obtained a doctor's note saying cats can't be in the building after learning we have one. Apparently they are refusing to relocate even though the landlord has offered to cover moving/accommodation costs.
The landlord wants us to just agree to end our lease and take our deposit back as they do not want to cause a human rights violation. So far this has all been phone calls and emails… nothing formal in writing/documents.
Is all this legal? Do they still need to issue an n7 or am I simply not protected as I don’t have keys yet? I was really looking forward to moving in and took months to find the perfect place.