r/OntarioRenting

Hi everyone,

Looking for some perspective on a lease termination issue in Waterloo, Ontario under the RTA.

Timeline & Background:

• July 2026: Signed an Ontario Standard Form of Lease (fixed-term ending August 2027) for a unit at 20 University Ave E, Waterloo. The lease lists "20 University Inc. c/o Asset Maintenance Pros" as the landlord.
• September 28, 2026: I sent an email to site-level management representatives (including our Leasing Manager who executed our lease, Linda, as well as site staff and leasing@lkapartments.com) formally requesting consent to assign my lease.
• October 5, 2026: The statutory 7-day period passed without any response or consent from management.
• October 8, 2026: I served a Form N9 with a 30-day termination date of November 30, 2026, citing Section 95(4) of the RTA (landlord failed to respond to an assignment request within 7 days).

The Landlord's Response Today:

The Leasing & Client Care Manager (Smit ) emailed back acknowledging receipt of the N9, but wrote:

>"We are reviewing the validity of the notice, including the timing and service of your September 28 assignment request, and we reserve the landlord's rights under the RTA. At this time, we are not agreeing to a termination on the timeline proposed. If you wish to discuss an agreed early termination, we can discuss the applicable vacancy loss for the remaining period of the lease... For future correspondence, please use support@assetmpros.com... Email address that you have used is not the Landlord corporation email..."
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My Position & What I Sent Back: I replied citing RTA Section 191(1)(b) (service on an employee/representative exercising authority for the complex) and LTB Rule 3.1 (service on a manager/representative carrying on business at the complex). I noted that sending the request to Linda Conn (the Leasing Manager on the signed lease) and site staff constituted valid service on the landlord, and that their auto-replies confirm receipt. Additionally, Section 3 of our standard lease explicitly checked "YES" for consent to receive documents by email.

Even if they argue technical service issues, RTA Section 191(2) states that an improperly served document is deemed validly served if the contents actually came to the attention of the person within the required timeframe—which Smit's email confirming receipt of the September 28 thread proves.

Questions:

1. Does management have any real standing to claim the assignment request was invalid because it was sent to site staff/Leasing Manager rather than support@assetmpros.com?
2. Since Smit acknowledged receipt of the N9 and original thread, is Section 191(2) (actual notice) solid here?
3. Should I do anything further, or just stick to my November 30 move-out date, return keys, and keep all email records?

Thanks in advance for your insights

I have been renting for about 4 years in Richmond Hill and my landlord has expressed in the past (over 2 years here and there) they're considering selling but it has only been now that they've listed the home for sale.

Prior to listing, they offered to mutually sign a N11 to which I did not sign as I have no intention to voluntarily leave without securing a new home for my family, in our school zone. That was in the late spring of this year. Since then I have been looking for housing (from my understanding this is completely voluntary on my part) that is suitable for my children to live and in our budget. We live in a condo in a neighborhood that has few other condos and renting a home is far more expensive. We have submitted multiple offers on multiple different units over the last few months with no luck as the market in this area and price point are fiercely competitive (deposits of 6 to 12 months).

Once the home was listed which was 3 weeks ago, there have only been 3 requests for showing. Two of which were last minute (within 24 hrs) and I could not accommodate (there is no extra keys and therefore no lockbox, I hold the only 2 sets of keys for this home and therefore I must be available for showings, which is preferable for me to be home during showings anyways). The third one was booked with 24hrs notice but at the 11th hour was formally cancelled by the showing agent but they showed up anyways and complained no one answered the door. I had already left the home once I received notification that the showing was cancelled.

The listing agent and the landlord have accused me of acting in bad faith and preventing showings. The landlord also accused me of not leaving which from my understanding i do not have any obligation to leave just because they're selling the home. We got into a big argument over it.

What are my next steps?

I’m in Toronto and currently have a fixed-term lease until Nov 30, 2026. Rent is below market and the unit is rent-controlled. I really like the place & area itself and I want to stay long-term and have been a good tenant.

My landlord prefers fixed-term leases. Last year’s lease included: “Tenant agrees to provide a minimum of 60 days notice of intention to terminate.” She says this essentially means I can leave with 60 days’ notice. This has been my 2nd year in the apartment & they only take rent via post-dated cheques.

For renewal, I asked to go month-to-month instead. He wants I sign another fixed term & is rather insistent on it, not budging at all. After asking for a concession on rent increase at least he offered to increase by 0.6%. Even with the rent increase the place is below market. Their reasoning for the lease is that they want an updated document to present whenever they need to, for a bank or etc. They’ve said repeatedly that the lease is only used as a document they maintain, & that if I give notice they would let me out before the fixed term. They let the previous tenant before me out few months early too.

Again, I genuinely really like the place & the rent I aj paying, I would ideally like to stay long term if I could.

My concern is whether refusing his preferred fixed-term lease could cause problems or make the landlord relationship difficult, even though month-to-month is legally allowed.

I would appreciate any advice, I do want to continue enjoying my stay in this place I like but I don’t want to be caught in a back & forth and put myself in a position where the LL is making things difficult & unpleasant for me. Thanks!

Edit: I do understand that the lease goes monthly regardless, but my main concern is if the relationship with the LL becomes so unpleasant & they try to make it so I want to leave (continuous visits, etc - which has never happened yet, they’ve been nice so far) - because end of the day the place itself I genuinely really like. Just don’t want to be constantly at odds with the owner of the place I’m living in if it causes me stress.

Edit 2: Would also like to highlight that for the previous tenant, the LL let them out of the lease 6 months before the end of the lease term with no hesitation, so said the tenant.

I live in a very old apartment building in Toronto, and when I moved in I didn’t realize that there is no exhaust fan/range hood above the stove at all. (I know this is on me)

I spoke with management, and because of the age of the building, they said they’re not required to install one and basically recommended keeping the windows open while cooking.

The problem is that this isn’t really practical. My apartment doesn’t have a balcony, and the nearest window is quite far from the stove. Even with the windows open, whenever I cook, the cooking fumes and smells linger throughout the apartment. Over time, I’ve noticed that everything in the apartment is starting to smell like cooking clothes, furniture, etc.

I’m not really looking to fight with management about installing a proper exhaust system that feels like a lost battle. I want to find something I can do on my end.
Has anyone dealt with this in an older Toronto apartment?

Are there any portable exhaust fans, air purifiers, window fans, recirculating range hoods, or other setups that actually work for this situation?
Since the window isn’t directly beside the stove, I want to if possible how can I move the cooking air toward the window and get it outside, or just filtering the air after the fact.

I’d really appreciate recommendations from anyone who’s dealt with a kitchen like this!

Can anyone recommend a lawyer or paralegal with expertise in the narrow overlap between representing tenant matters at the LTB and privacy/confidentiality?

This relates to the July 24, 2026 announcement by Tribunals Ontario that LTB orders would be published through the Ontario Data Catalogue.

I just completed an LTB hearing regarding Patry withholding rent deposits unlawfully - the LTB ordered the funds returned to me and I am reaching out to see if there are any other current or previous Patry tenants facing the same issues. Patry charged me for nail holes considered normal wear and tear and failed to pay out the appropriate interest, both of which are not allowed under the RTA.

Additionally, Landlords are required to payout yearly interest on your rent deposit each year you live there - has anyone currently or previously renting with Patry not received it?

I have spoken with multiple tenants so far and have evidence for Patry withholding LMR on multiple instances, along with failing to provide interest on rent deposits (which they are lawfully required to do).

If so, please reach out and let me know. On top of maintenance issues, I allege this is part of a larger issue affecting potentially hundreds of Patry tenants - I am prepared to support other tenants who have been wronged and include your complaint in my claims.

I am currently a full time student and work a part time job as many hours as i can fit in during school, I make about 800 dollars a month during school and during summer (4 months of the year) I make about 1500 a month. My monthly expenses include my car insurance (150 ish a month), gas to get to school (200-300 a month but would go down as I would move closer to school), my phone bill (220 a year or 20 bucks a month ish), and food/other things which Im not sure the price of but would assume would be 150-200 a month (and I would get on food banks).
All would come out to about 500 dollars leaving roughly 300 for rent with absolutely nothing left.
where I live rent for a sharing bedroom can be from 300 all the way to 600 dollars a month, obviously thats not possible for me.

my question is, are there any government supports or grants I can use to help me move out. am I likely to get excepted to subsidized housing? anyone who moved out around this age, how did you possibly do it? is there a way to without quitting school?

any advice would help, thank you 🙏

Hi everyone. I’m a 25-year-old female who recently has had some struggles at home and is looking for a place of my own. I have currently been staying with my boyfriend, but don’t have it in me to ask his mom if I can stay here short term, pay her a couple hundred dollars a month until I get back on my feet. I recently had to file a consumer proposal which significantly dropped my credit score. I do have stable income, which keeps me afloat at times. Are my chances of getting into a basement apartment minimal due to my very BAD credit score? Where should I begin if im looking for resources. Just to preface, my credit score dropped to a 415 due to my consumer proposal.