Landlord says I agreed to a 1-year lease, but I thought it was a work agreement
Hey everyone, looking for some advice on an Ontario tenancy situation.
For context, I’ve been living here for about 3 years. The first year I had a lease, the second year I went month to month, and when my girlfriend moved in we went back onto a fixed term lease. That lease ended earlier this year.
After that, my landlord offered me a work arrangement where I’d do about 4 hours of property related work per month at $25/hour, and he’d take $100 off my rent every month. He called it a “1 year contract.” No mention of a lease renewal.
I understood the 1 year to be referring to the work arrangement because at the time i wanted to stay here and didn’t think much of it (probably my fault)
I never signed an Ontario Standard Lease or any other lease for this new arrangement. Everything was discussed through text.
Now my landlord is saying that I agreed to a 1 year tenancy and that he expected me to stay for the full year. I want to move out due to a job opportunity that came up.
Can a vague text conversation like this establish a 1 year fixed term lease if I never signed a lease and understood the “1 year contract” to be about the work?
Would appreciate any advice from people familiar with Ontario tenancy law.