Rental Housing Basics PDF

Rental Housing Basics Margaret Flynn | 3 October 2024 Agenda 1. The housing crisis 2. The right to housing 3. The current legal system 4. Specific renter’s rights: Beginning a tenancy Maintenance Privacy Rent increases Discrimination Ending a tenancy & eviction Th...

Rental Housing Basics Margaret Flynn | 3 October 2024 Agenda 1. The housing crisis 2. The right to housing 3. The current legal system 4. Specific renter’s rights: Beginning a tenancy Maintenance Privacy Rent increases Discrimination Ending a tenancy & eviction The housing crisis The housing crisis: Ontario Social Housing waitlists are incredibly long. By 2020, appx 168,546 households were on waitlists for social housing People often wait well over 10 years for social housing Social Assistance (OW and ODSP) are not enough to cover average market rents. For a single person OW is $733; ODSP is $1368 For a family of 4 OW is $1517; ODSP is $2488 Market rents continue to be extremely high. An average new rental costs around $2400. The average asking rent for a roommate is around $1100. The housing crisis: marginalized communities The housing crisis disproportionately impacts marginalized and racialized communities​. According to a 2019 report from Colour of Poverty: “Just over 50% of people of colour households in Canada live in homes which are not affordable (leading to homelessness) and inadequate (require repair or maintenance) and unsuitable (overcrowded, among other issues). This compares to 28% of non-racialized households.” “In 2011, a federal evaluation of First Nations housing stated that 41.5% of on- reserve households required major renovations, compared to only 7 per cent of non- Indigenous households. Mould, bug infestations, inadequate heating and contaminated water are just some of the issues.” ​ “A recent study found 80% of immigrants live in rental housing.” The housing crisis: marginalized communities The housing crisis disproportionately impacts marginalized and racialized communities​. According to CCHR’s 2022 report “Sorry it’s rented”: Newcomers experience 11 times as much discrimination as non- newcomers when searching for rental housing in Toronto. Racialized newcomers face more discrimination when compared to non- racialized newcomers when searching for rental housing in Toronto. Racialized newcomer women faced a 563% increase in discrimination when they disclosed they were caring for a child, when compared with racialized newcomer women who did not disclose their parental status. The housing crisis: eviction About 6.6% of Canadian renters are evicted every five years. The chance of being evicted increases greatly if rent is unaffordable.​ ​ he eviction rate over a T five-year period for those who have ever experienced homelessness is 18.7%. Understanding Eviction in Canada, University of British Columbia, September 2021 The right to housing The right to housing: ideally Right to housing / Housing as a “human right”: Involves: Secure tenure Necessary services and infrastructure Affordable rent Habitable living environment Accessibility Reasonable location (not cut off, polluted or dangerous) Cultural adequacy You do not have to “earn” it. Governments/authorities who violate it face legal penalties. Housing is primarily a right, not a commodity. The right to housing: currently International International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights Federal National Right to Housing Act Charter of Rights and Freedoms Provincial Residential Tenancies Act Ontario Human Rights Code Provincial Policy Statement Municipal Municipal programs, bylaws etc The right to housing: in practice Encampment Cases (2021-2023): Courts in Waterloo and Kingston found that municipalities cannot evict encampment residents unless they have first offered “truly accessible” accommodation alternatives Right to Housing (Tanudjaja) Case (2013-2015): Applicant argued current systemic mass homelessness emerged in the mid 1990’s as a result of government actions and inactions including: Cancelling funding for new social housing; Withdrawing from administering affordable rental housing; Ending tools to prevent loss of existing stock; Eroding access to income supports; Failing to provide independent community living options for people with psycho-social and intellectual disabilities Applicant argued that this violated the Charter and international law. Court found it was a political rather than legal issue, but dissenting judge said the Application raised “significant issues of public interest” The current legal system The current legal system Rights Laws Complaints Fair start/end to rentals Residential Tenancies Act Landlord Tenant Board Maintenance Human Rights Code Rental Housing Enforcement Unit Privacy Municipal Bylaws Human Rights Tribunal Rent Control Building Code Bylaw Enforcement No discrimination Fire Code Fire Marshall Fair eviction process Getting help to navigate the legal system Canadian Centre for Housing Rights Local Legal Clinic Pro Bono Ontario Law Society of Ontario Referral Service Steps to Justice Landlord and Tenant Board Specific renter’s rights Specific renter’s rights 1. Applying for a rental 2. Maintenance 3. Limits on rent increases 4. Privacy 5. Freedom from discrimination 6. Leaving a rental 7. Fair process around evictions Applying for a rental: sharing with landlord Which place should you rent? An apartment on Sunrise Road. You would share the kitchen with your landlord. An apartment on Water Street. You would share the laundry room with your landlord. Sharing k/b with landlord Rights Laws Complaints Fair start/end to rentals Residential Tenancies Act Landlord Tenant Board Maintenance Human Rights Code Rental Housing Enforcement Unit Privacy Municipal Bylaws Human Rights Tribunal Rent Control Building Code Bylaw Enforcement No discrimination Fire Code Fire Marshall Fair eviction process Applying for a rental: deposits Your landlord asks you to pay: a 3-month rent deposit, a $500 damage deposit, and a $20 key deposit. Is the landlord allowed to ask for these things? Applying for a rental: pets You apply to rent a place, but the landlord says no because you have a pet. Can the landlord say no? You’ve been renting a place for two years. You decide to get a cat. The landlord finds out and says she’s going to make you leave. Can the landlord make you leave? Applying for a rental: maintenance You see an ad for an apartment. You visit the apartment and you see the water pipes are leaking. The landlord tells you she is renting the apartment “as is”, and so she doesn’t have to fix anything. Can the landlord do that? Applying for a rental Sara meets with a landlord about an apartment. Ontario Human Rights Code: Sara tells the landlord she is pregnant. The landlord says Age Sara cannot move in because this is an “adults only” Ancestry, colour, race building. Citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin Can the landlord say that? Religion Disability Family status Marital status Gender identity, gender expression Sex, pregnancy, breastfeeding Sexual orientation Receipt of public assistance Applying for a rental: takeaways Key takeaways Sharing a kitchen or bathroom with your landlord is risky. Landlords should only ask for first & last month’s rent, and key deposit. Pet rules are complex. Landlords have to fix things. Landlords should not reject you for a human rights reason. Applying for a rental: ACTION Use a renter cover letter Know the rules If you've pay something you didn’t need to, see if you can get it back. Get help Maintenance Your friend Sohrab calls you, totally frustrated: “This is such a bad apartment! I have mould in my bathroom and the landlord won’t clean it. My fridge stopped working and my landlord took six weeks to fix it. The landlord is doing super loud renovations next door at night. And my apartment is freezing!” Maintenance Key takeaways Landlords must fix things in a reasonable amount of time. There are rules about heat depending on the time of year. Landlords should follow local noise bylaws. Limits on rent increases Sara has lived in an old apartment building for 20 years. She pays $1200/month. Her landlord visits her one day and says she’s raising the rent to $2400/month, starting next month. Limits on rent increases Key takeaways For most rentals, landlords can only raise the rent: Once a year With 90 days’ warning By 2.5% Rental units in new buildings (occupied after November 15, 2018) do not have the 2.5% cap. Privacy Malachy’s landlord enters his apartment at 11pm, without warning. While he’s there, the landlord sees Malachy’s brother is staying over. The landlord tells Malachy his brother cannot stay overnight because his name is not on the rental agreement. Privacy Key takeaways Landlords must give 24 hours’ written notice of entry. Landlords must have reasonable purpose to enter. Landlords cannot control who visits your apartment.* Discrimination The landlord makes jokes about Yasmeea’s wheelchair every time Ontario Human Rights Code: she goes past his office. Age Is that a legal problem? Ancestry, colour, race Citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin Yasmeena’s neighbour makes jokes about her wheelchair every time Religion she goes past his room. Yasmeena complains to the landlord but he Disability says he can’t control what other tenants do. Family status Is that a legal problem? Marital status Gender identity, gender Yasmeena becomes frustrated that she has to enter the building at expression the back, near the garbage cans, because there is no ramp at the Sex (including pregnancy front. She asks the landlord to help. He says he doesn’t have to do and breastfeeding) anything. Sexual orientation Is that a legal problem? Receipt of public assistance Discrimination Key takeaways Landlords cannot treat you badly because of race, sex, religion, disability etc. Landlords should not let other people in the building treat you badly because of race, sex, religion, disability, etc. Landlords have to help you with human rights needs you have. Leaving a rental Sal signs a one-year lease for January-December 2024. But he gets a job in New York in February 2024. What happens? Bet signs a one-year lease for January-December 2024. She wants to leave in February 2024 because of domestic violence. What happens? Mara signs a one-year lease for January-December 2024. She plans to leave at the end of December 2024. What happens? Prudence signs a one-year lease for January-December 2024. She wants to stay on in 2025. What happens? Leaving a rental Key takeaways Most leases are “locked in” for the first year: if a tenant leaves inside that year they might have to pay the landlord something. After the first year, leases automatically become “month to month” leases. It is easier for a tenant to leave a “month to month” lease. Tenants must always give notice when they move out. Landlords must follow a full eviction process to make a tenant move out at any time. There are special rules when there is domestic violence or abuse. Evictions Your landlord tells you that you need to move out in two weeks. He says he’s “sick of you.” He says you don’t have any protections against eviction because you never signed a rental agreement. Evictions Notice of Eviction Application to the Landlord and Tenant Board to Evict Hearing Eviction Order Enforcement by the Sheriff 37 38 39 40 41 Evictions Key takeaways You are still protected by the law, even if don’t have a paper lease. Landlords have to have a good reason to ask for an eviction. Only the Sheriff can evict you, and change your locks. Don’t sign an agreement to end your tenancy before you get advice. Evictions Key takeaways Landlords must give you proper paperwork to evict you. Get legal advice about any threat of eviction.