My good friend Paul decided to leave his decade-long relationship and is looking for an apartment ASAP. Being a good friend, I have been checking in on him to make sure he’s OK at this stressful time.
Yesterday he called me saying that he had found a fantastic place downtown. The rent was cheap for the area, and the apartment was very close to his work. I told him to get the lease signed before someone else snatched it up. Before he hung up the phone, he muttered that the landlady was a bit crazy, but he said it’d be all right since he’s only renting from her.
I had to stop him right away.
Who your landlord is matters. In Ontario, despite the legal protection under the Residential Tenancies Act, your landlord can make your life very difficult if he or she chooses to. For example, if you put a nail in the wall, the landlord is technically entitled to bring an application to terminate your tenancy based on damage done to the unit.
If you have a dog, and once in a blue moon you neglect to pick up after it, the landlord can theoretically bring an application to terminate your tenancy for illegal acts (contrary to city ordinances) and unreasonable interference to his or her enjoyment of the property (by stepping on it or smelling it).
You may think, “No sane adjudicator in the world is going to kick me out of my apartment if I put a nail on my wall, or if I forgot to pick up after my dog.”
That may be true, but the fact that you are involved in a legal proceeding against your landlord can bring tremendous stress to your day-to-day life, especially if you’ve never been sued before. You will have to spend time drafting documents to defending your case, appearing before the Board, or even hiring a lawyer to defend you.
Who your landlord is matters. You don’t deal with crazy people on the street, why deal with a crazy landlord when it comes to your future home?
