r/TorontoRenting

I’m looking for a 1bed 1bath for Sept 1 preferably not a basement downtown area not too picky but not past midtown. My budget is $2100 not including hydro or wifi. Please help me out here!

I'm moving out August 31 but don't get my new place until September 1. What am I supposed to do for that one night and where am I suppose to keep my things? What about all my food and fridge items?

4 offers, all rejected
My partner and I’s application is solid imo, good-great credit scores, over 100k combined income, great reference from current landlord etc. I cannot for the life of me understand why we keep getting rejected. Is it the fact we’d rather pay via etransfer rather post dated cheques? Is it the fact we have a pet? Is it the fact we’re not giving more than two months deposit?
Any advice?

Hello everyone!

I’m currently negotiating a job offer in Downtown Toronto, and I’m considering moving there from the Ottawa area.

I’m looking for a studio or small 1-bedroom apartment, not a room/shared accommodation, with parking. My initial budget is around $22,000/year ( around $1,800/month), but I’m flexible and could add a couple thousand more if needed for a better option.

Ideally, I’d like to live somewhere within 30-45 minutes of Downtown Toronto by public transit.

I already have a car, and I’m planning to drive back to Ottawa every now and then, especially during holidays, since my family lives there. So having parking is important to me.

For those familiar with Toronto, what areas/neighborhoods would you recommend looking at? Is this budget realistic for a studio/1-bedroom with parking, or should I expect to increase it significantly?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Hi there! I wanted to pop in here and ask a question as I'm not entirely sure what my best course of action is, or if there is a course of action.

My building has been without hot water or gas for three days. They're providing us very little information as to what's actually going on to cause this other than the fact that "they're working on it and are sincerely apologetic for the disruption". Is there any compensation or course of action I can take here? They've not provided us with a timeline either. So we have no idea when it might come back...

Unsure if there's anything I can do other than wait, but it feels like they should give us some form of compensation for the three cold showers I have now taken....

Hi all,

I need feedback on an idea:

I'd like to write anonymously to my MPP about some of the things I've seen and experienced while renting (landlords not complying with the LTB, dodgy listings making it confusing to identify legitimate listings, etc.)

I took a class in college where we had to write to local politicians to highlight issues, which is what inspired the idea.

Thank you!

Just wanted to add another comment to the many on here about Enercare. They are such a goddamn scam - never, never use them. We got backed into a rental hwh (the seller passed away and the agent believed it was owned)
with them when we bought our house and only realized months later when Enercare and Enbridge split their billing. Useless, rude customer service and kept constantly trying to sign us up for “free” maintenance plans that we’d obviously be obligated to pay for. Buying them out today just to be done with it. Avoid avoid avoid.

I am moving to Toronto for the first time. I found a recently updated large 1 bedroom with dishwasher and balcony with a great south facing view of the lake for $2150 +hydro close to work in a decent purpose built rental built from the 70's. My unit is on an upper floor and is at the end of the hallway, so no neighbours on one side of me. Overall, the apartment checks most boxes for me.

However when I was signing the lease, an exterminator showed up to the rental office. They were there to treat 2 units, both not on my floor luckily. The supers and other people who work for the building have lived there for decades.

I am moving from a medium sized city in Ontario. I have been living in my PBR unit for 6 years in a very clean, very well maintained building. I have seen 3 roaches in that time but none in about 3 years. I figure if this is a similar situation I can deal with it.

I plan to put down diatomaceous earth and fill any holes around plumbing and pipes with caulking on the day I get possession. Is there anything else I can do to prepare and prevent roaches in my unit? Am I making a mistake?

I'm interested in moving in one the old school townhouses in the Gerrard St East and Parliament area. The place if big, affordable and the landlord and neighbours seem good. I am concerned about the area a bit and was wondering how people feel about living in this area of Cabbagetown near the Sherbourne strip. Any input would be great!

It's my first time renting and this company is asking for the last month rent upon submission of my application and saying it will be returned if I don't get approved for the unit. They gave me an application form, I saw the unit, spoke with people on the phone.
The house has been available for like 2 weeks at least and there is a "renting" sign outside the house.
I searched for the company and only saw one review about them entering your house to inspect it but nothing about it being a scam.
The addresses also change.
Has anyone dealt with them before? Does this sound normal or shady? They want the deposit in Certified Cheque or money order.

Thank you!

UPDATE to my previous post regarding my roommate/occupant situation in a Toronto condo/apartment building.

I wanted to post an update because building management has now provided more of an explanation for why they say I cannot continue residing in the unit, and I’m trying to understand whether they are conflating two separate issues: my right to reside as the leaseholder’s roommate/occupant versus my ability to use building amenities.

Background:

My roommate is the actual tenant/leaseholder and continues to reside in the unit. I rent one bedroom from him and share the kitchen, bathroom and common areas with him.

We have a written month-to-month agreement between ourselves requiring 60 days’ written notice of termination by either party. I paid first and last month’s rent.

Building management subsequently required me to submit an application to be added/registered as an occupant. I complied, but management rejected the application. They have taken the position that because my application was rejected, I cannot reside in the unit.
This confused me because LTB Interpretation Guideline 21 says that where the tenant continues to occupy the rental unit, another person may ordinarily live with the tenant as a roommate/occupant with or without the landlord’s consent, subject to things such as overcrowding.

I therefore asked the leaseholder to have management identify the actual legal/contractual basis for their position rather than simply accepting that the “application was rejected.”

He has now relayed the following response from management:

“Each building legally has its own laws and policies that can override what the province has and works alongside, legally in Ontario you don’t have to give a reason why an application is rejected. Because you are going to be living here and using the facilities and amenities it means that you have to be a registered applicant to do so. That is the requirement they have.”

This raises two questions for me.

1. Occupancy

Can a building actually create a policy requiring the landlord/management to approve every roommate or occupant when the named tenant continues
residing in the unit?

My understanding from Guideline 21 is that ordinarily the answer is no. I also don’t understand management’s statement that a building’s own “laws and policies” can override provincial law.

If there is some exception applicable here, I’m genuinely interested in knowing what it is.

2. Amenities

This part is less clear to me.

I have a building key fob that currently provides access to the building and certain amenities, including the gym. Other amenities such as the pool/sauna appear to have additional access controls.

Can the building legitimately say:

“You may reside in the unit as the tenant’s roommate/occupant, but because you’re not an approved/registered resident, you cannot use the building’s amenities”?

In other words, could management be wrong about their ability to prohibit my occupancy but nevertheless be correct about restricting my amenity privileges?

If so, what determines that—the lease, condo/building rules, declaration/bylaws, or something else?
There is also a practical reason I’m concerned about access. There was recently a theft from inside the unit involving someone who had been allowed into the apartment, so I am not comfortable simply handing over my bedroom key so strangers can be shown my room while I’m away.

I’m not looking to start litigation with anybody. I’m mainly trying to determine exactly where the legal lines are before deciding what to do next.

So my main questions are:

1. Can building management legally require landlord approval/registration before someone may live with the tenant as their roommate/occupant?

2 Can building rules override the RTA or the principles described in LTB Guideline 21?

3. Is management required to identify the
   actual rule/lease provision they are relying upon?

4 Can management separately restrict an otherwise lawful occupant from using amenities because
that person isn’t registered?

5. If the occupancy itself is lawful but amenities can be restricted, what rights would the leaseholder have regarding amenities that form part of his tenancy?

6. Does my separate written agreement with the leaseholder requiring 60 days’ written notice remain enforceable between him and me even if building management doesn’t want me residing there?

I’m particularly interested in responses from Ontario landlord/tenant lawyers, paralegals, people familiar with LTB proceedings, or anyone who has dealt with this exact roommate/occupant issue.

Long story short, saw a house yesterday in Brampton (😒), told my agent to make an offer only for the landlord's agent to come and say i would need 2 Mil rental insurance and he said to my agent 'if they (as in us) can pay $3200 for rent than they can pay $1000 too as the security deposit which would be refunded back at the end of the lease.

I checked both of these online and the 2 MIL is the responsibility of the landlord's, not the tenant unless i may have missed something?

When i questioned my agent to ask him about the security deposit which is illegal, he told her its for the key deposit. WTH! Are the keys gold plated or something?

So we clearly know what that agent is doing is not right. So my question is if I leave a review on Google stating this is how he operates or something, can he come after me or sue me or anything?

I'm in a situation where my income has changed for the worse (dropped by $600 a month), and I'm currently putting 70% of my income towards rent. It does not feel sustainable, and I don't want to keep relying on credit cards to bridge the gap with other necessary expenses. Living with roomates is not an option (won't go into why, just saying, "find a roommate" isn't the suggestion I'm looking for ;) )

And so, I'm considering moving. I currently spend $2450 for a 1 bedroom with parking (all utilities included, there are no other "amenities" , no a/c, no in suite laundry.....it's your very basic PBR building). There are many empty units in my building currently, and long time renters pay as little as $1600 in my same building for same size unit.

Should I inquire with my building management whether they would be willing to lower my rent before deciding to move? Is that laughable?? I'm assuming they would prefer to keep a good tenant then add to yet another empty unit.

I'm open to hearing from renters and landlords......landlords, is this something you would consider, in this market? Tenants, have you ever been successful in requesting a rent reduction?

Thank you :)