The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) is a series of laws in the province of Ontario, Canada, that governs landlord and tenant relations in residential rental accommodations. It was created in 2006 to protect tenants and help landlords.

What is the Residential Tenancy Act?

When terminating a lease, you must first determine if the lease is a Fixed Term Tenancy or Periodic Term Tenancy. A fixed term means that the lease has a start date and an end date. At the end date, all fixed term leases automatically become periodic month-to-month leases. A Periodic Tenancy is a tenancy that does not have a fixed term and renews every month or week (depending on whether rent was paid monthly or weekly).
If Fixed, both the landlord and tenant have to provide a 60 day notice prior to the end of the term.
If Periodic, both the landlord and tenant have to provide a 28 day notice prior to the day they would like to end the term.

How can a tenant terminate a lease?

The Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) states that a landlord can not increase rent by more than the % provided by the Rent Increase Guideline which is calculated by the Ontario <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1810000413" target="_blank" class="intercom-content-link">Consumer Price Index</a> (maximum of 2.5%).  Tenant's must also be given 90 day notice before the rent increase.

How much can a landlord increase rent by?

As a tenant you may sublease your unit with the consent of the landlord and consent cannot be arbitrarily withheld. The subletter becomes bound to the same terms and clauses as the original tenancy agreement and becomes the one that is liable.

Can tenants sublease rental a property?

The Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) states that “a provision in a tenancy agreement prohibiting the presence of animals in or about the residential complex is void,” therefore any clause in the lease agreement that forbids having a pet is considered void. However, if you live in a condominium and the building (or the corporation) has a by law that has certain pet restrictions, then as a tenant you must abide the bylaws of the condo corp.

Are tenants allowed to have a pet in a specific property?

This may vary based on your agreement but typically the landlords are responsible for any repairs that are not caused by negligent actions of the tenant. So if the dishwasher or any other appliance abruptly stops working then you should give your landlord a call and have them fix it.