1. The purposes of this Act are to provide protection for residential tenants from unlawful rent increases and unlawful evictions, to establish a framework for the regulation of residential rents, to balance the rights and responsibilities of residential landlords and tenants and to provide for the adjudication of disputes and for other processes to informally resolve disputes.
2006, c. 17, s. 1.

2. (1) In this Act,

"Board" means the Landlord and Tenant Board;

"care home" means a residential complex that is occupied or intended to be occupied by persons for the purpose of receiving care services, whether or not receiving the services is the primary purpose of the occupancy;

"care services" means, subject to the regulations, health care services, rehabilitative or therapeutic services or services that provide assistance with the activities of daily living;

"guideline", when used with respect to the charging of rent, means the guideline determined under section 120;

"land lease community" means the land on which one or more occupied land lease homes are situate and includes the rental units and the land, structures, services and facilities of which the landlord retains possession and that are intended for the common use and enjoyment of the tenants of the landlord;

"land lease home" means a dwelling, other than a mobile home, that is a permanent structure where the owner of the dwelling leases the land used or intended for use as the site for the dwelling;

"landlord" includes,

(a) the owner of a rental unit or any other person who permits occupancy of a rental unit, other than a tenant who occupies a rental unit in a residential complex and who permits another person to also occupy the unit or any part of the unit,

(b) the heirs, assigns, personal representatives and successors in title of a person referred to in clause (a), and

(c) a person, other than a tenant occupying a rental unit in a residential complex, who is entitled to possession of the residential complex and who attempts to enforce any of the rights of a landlord under a tenancy agreement or this Act, including the right to collect rent;

"Minister" means the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing;

"Ministry" means the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing;

"mobile home" means a dwelling that is designed to be made mobile and that is being used as a permanent residence;

"mobile home park" means the land on which one or more occupied mobile homes are located and includes the rental units and the land, structures, services and facilities of which the landlord retains possession and that are intended for the common use and enjoyment of the tenants of the landlord;

"municipal taxes and charges" means taxes charged to a landlord by a municipality and charges levied on a landlord by a municipality and includes taxes levied on a landlord’s property under Division B of Part IX of the Education Act and taxes levied on a landlord’s property in unorganized territory, but "municipal taxes and charges" does not include,

(a) charges for inspections done by a municipality on a residential complex related to an alleged breach of a health, safety, housing or maintenance standard,

(b) charges for emergency repairs carried out by a municipality on a residential complex,

(c) charges for work in the nature of a capital expenditure carried out by a municipality,

(d) charges for work, services or non-emergency repairs performed by a municipality in relation to a landlord's non-compliance with a by-law,

(e) penalties, interest, late payment fees or fines,

(f) any amount spent by a municipality under subsection 219 (1) or any administrative fee applied to that amount under subsection 219 (2), or

(g) any other prescribed charges;

"non-profit housing co-operative" means a non-profit housing co-operative under the Co-operative Corporations Act;

"person", or any expression referring to a person, means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnership, limited partnership, trust or body corporate, or an individual in his or her capacity as a trustee, executor, administrator or other legal representative;

"prescribed" means prescribed by the regulations;

"regulations" means the regulations made under this Act;

"rent" includes the amount of any consideration paid or given or required to be paid or given by or on behalf of a tenant to a landlord or the landlord's agent for the right to occupy a rental unit and for any services and facilities and any privilege, accommodation or thing that the landlord provides for the tenant in respect of the occupancy of the rental unit, whether or not a separate charge is made for services and facilities or for the privilege, accommodation or thing, but "rent" does not include,

(a) an amount paid by a tenant to a landlord to reimburse the landlord for property taxes paid by the landlord with respect to a mobile home or a land lease home owned by a tenant, or

(b) an amount that a landlord charges a tenant of a rental unit in a care home for care services or meals;

"rental unit" means any living accommodation used or intended for use as rented residential premises, and "rental unit" includes,

(a) a site for a mobile home or site on which there is a land lease home used or intended for use as rented residential premises, and

(b) a room in a boarding house, rooming house or lodging house and a unit in a care home;

"residential complex" means,

(a) a building or related group of buildings in which one or more rental units are located,

(b) a mobile home park or land lease community,

(c) a site that is a rental unit,

(d) a care home, and,

includes all common areas and services and facilities available for the use of its residents;

"residential unit" means any living accommodation used or intended for use as residential premises, and "residential unit" includes,

(a) a site for a mobile home or on which there is a land lease home used or intended for use as a residential premises, and

(b) a room in a boarding house, rooming house or lodging house and a unit in a care home;

"Rules" means the rules of practice and procedure made by the Board under section 176 of this Act and section 25.1 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act;

"services and facilities" includes,

(a) furniture, appliances and furnishings,

(b) parking and related facilities,

(c) laundry facilities,

(d) elevator facilities,

(e) common recreational facilities,

(f) garbage facilities and related services,

(g) cleaning and maintenance services,

(h) storage facilities,

(i) intercom systems,

(j) cable television facilities,

(k) heating facilities and services,

(l) air-conditioning facilities,

(m) utilities and related services, and

(n)security services and facilities;

"spouse" means a person,

(a) to whom the person is married, or

(b) with whom the person is living in a conjugal relationship outside marriage, if the two persons,

(i)   have cohabited for at least one year,

(ii)  are together the parents of a child, or

(iii) have together entered into a cohabitation agreement under section 53 of the Family Law Act;

"subtenant" means the person to whom a tenant gives the right under section 97 to occupy a rental unit;

"superintendent's premises" means a rental unit used by a person employed as a janitor, manager, security guard or superintendent and located in the residential complex with respect to which the person is so employed;

"tenancy agreement" means a written, oral or implied agreement between a tenant and a landlord for occupancy of a rental unit and includes a licence to occupy a rental unit;

"tenant" includes a person who pays rent in return for the right to occupy a rental unit and includes the tenant’s heirs, assigns and personal representatives, but "tenant" does not include a person who has the right to occupy a rental unit by virtue of being,

(a) a co-owner of the residential complex in which the rental unit is located, or

(b) a shareholder of a corporation that owns the residential complex; ("locataire")

"utilities" means heat, electricity and water;

"vital service" means hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas or, during the part of each year prescribed by the regulations, heat. 2006, c. 17, s. 2 (1).

Interpretation, sublet

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to subletting a rental unit refers to the situation in which,

(a) the tenant vacates the rental unit;

(b) the tenant gives one or more other persons the right to occupy the rental unit for a term ending on a specified date before the end of the tenant's term or period; and

(c) the tenant has the right to resume occupancy of the rental unit after that specified date. 2006, c. 17, s. 2 (2).

Interpretation, abandoned

(3) For the purposes of this Act, a tenant has not abandoned a rental unit if the tenant is not in arrears of rent. 2006, c. 17, s. 2 (3).

Rental unit, clarification

(4) A rented site for a mobile home or a land lease home is a rental unit for the purposes of this Act even if the mobile home or the land lease home on the site is owned by the tenant of the site. 2006, c. 17, s. 2 (4).

3. (1) This Act applies with respect to rental units in residential complexes, despite any other Act and despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary. 2006, c. 17, s. 3 (1).

Conflicts, care homes

(2) In interpreting a provision of this Act with regard to a care home, if a provision in Part IX conflicts with a provision in another Part of this Act, the provision in Part IX applies. 2006, c. 17, s. 3 (2).

Conflicts, mobile home parks and land lease communities

(3) In interpreting a provision of this Act with regard to a mobile home park or a land lease community, if a provision in Part X conflicts with a provision in another Part of this Act, the provision in Part X applies. 2006, c. 17, 3 (3).

Conflict with other Acts

(4) If a provision of this Act conflicts with a provision of another Act, other than the Human Rights Code, the provision of this Act applies. 2006, c. 17, s. 3 (4).

4. Subject to section 194, a provision in a tenancy agreement that is inconsistent with this Act or the regulations is void. 2006, c. 17, s. 4.

5. This Act does not apply with respect to,

(a) living accommodation intended to be provided to the travelling or vacationing public or occupied for a seasonal or temporary period in a hotel, motel or motor hotel, resort, lodge, tourist camp, cottage or cabin establishment, inn, campground, trailer park, tourist home, bed and breakfast vacation establishment or vacation home;

(b) living accommodation whose occupancy is conditional upon the occupant continuing to be employed on a farm, whether or not the accommodation is located on that farm;

(c) living accommodation that is a member unit of a non-profit housing co-operative;

(d) living accommodation occupied by a person for penal or correctional purposes;

(e) living accommodation that is subject to the Public Hospitals Act, the Private Hospitals Act, the Community Psychiatric Hospitals Act, the Mental Hospitals Act, the Homes for the Aged and Rest Homes Act, the Nursing Homes Act, the Ministry of Correctional Services Act, the Charitable Institutions Act or the Child and Family Services Act or is listed in Schedule 1 to Regulation 272 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 made under the Developmental Services Act;

(f) short-term living accommodation provided as emergency shelter;

(g) living accommodation provided by an educational institution to its students or staff where,

(i) the living accommodation is provided primarily to persons under the age of majority, or all major questions related to the living accommodation are decided after consultation with a council or association representing the residents, and

(ii) the living accommodation does not have its own self-contained bathroom and kitchen facilities or is not intended for year-round occupancy by full-time students or staff and members of their households;

(h) living accommodation located in a building or project used in whole or in part for non-residential purposes if the occupancy of the living accommodation is conditional upon the occupant continuing to be an employee of or perform services related to a business or enterprise carried out in the building or project;

(i) living accommodation whose occupant or occupants are required to share a bathroom or kitchen facility with the owner, the owner’s spouse, child or parent or the spouse’s child or parent, and where the owner, spouse, child or parent lives in the building in which the living accommodation is located;

(j) premises occupied for business or agricultural purposes with living accommodation attached if the occupancy for both purposes is under a single lease and the same person occupies the premises and the living accommodation;

(k) living accommodation occupied by a person for the purpose of receiving rehabilitative or therapeutic services agreed upon by the person and the provider of the living accommodation, where,

(i) the parties have agreed that,

(A) the period of occupancy will be of a specified duration, or

(B) the occupancy will terminate when the objectives of the services have been met or will not be met, and

(ii) the living accommodation is intended to be provided for no more than a one-year period;

(l) living accommodation in a care home occupied by a person for the purpose of receiving short-term respite care;

(m) living accommodation in a residential complex in which the Crown in right of Ontario has an interest, if,

(i) the residential complex was forfeited to the Crown in right of Ontario under the Remedies for Organized Crime and Other Unlawful Activities Act, 2001, the Prohibiting Profiting from Recounting Crimes Act, 2002 or the Criminal Code (Canada), or

(ii) possession of the residential complex has been or may be taken in the name of the Crown under the Escheats Act; and

(n) any other prescribed class of accommodation. 2006, c. 17, s. 5.

Other exemptions

6. (1) Paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of subsection 30 (1) and sections 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 104, 111 to 115, 117, 119 to 134, 136, 140 and 149 to 167 do not apply with respect to,

(a) accommodation that is subject to the Homes for Special Care Act; or

(b) accommodation that is subject to the Developmental Services Act but is not listed in Schedule 1 to Regulation 272 of the Revised Regulations of Ontario, 1990 made under that Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 6 (1).

Rules relating to rent

(2) Sections 104, 111, 112, 120, 121, 122, 126 to 133, 165 and 167 do not apply with respect to a rental unit if,

(a) it was not occupied for any purpose before June 17, 1998;

(b) it is a rental unit no part of which has been previously rented since July 29, 1975; or

(c) no part of the building, mobile home park or land lease community was occupied for residential purposes before November 1, 1991. 2006, c. 17, s. 6 (2).

7. (1) Paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 of subsection 30 (1), sections 51, 52, 54, 55, 56 and 95 to 99, subsection 100 (2) and sections 101, 102, 104, 111 to 115, 117, 120, 121, 122, 126 to 133, 140, 143, 149, 150, 151, 159, 165 and 167 do not apply with respect to a rental unit described below:

1. A rental unit located in a residential complex owned, operated or administered by or on behalf of the Ontario Housing Corporation, the Government of Canada or an agency of either of them.

2. A rental unit in a residential complex described in paragraph 1 whose ownership, operation or management is transferred under the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000 to a service manager or local housing corporation as defined in that Act.

3. A rental unit located in a non-profit housing project or other residential complex, if the non-profit housing project or other residential complex was developed or acquired under a prescribed federal, provincial or municipal program and continues to operate under,

i.   Part VI of the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000,

ii.  an operating agreement, as defined in the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000, or

iii. an agreement made between a housing provider, as defined in the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000, and one or more of,

A. a municipality,

B. an agency of a municipality,

C. a non-profit corporation controlled by a municipality, if an object of the non-profit corporation is the provision of housing,

D. a local housing corporation, as defined in the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000, or

E. a service manager, as defined in the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000.

4. A rental unit that is a non-member unit of a non-profit housing co-operative.

5. A rental unit provided by an educational institution to a student or member of its staff and that is not exempt from this Act under clause 5 (g).

6. A rental unit located in a residential complex owned, operated or administered by a religious institution for a charitable use on a non-profit basis. 2006, c. 17, s. 7 (1).

Exemption re 12-month rule

(2) Section 119 does not apply with respect to,

(a) a rental unit described in paragraph 1, 2, 3 or 4 of subsection (1) if the tenant occupying the rental unit pays rent in an amount geared-to-income due to public funding; or

(b) a rental unit described in paragraph 5 or 6 of subsection (1). 2006, c. 17, s. 7 (2).

Exemption re notice of rent increase

(3) Sections 116 and 118 do not apply with respect to increases in rent for a rental unit due to increases in the tenant's income if the rental unit is as described in paragraph 1, 2, 3 or 4 of subsection (1) and the tenant pays rent in an amount geared-to-income due to public funding. 2006, c. 17, s. 7 (3).

Exception, subs. (1), par. 1

(4) Despite subsection (1), the provisions of this Act set out in that subsection apply with respect to a rental unit described in paragraph 1 of that subsection if the tenant occupying the rental unit pays rent to a landlord other than the Ontario Housing Corporation, the Government of Canada or an agency of either of them. 2006, c. 17, s. 7 (4).

Same, subs. (1), par. 2

(5) Despite subsection (1), the provisions of this Act set out in that subsection apply with respect to a rental unit described in paragraph 2 of that subsection if the tenant occupying the rental unit pays rent to a landlord other than a service manager or local housing corporation as defined in the Social Housing Reform Act, 2000 or an agency of either of them. 2006, c. 17, s. 7 (5).

Same, subs. (1), par. 5

(6) Despite subsection (1), the provisions of this Act set out in that subsection apply with respect to a rent increase for rental units described in paragraph 5 of that subsection if there is a council or association representing the residents of those rental units and there has not been consultation with the council or association respecting the increase. 2006, c. 17, s. 7 (6).

8. (1) If a tenant pays rent for a rental unit in an amount geared-to-income due to public funding and the rental unit is not a rental unit described in paragraph 1, 2, 3 or 4 of subsection 7 (1), paragraph 6 of subsection 30 (1) and Part VII do not apply to an increase in the amount geared-to-income paid by the tenant. 2006, c. 17, s. 8 (1).

Same, assignment, subletting

(2) Sections 95 to 99, subsection 100 (2), sections 101 and 102, subsection 104 (3) and section 143 do not apply to a tenant described in subsection (1). 2006, c. 17, s. 8 (2).

9. (1) A landlord or a tenant may apply to the Board for an order determining,

(a) whether this Act or any provision of it applies to a particular rental unit or residential complex;

(b) any other prescribed matter. 2006, c. 17, s. 9 (1).

Order

(2) On the application, the Board shall make findings on the issue as prescribed and shall make the appropriate order. 2006, c. 17, s. 9 (2).

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