Bill 25 introduces a number of new protections for tenants, including new rules for rent that can be charged, new requirements for maintaining a residential complex, and access to legal representation for tenants who are facing a rent increase higher than the guideline determined under the Residential Tenancies Act.
Residential Tenancies Act
So first up, currently if a landlord has failed to complete maintenance on a unit/building that has resulted in a serious breach of health, safety, housing, or maintenance standards the Board can prohibit a landlord from charging a new tenant under a new lease an amount of rent greater than what they charged the previous tenant. If you force a tenant out by refusing to maintain a building, you can’t increase the rent for the next tenant. This restriction is completely removed in favour of measures that give a tenant more protection if this happens, as well as dedicated rules regarding rent for a new tenant.
Landlord’s responsibility to repair
A small change is made here for a landlord’s responsibility to maintain a residential complex to reference that a tenant is responsible for any undue damage they may cause to the complex or their unit.
Some additional clarifications are added here as well, stating that a landlord that fails to maintain their building is in breach of the Act regardless of any efforts to maintain the building. (So you can’t point to the fact that you’ve called a plumber three times to fix a problem and avoid penalties. If the problem isn’t fixed, it isn’t fixed, and the effort you’ve put into fixing it doesn’t give you a pass)
Application based on mediated settlement, prior order
If a landlord is failing to properly maintain their property and the Board has issued a settlement or order for the work to be completed, and the work continues to be incomplete, a tenant may apply to the Board for an order without notices to the landlord under this new section that would be added to the Act.
If the Board decides that the landlord hasn’t complied with the prior order, they can make one or more of the following orders:
- Order the landlord to pay the Board an administrative fine up to $1,000/day until they are in compliance with the previous order
- Order an abatement of rent until they are in compliance
- Order an abatement of rent in the amount of the reasonable costs that the tenant will have to pay to get the work done
The Board has the ability to amend the prior settlement or order if they decide it’s appropriate.
The tenant cannot go to the Board for this if the previous work order included a time limit for the landlord to apply for a review of the work unless the time limit has passed and the landlord has not applied for the review.
Lawful rent for new tenant
Bill 25 sets up some specific rules regarding starting rent for new tenants. The “lawful rent” for a new lease can be:
- Any amount equal to or less than the last lawful rent charged to the previous tenant if the unit was rented in the last 12 months
- If the unit had not been rented out in the last 12 months, the lawful rent is any amount up to what the landlord would be charging if the last lawful rent had any increases and decreases that might have applied in the time since it was last rented (So basically whatever the landlord would be charging if the last tenant had never moved out)
- If the unit had never been rented, the rent for the new lease can be whatever the landlord decides on
Application by tenant
A tenant other than a new tenant may apply to the Board for an order determining the maximum rent that they can be charged.
If the landlord is currently prohibited from increasing the rent, the Board’s order will set the amount of rent that can be charged until the prohibition ends and the amount after it ends.
If the Board decides the landlord charged more than the maximum lawful rent then the landlord will be required to rebate the excess amount back to the tenant.
Compliance by landlord, no notice required
If a landlord is prohibited from increasing the rent due to failure to maintain their building, but would have been able to increase the rent during the time period the prohibition is in place and completes the maintenance they were required to perform, they can increase the rent without notice to the tenant. For the purposes of determining the next time the landlord could perform an annual increase in rent, this increase will be considered to have come into effect on the day the landlord would have been able to increase the rent if they were allowed to.
Rent Registry
Bill 25 will require the Board to create a rent registry for all rental units.
The registry will consist of two main things, any information in a statement or notice filed by the landlord, and any orders made by the Board. (So you’ll be able to see how often the Board has had to force your landlord to perform standard maintenance on your building)
Landlord to file statement
When a landlord enters into a lease with a tenant they have 30 days to file a statement with the Board. The statement will include:
- The landlord’s name and address
- If the landlord doesn’t live in Ontario, the name and address of their representative in Ontario
- The address of the rental unit
- The rent charged to the tenant, and if the rent includes any services or utilities and the amount attributed to each
- Any other required information
Landlords will also be required to file a statement within 30 days of changing the rent they charge.
Any statement or notice filed with the Board will need to be given to the tenant as well.
If a tenant decides the information that’s been submitted to the Board is inaccurate, they can apply to have the Board validate it. (With notification to the landlord) If the Board determines that the information is wrong they can correct it themselves or order the landlord to file another statement to fix it. The tenant can only file this request within 60 days of receiving their copy of a landlord’s statement or notice.
Disclosure of information
The following people can request information from the registry:
- The landlord or anyone authorized by the landlord
- The tenant, someone who was a tenant in the last 12 months, or an individual authorized by either
- A prospective tenant who has applied for a lease with the landlord
Note that the Board will also be expected to make the address of each unit in the registry and the rent charged, along with the date of any changes to the rent, available to the public on a website maintained by the Board and also providing it to the public upon request.
Finally the Board can disclose any information here to a ministry, department, or government agency (federal or provincial) that administers or enforces the Income Tax Act, Taxation Act, or the federal Income Tax Act.
Board may refuse to proceed if money owing, statement not filed
Currently if someone submits an application to the Board for a proceeding, if the Board determines that they already owe money to the Board they can refuse the application. Bill 25 would allow the Board to also refuse if the applicant is a landlord that’s failed to file a statement listed above.
Legal Aid Services Act
Finally, Bill 25 will require the Landlord Tenant Board to provide legal representation to tenants who request it if they need to go before the LTB regarding a rent increase greater than what the guidelines allow. The LTB also won’t be able to require a tenant to contribute towards the costs of this legal aid.
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