Your first stop for self-help is a review of our FAQs. Take a look at the ever increasing collection of questions asked by Ontario’s small-scale landlords as well as the actual answers provided by Landlord’s Self-Help Centre.
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When a tenant vacates a rental unit based on having signed an Agreement to Terminate, they do not have the right of first refusal.
When a rental property is sold and there is a lease in place, the landlord cannot give notice to terminate the tenancy. The new owner would have to honour the existing lease. However, if your tenants are willing to move out earlier, ask them to sign a Form N11 which is a mutual agreement between the landlord and the tenant to terminate the tenancy. This form can be obtained from the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website at https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms
If the landlord lives in the rental property PRIOR to the tenant moving in, then you are exempt under section 5(i) of the Residential Tenancies Act. However if the tenant lives in the unit and the landlord decides to move in after, then the Act does apply to you, despite sharing a bathroom and kitchen with the tenant.
The tenants are equally responsible for the ordinary cleanliness of the unit. A mutually-agreed upon cleaning schedule may be helpful to divide the workload between the three of them. You may hire a cleaning service, but it should be specified in the tenancy agreement (especially if the cleaners are going to be entering the rental unit at a designated time every month).
If a tenant is not fulfilling his or her cleanliness obligations under the Act, you may send a reminder letter letting your tenant know that they must keep the unit clean, a copy of section 33 of the Residential Tenancies Act can also be attached (which indicates the tenant is responsible for ordinary cleanliness of the rental unit). If the tenant still fails to comply then a N5 notice may be served.
If you received an order of termination after a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and the tenant moved out as a result, then pursuant to S. 41 (1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 you may keep, sell or dispose of any remaining belongings left behind by the tenant – either in the unit or anywhere on the residential complex such as the shed.