Residential Tenancies Act
The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) was proclaimed and came into effect on January 31, 2007, replacing the Tenant Protection Act, 1997 (TPA). It created the Landlord and Tenant Board to help resolve issues between residential landlords and tenants.
This legislation affects approximately 1.35 million renter households in Ontario, representing 32 per cent of Ontario’s population.
For more information regarding the RTA, please visit the Landlord and Tenant Board and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario websites. These websites are excellent resources and will provide necessary information and tips sheets to assist you in maintaining housing.
The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) works to better the housing situation of Ontario residents who have low incomes including tenants, co-op members and people who are homeless. ACTO achieves this through:
- test case litigation;
- lobbying and law reform;
- housing policy work;
- community organizing; and,
- public legal education.
ACTO works with legal clinics, tenant associations and other groups and individuals concerned about housing issues. ACTO is funded by Legal Aid Ontario and has been in existence since September 2001.
Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) has detailed information on the new legislation at: http://www.cleo.on.ca/english/pub/onpub/PDF/landlordTenant/tenantsaccess.pdf Also, see ACTO’s Tenant Tip Sheets about your rights under the new law: http://www.acto.ca/english/acto_content.php?topic=5&sub=134
Under the RTA, if you get a Notice of Hearing from your landlord, a hearing will automatically be scheduled at the Landlord and Tenant Board (previously called the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal). If you miss your hearing, you will probably have to pay $50 to ask if you can have another hearing.
ACTO, legal clinics across the province, tenants' organizations, community groups and dedicated individuals made detailed suggestions over the past few years about creating fair legislation for tenants. While the new Act is an improvement, rents are still not regulated and a landlord can charge any amount once a unit becomes vacant.
The new Act does contain some new protections against above guideline rent increases for sitting tenants. See "What's new in the RTA" at http://www.torontotenants.org/RTA.htm. The annual rent guideline will be tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI). For 2007, the rent increase guideline is 2.6%.