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Legal tips for student renters: Reasonable Doubt

With September and back-to-school season only two weeks away, we have tips for student renters. This is just some of the important legal information you should know, and is not intended to tell you everything about renting an apartment (or room) while at college or university.

For questions about your particular situation, call your local Community Legal Clinic for legal advice. Students generally qualify for free legal advice, so don’t hesitate to use your CLC. A special thanks goes out to our social worker, Nancy Singer, at Waterloo Region Community Legal Services for most of this list!

1. Never (never, NEVER!) pay cash. If the landlord doesn’t give you a receipt, you will not be able to prove you paid your rent. Open a chequing account, pay by cheque or money order or do an electronic transfer.

2. The landlord must provide their mailing address in case you ever need to take them to the Landlord & Tenant Board. Get it when you sign the lease. If they give you excuses, ask for it in writing. You are allowed to withhold the rent until they give you this information.

3. Don’t rent a room where you share a kitchen or bathroom with the landlord or the landlord’s children. You will have no protection under the Residential Tenancies Act, Ontario’s current legislation for residential tenancies. If you’re not covered by the Act, the landlord can make up whatever rules they want and you have to comply. If you do share accommodation with the landlord or relative of the landlord, make sure the terms of your tenancy are clear and in writing.

4. The landlord can’t evict just because they feel like it. Only the Landlord & Tenant Board can terminate a tenancy. Board procedures must be followed, proper notices must be issued and there has to be a hearing.

5. Rent is rent, and maintenance is maintenance. Don’t withhold rent because the landlord won’t fix something – you can be evicted. Instead, keep track of the maintenance issues, write the landlord to complain, then take them to the Landlord & Tenant Board if they do nothing. You may get money back if you win your case.

6. Damage deposits are illegal. The only upfront money a landlord can demand is a deposit for last month’s rent. The landlord cannot demand an unreasonable key deposit, a fee to allow you to rent the place nor add fees later.

7. Write it down. Talking to your landlord is good, but document every time you do. If you ask the landlord to do something, write a note, sign and date it, and keep a copy for your records so that you have evidence later. Keep emails and texts.

8. The landlord cannot tell you how to pay the rent. It’s up to you if you want to offer post-dated cheques or allow direct debit of your account.

9. Always pay your rent in full and on time. If you are a day late or a dollar short, you are at risk for eviction.

10. Don’t sign a joint tenancy lease with your roommates. Get your own lease. If your friend leaves, you and any remaining tenants could be on the hook for his/her share of the rent. The landlord could go after all or even just one of the tenants for arrears, damages and costs – there’s no equal splitting of responsibility. You don’t want to be paying for someone else.

11. Assign your lease if you are at the end of your lease term (and not planning to return to your place after the summer). If you sublet, you remain responsible for damage to the apartment, and even for the rent if your subtenant bails or just doesn’t pay the rent one month. If you assign your lease, the new person takes over your lease and is on the hook themselves. Your landlord cannot reasonably refuse to allow you to do either. If they do, you can request termination of your lease at the Landlord & Tenant Board.

12. Take photos of your unit at the beginning and end of your tenancy (with a date stamp). If your landlord accuses you of damage to your unit, you will have proof of conditions that were already there when you arrived or were not there when you left.

Rachael Lake is a staff lawyer with Waterloo Region Community Legal Services, practising in the areas of Disability and Employment Insurance Law. Reasonable Doubt appears on Mondays. 

A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain or formally seek advice from a lawyer. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Waterloo Region Community Legal Services.

news@nowtoronto.com | @nowtoronto

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