The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association has the following tip for tenants:
Question: The landlord just sent me a lease renewal with a much higher rent. Do I have to renew?
Answer: Lease renewal is not required in Ontario and you never have to sign a renewal lease.
Many tenants sign lease renewals annually at the request of the landlord. While there is nothing wrong with this, it usually benefits the landlord in terms of taking away a tenant’s right to give 60 days’ notice to leave at any point.
Generally, a landlord can only increase a tenant's rent by a guideline amount set annually by the Ontario government. For 2016, the guideline rate is 2% and the rate for 2017 is 1.5%. However, under certain circumstances the landlord can apply for an increase of up to 3% above the guideline amount for up to three years.
Tenants with individual landlords (as opposed to companies) gain a small benefit from signing a lease: preventing a landlord from evicting them for “landlord’s own use” or “purchaser’s own use” until the lease expires. Some rent discounts are also only applicable if you have a lease. But these benefits don’t apply to most tenants in Toronto.
For the vast majority of tenants, signing a lease locks you into your current housing for a year, which is beneficial to a landlord – many tenants prefer to go month-to-month. When a current lease expires, tenants automatically become month-to-month. They can leave at any point by giving 60 days’ written notice. Most important: Tenants can’t be evicted for not signing a lease renewal.
If you have questions about your rights as a tenant, you can call the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494, Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. or email hotline@torontotenants.org
