Tenants with pets just lost big time!

Under the old residential tenancy rules, a landlord could reject a prospective tenant if they had a pet.  I would suggest to clients that if they wanted the landlord to accept their pet, they could legally offer up a pet damage deposit to move the landlord from a “no” to a “yes”.  It was legal as long as it was offered, not demanded.

The new rules now state that the only deposits a landlord is allowed to receive are last month’s rent deposit and key deposits to cover the costs of key replacements.  Now, tenants with pets are going to find it VERY difficult to find rental accommodation which will accept their pet(s).  Not everything new is better!

There is now a new mandatory residential tenancy lease provided by the government of Ontario (effective April 30, 2018) which lays out all the rules in very clear language, for both the tenants and the landlords to understand.