r/OntarioTenants

Recently found an unfed female bed bug and some droppings in my rented apartment. We freaked out, searched everywhere but couldn't find any more.

Google said I was legally obligated to inform my landlord so I did just that.

Her response was basically: must be your fault, you should look up how to get rid of them, good luck kid!

I know that my landlord is legally obligated to treat any infestations, so I'm tempted to go full Karen and read her my rights but I'm also wondering if this is just a major over reaction? It was just one bed bug and a few droppings near by, does that even count as an infestation? Should I just let it be and keep an eye out for more? Please help

My basement apartment got flooded due to excessive rainfall four days ago. The water got up to 8 inches of water everywhere and the power of the house had to be turned off. My partner and I then had to move into an Airbnb that we are paying for. While the flood was happening, the landlord allowed us to put our expensive furniture upstairs in her living area.

After the flood ended, we asked her for our last month’s rent back because the place is inhabitable and we are forced to move out and pay for an Airbnb ourselves. She then refused to pay us and stated that the furniture she allowed for us to bring upstairs is worth the price of the rent, which is a lie.

For more context, we move out next month, the flood happened this month, so this months rent was the last months rent that we paid her in the beginning of the tenancy (first and last month).

Is this right? Does she need to give us our last months rent back? What can we do?

EDIT - I HAVE TENANT’S INSURANCE, didn’t even know people could rent somewhere and not have it so I didn’t think I needed to add that in the post. Also, this was supposed to be my last month living here, my lease ends July 31, 2026.

Update - thank you everyone for your help. The landlord ended up giving me the last month’s rent.

I am renting top portion of a house that is currently being converted into a duplex. Before I moved in it was rented as a whole house. We are responsible for utilities and a 2nd meter for hydro will be put in before the downstairs unit is rented but will be splitting water bill. There is central air installed in the house which I am assuming goes into both units since it was installed when the house was rented as full house. Is there a way for the landlord to add a separate cooling device for downstairs? I do not want to be paying for their cooling/heating as I am currently paying all utilities including anything used downstairs while unit is being renovated and converted.

My roommate and I are both on a joint lease in Ontario.

She recently told me that she’s planning to move out next month and said she’ll find someone to take over her room. She also expects me to find a replacement if I want to move out.

The thing is, I don’t want to continue the tenancy with a new roommate or sign a new lease. I simply want to move out and give proper notice. We both want to move out but she is finding a replacement so that she doesn’t have to give 60days notice.

Also, she told me about her moving out 2 days before she was due to sign the lease for her new apartment.

My understanding is that if I don’t agree to sign a new lease with a replacement tenant and instead provide the required notice to the property manager, then I shouldn’t be obligated to enter into a new tenancy with someone I don’t know.

Can my roommate require me to sign a new lease with her replacement? Or can I simply notify the landlord/property manager that I intend to move out and decline to sign any new lease?

If anyone has experience with joint leases in Ontario, I’d appreciate any guidance on how this normally works.

My friend (Friend 1) has lived in an apartment for like 7+ years.

Her friend (Friend 2) has lived with her as an occupant for over a year. She is not on the lease.

Friend 1 plans to move at some point towards the end of the year.

Im potentially considering moving in with Friend 2 when that happens but I dont want to leave my place with everything up in the air.

Should/can friend 1 add friend 2 to the lease now ?
Can I move in later and be added to the lease?

I believe the rent is pretty reasonable due to the original lease being so old , so I think everybody is trying to just keep rent as low as possible

Hi all,

My lease was one year which is coming to end in august 2026. The landlord wants me to move out as they want to move in their daughter.

Does that mean he needs to give me N12? And if he owes me rent how much?

I can move out as the rent is high but if he owes me money then I want to bring it up to his awareness and get my money back.

Neighbor immediately to the left of us regularly smoking weed that wafts into our windows and we have two babies in the house. I've had several communications with landlord hoping to rectify the issue (on grounds of reasonable enjoyment) , so I come here asking what form I need to fill. Thank you all in advance for your answers

Hi! Looking for advice in this situation. I am in Niagara btw.

I rent a bedroom in a rooming house that used to be a living room. It has a massive picture window that gets sun from 4-9pm. The problem is this window doesn't open at all. I have to keep my door closed as my cat is not allowed out of the room and the drug addicts down the hall are stealing my things. It's currently 30 celsius in the house and hotter in my room. It's 32 outside and will continue to be that way for the next week. The landlord will not turn on the central air conditioner. He is living in the house but never here as he spends most of his time at his girlfriends house.

I don't know if I should call bylaw and ask them about it. If it's an illegal room due to the window I don't want them to come for him. I don't want any retaliation and be forced to move out as I don't have to means to do so right now.

What the heck do I do? This is a big risk to not only my safety, but my cat.

Hey everyone, looking for some advice here. I am on a month-to-month lease in Ontario, covered under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).

My landlord just emailed me saying he is coming tomorrow (Canada Day, July 1st) between 10 AM and 2 PM to "inspect all rooms and do cleaning."

Here is the thing: he has done this before. He literally shows up with a bucket of soapy water, rags, and cleaning supplies, and starts scrubbing down every single room in our house. There is absolutely nothing in our lease or the Ontario Standard Lease that says he provides cleaning services. The house is not a hoarder house or a health hazard it’s just normal living.

I know landlords can enter for maintenance and repairs with 24 hours' notice, but is "routine cleaning" even a legal reason to enter?

Is this illegal, and do I have the right to refuse him entry tomorrow? What should I do if he shows up with his bucket and tries to use his key to get in anyway? Thanks in advance.

we are a family renting a private, whole 2 bedroom house with our own living room. It is not a basement apartment, and we do not share any space with the landlord or anyone else. We have exclusive possession of the whole place

Edit: To everyone saying just let him clean for free last time he came, he actually went inside our personal closets and started removing our clothes. The police were called because of it. The police told us he shouldn't be doing that and told us to file with the LTB, but it is a lot of process so we just let it go back then. That is why we don't want it to happen again tomorrow.

Another Update: He actually came to the house today, about 2 hours after my original post. He claimed it was an emergency and literally said there was a "water leak under the bed." Because he said emergency, he got inside and checked every single bedroom. He made us open the closets to check everything, and he checked the washrooms too. There was absolutely no water leak anywhere in our house. He only left because I didn't say anything to him. He completely used a fake emergency just to spy on our bedrooms.

Can he come tomorrow to inspect another day since he already did this today? Or should I just not let him in? What should I do tomorrow if he shows up?

My apartment only has a door knob lock. Are apartment doors required to have dead bolt locks in Toronto and would it be reasonable to ask the landlord to have one installed?

It’s like 2am but I wanted to know if anyone else has had something like this. I moved into my new apartment 3 days ago. I have 2 months free because I signed a 14 month lease.
Tonight someone else that lives in the building approached me and started yelling at me saying I’m a racist bitch and getting in my face. He thinks I said or rather made a face at his kid when he held the door for me instead of saying thank you and it’s because the kid is mixed so I’m a racist bitch (none of that ever happened btw… I only said thank you to anyone who held the doors while I moved things in).
He said he knew exactly which apartment I lived in and that he should “have his dog come fuck up my dog”.
It was really scary and confusing because I had no idea what he was talking about. But apparently his child told him I did this. I’m too afraid to live there now and want to break my lease and get out. How can I go about it? My management company has been a nightmare in general since I signed the lease and I can’t afford to have to pay them out a bunch of money. I did call the police and made a statement/report but they can’t really do anything since I have no idea who this neighbour is or what unit they’re in but I know they live there.
Hope this makes sense.
I appreciate any advice.

Hi everyone! My landlord is selling the townhouse I rent and my 2-year lease ends next July. Because I’m at risk of having to find a new place, which I’m planning on purchasing, within just 60 days (pls correct me if I’m wrong), can I choose to terminate my lease early without penalties or would I have to discuss this with my landlord so we can mutually agree?

I would like to end my lease early in the event that I find a place now that I truly like, I can secure it instead of having just the 60 days to find a home.

I appreciate any input, thank you!

hi all, here’s my situation. 8 years ago I rented a house from a couple I’ve known since high school (we’re all in our mid-60s), I asked about signing a lease but was told it wasn’t necessary. all was going fine until about a year ago when they decided that I should now start paying what amounts to a 40% increase. “market value” was the claim. well of course there was no freaking way I was going to go along with that. things were hostile for a while, they threatened to have me evicted and move their daughter in, things like that. needless to say any socializing between us came to a dead halt. fine by me.

in the fall I received notice of my rent increasing in January for the usual legal amount, January 1st came and I paid that amount with no issue. TWO WEEKS later I received an email from them stating that they would be willing to accept what amounted to a 16% increase and that I should start paying that right away. they claimed that they had looked into the Rent Increase Above Guideline process and that their lawyer told them that they wouldn’t have much chance of success, going so far as to complain about how time consuming and costly the process had been so far as if it was somehow my fault.

well obviously I couldn’t see myself living there much longer so I found other accommodations. I gave them 60 days notice and counted the days until I was out of there. they got what they wanted. they won. they asked for access to the property so that they could take measurements for some renovations they were planning, no problem. I told them to have a look around and give me an estimate on any damages that may have arisen during my tenancy. they quoted me $1800, coincidentally about a month’s rent.

some background, I got a dog a couple of years back, but only after checking with them to see if they were okay with it. no issues there. the house is an old cottage style place with three rooms on the main floor that have hardwood floors. two of those rooms were pretty beat up when I moved in and the living room floor was in better shape because it had been refinished a couple of tenants before I moved in. admittedly there are some claw marks on the floor but nothing too severe. also my dog’s a digger so the backyard will definitely need some work.

I was expecting an estimate of around $500, which I would’ve gladly paid. so I started googling around, it seems I’m not obligated to pay *anything* for damages unless they can show that they were caused by something beyond normal wear and tear and that they have to provide receipts for the work done. (one of them does all the work himself.) and they have to provide proof of the property’s condition before I moved in. so there’s that.

another thing I found out, when I moved in I was told that utilities weren’t covered included. no problem, what I didn’t realize until now was that I’ve been paying for the hot water heater rental all along, for an amount in total in excess of $4000. it’s considered a “vital service” that must be paid for by the landlord unless it is stipulated in writing in the lease that the tenant agrees to pay. there is no lease. I’m only obligated to pay for the consumables, gas, water and electricity.

here’s my question (finally), they’re expecting me to pay the first half of their damages estimate on June 30 with the balance to be paid in the middle of July. what I instead intend to do is tell them I’m not paying them anything unless they go through proper channels and also point out to them that if this all goes to court they could wind up owing ME money. I’d be willing to call it even, drop the whole thing and put the two of them as far behind me as possible. and I don’t think that they’d want either the government or their other tenants to get wind of the whole water heater issue.

thanks for reading this far, any input would be greatly appreciated. does this sound like a plan?

Here is the link to my original post. Would suggest checking it first.

https://www.reddit.com/r/OntarioTenants/comments/1sx883r/should_we_just_shut_it_down_now_and_wait/

First 2 tenants in one house left a couple months ago at 8k combined. After they left, then offered me and my sister 8k combined, we rejected. Made 8k offer to 3rd tenant in the 2nd house. He initially rejected, but stress and constantly calling was too much and he just left 3 weeks ago, got 8k for just him. Now just my sister and I left in 2 separate units in the 3rd house.

Turns out that in a meeting they had with the 3rd tenant, they let the cat out of the bag that they were investors that bought other properties in the area, had other properties in another city, so initial N-12's were BS. They also apparently threatened 3rd tenant (82 year old cancer patient) that if he let it go to the LTB, other agents wouldn't work with him, he'd be blacklisted and end up homeless. He finally left and settled cuz of the stress of always getting calls and just wanted it over. Understandable given his age and health situation.

Then a neighbour lady beside the 3 houses came and told me that buyers or realtor (can't remember who she said exactly), came to her asking if they'd sell, and when she said no, asked her to convince the rest of us leave.

So now, with just my sister and myself left in the 3rd house, and after 2 months of silence since we last emailed them that we reject their 8k combined cfc offer, last week the paralegal called me wanting to discuss, even though we already said all communication would be written through email. So told them such and hung up. So they emailed wanting to arrange an in person meeting. We replied that it was unnecessary and written email communications is it, negotiate through there.

So then they emailed earlier this week scheduling an "inspection" visit. They recently had an appraiser come a few weeks ago, so I thought maybe getting a 2nd opinion. Turns out this visit that happened while I was at work was just the realtor and paralegal, looking in the units and asking my sister questions like "why more than 1 bed in his unit, why not packed, have you found a place". Basically a ruse to snoop and question. Then had nerve to leave realtor's card and asked to call him. Yeeeaaahhh, no.

Perhaps if they actually talked to the landlord about the units, they would have learned there were multiple beds because I lived here with my dad who passed in September in this very unit, with me taking over his tenancy after he passed.

On top of this, they didn't name the LL by name that they were representing in the inspection email. I'm wondering if they have to actually name the LL or person they are representing, or can they just say "we represent the Landlord"?

I wonder because in previous emails he was named, he hasn't cashed our June rent cheques we mailed him in May, people were here over the last week clearing out the other 2 empty houses, the deal was supposed to have closed end of April and the listings that showed the closing date that were up around a month ago have now seemingly been taken down, redirected to a sign up page when I check. I assume the paralegal would have to tell us if full ownership has fully and officially been transferred, right?

Also, all these months, they still haven't filed anything with the LTB.

Have a high school acquaintance in real estate whose wife is friends with my other sister, been going to him for advice. Even he's been getting pissed reading my texts of how these people operate. Fake N-12s, fake inspections, constantly calling and trying to intimidate the elderly. Just wild.

Not necessarily looking for advice, have already gotten so much and various references, but won't reject any. Just think my situation should be out there for others to see who may be going through similar situations. Seems like these people rely on nothing but scare tactics and intimidation. Could have just made better offers months ago and been done with it. Me and my sister have been fortunate enough to have the kind of support the other tenants didn't have.

Ontario (London). I'm a tenant in a shared house with 3 housemates.

In Oct 2025 I tripped on something in my garage and fell into the garage door while it was opening. This broke a component in the opener system. At the time, my landlord verbally told me not to worry about it and that we'd "figure it out later." Nothing was put in writing.

Fast forward to now (8 months later). My landlord sent someone to the property to get a repair estimate. The tech told him the motor is old and they no longer make parts for it, so the whole system would need to be replaced. The quote for a brand-new system is $800. The landlord forwarded me this and said I either need to contact his tech or find my own contractor to get it fixed out of my own pocket.

I did some digging: the company that made the motor stopped making them in 2001, which puts the unit at minimum 25 years old. From what I've read, the LTB only makes a tenant pay the depreciated value of what they damaged. The useful life of this kind of equipment is well under 25 years — so by my math, the residual value is basically $0, and a brand-new $800 system would be putting him in a better position than he was in before.

When I raised this, he replied: "Please don't bring up any legal small print!! Please proceed with common sense and get the garage door repaired by whoever, and just take responsibility for the issue."

He's also now claiming the garage door itself has dents — even though the door was replaced before I moved in. I've never noticed any dents. There are 4 of us living here, and that sounds like wear and tear to me. He only brought this up after I pushed back on the opener.

Finally, he mentioned I could go through my tenant insurance, and asked me to provide proof of it (it's stipulated in my lease).

My questions:

1. Does he actually have a valid claim to this money, given the opener is ~25 years old and past its useful life?
2. Can he file a claim against my tenant insurance himself, or is filing a claim only something I can choose to do? Can he force me to file one?
3. Is there a deadline or limitation period for him to take this to the LTB? It's been almost a year — does that delay affect whether he can still come after me?
4. Since this was an accident (I tripped), does it even count as the kind of "wilful or negligent" damage a tenant is responsible for?
5. Does his verbal "don't worry about it" back in October mean anything, or is it worthless because it wasn't in writing?
6. Can he legally just demand I pay out of pocket and pick a contractor, or does he have to go through the LTB to get any money from me? Can he take it out of my last month's rent deposit?

Happy to provide more detail if it helps. Thanks in advance, as I am a student navigating an issue like this for the first time.

I live in a 350 unit building in Etobicoke, managed by a property management corporation. This is the third year since they took over. I've been in this apartment for 11 years.

Last week they were doing annual inspections. For the past two years the super came in to the front hall and checked off items on a clipboard while asking me questions about whether things were working etc.

This year, after the usual illegal notice (four day timeframe over a weekend, no details, just "life site" nonsense) the super came in with a phone in his hand and announced "I have to take pictures of your hallway" and immediately started taking pictures. No asking if it was ok, and when I asked him what the pictures were for, he said "because I have to".

He then proceeded to go to every room in my apartment including the balcony, taking many pictures in each room. I had my (large monitor) computer screen open in the living room, confidential documents on my desk, and other personal items in the bedroom which I would have preferred not to be photographed. During all this picture taking he was asking questions and making comments about my personal belongings (in the bedroom) and the pets I have (he saw my cats and two bird cages). I felt absolutely humiliated and exposed.

To make matters worse, two days before the inspection they barged into my kitchen because they had found a leak in the apartment downstairs and wanted to check if it was coming from my unit. I allowed the entry because I thought it was an emergency. It wasn't. The plumbers weren't coming back for three days, and I was instructed to remove all items from the cabinets under the sink, and not to use my kitchen sink until they came back. I had boxes of kitchen stuff exposed all over the living room floor, and my bathroom contained a dish drainer and other kitchen items by the sink, so was cluttered. I had gone to a lot of trouble to clean up for the inspection and the plumbing issue derailed all that.

I understand they have the right to take photos during an inspection, but only to document repair, condition, or maintenance issues. In this case I have no idea what the purpose of the photos was, what was photographed, or who will have access to them. I'm also afraid that he took photos of the clutter which will be used as an excuse to harass me. And, I'm upset about the idea of my personal and sensitive items being photographed.

They did this to all of the tenants, including people who weren't at home during the inspection and don't know that their apartments were photographed.

I looked up the privacy laws (PIPEDA) and they're definitely in violation of federal privacy law, which states that landlords must notify tenants before taking pictures inside their apartments, so tenants can put away or cover sensitive private items. But I have to file a complaint with the management company before I can file one with the govt.

I'm also seriously considering filing a T2 with the LTB for substantial interference, not only because of the photos but because they've been hammering us with weekly non-urgent entries for a month and a half. I'm almost at the end of my rope with all these violations of my privacy.

I know there isn't anything explicit in the RTA about whether a landlord has to give advance notice before taking photos inside an apartment. All I can think of is that they're obligated to provide details of what they plan to do when they give notice to enter an apartment.

Has anyone else had a similar experience or taken a landlord to the LTB for violating privacy by taking photographs without notice or consent?

My previous landlord is trying to stick smoking damage charges on me. Thing is I dont smoke, plus landlord didn't raise these issues during move out but rather 6 weeks later, when I specifically asked for my rent receipts. He is keeping the rent receipts as hostage saying he won't give me the rent receipts unless I pay for the damages.He keeps harassing me on call and text saying he's gonna find out where I live currently and get me kicked out, contact my place of work and get me fired, he also said "I will teach you a lesson you will never forget". I have obviously blocked him but I need the rent receipts as I have been audited by the CRA. Even if the landlord has suffered damages, I believe the proper Avenue to pursue compensation should be L10 and not what I have been subjected to. I wish to file a T2 but not sure if my case will be accepted as the harassment occured after my tenancy ended.

We are moving out after living for 24 months in this 1plus den condo, my kid scribbled the walls in living room with crayon which i couldnt fix it. Upon landlord visit they sent me quote for 1700$, i am wondering what the law here. I agree the mistake of intentional paint damage my kid but 1700$ is too much. Can anyone advise what are my options here

We have 3 months left on our lease and we are moving to a different province. So, we are finding someone who can live in the apartment in our place and it's going to be a new lease, not a sublease.

The manager declined an application(4 occupants) saying that the 2 bed unit is not suitable for more than 3 occupants even though they approved our application for the unit as 4 adult occupants.
When I asked why they approved us, he said it might have been a mistake.

Additionally he said the pet policy is they dog cannot exceed 40lbs there are literally 10-15 units with dogs way bigger that 40lbs and he said they applicants must have lied about the dog's weight and it's between the tenant and the management to figure that out and not my(as in me, not the manger) concern.

What should I do in this situation, I don't want to pay this coming month's rent as we won't be living there anymore?

We moved here from the Maritimes 2 years ago and ever since we have been living in renter hell. At the first rental we signed, sight unseen, due to moving from another province we found out upon arrival that we had no access to the heat or AC, meaning we were at the whim of the other unit. We were also told there was minimal noise transfer but could hear the other tenant do just about everything, including sneeze. After an awful and stressful year, we finally moved out. We worked with a “real estate agent” the 2nd time because we were so traumatized. We wanted to rent from a Mom and pop landlord thinking they would be better. We found a place we liked in a duplex. After moving in we found out they’re renting the front unit as a long term airbnb and that when people are staying in the airbnb, we don’t get to use the driveway (despite our lease saying parking is included). We also found out long after signing the lease that the “real estate agent” works for the landlord, who owns a brokerage (she put her husbands name on the lease). The agent did not disclose this relationship, which I believe to be a conflict of interest. I also believe we were misled into signing the lease despite opening up honestly and telling this agent about our awful renting experience since moving here and our strong desire to find a comfortable and long term place to call home. We have had Airbnb guest smoke cigarettes in our window, block our car in forcing us to take Ubers to work multiple times, scream and yell and act hostile toward us as if we shouldn’t be here. It has only been 2 months and we are miserable. I want to break the lease. Does anyone have any advice? I feel like we are stuck yet again in an awful situation.