Pet damage deposits in Canada, province by province

Short answer: it depends entirely on the province, and the differences are large. In Ontario a landlord cannot take a pet deposit at all. In Manitoba one can be as much as a full month’s rent. A lot of what you will read online was written for the United States, where none of this applies.

Here is the position in the five provinces we cover, checked against the legislation in September 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Ontario: no pet deposit, no pet fee

The only deposit an Ontario landlord may collect is a rent deposit (Residential Tenancies Act, section 105). It can be no more than one month’s rent, or one week’s if you pay weekly, and it has to be used for the rent for your last rental period, not for damage (section 106). The landlord pays you interest on it each year.

Other charges are separately prohibited. Section 134 bars a landlord from collecting a fee, premium, penalty “or other like amount”, refundable or not, apart from a short list of exceptions in the regulations, such as a refundable key deposit. Nothing on that list relates to pets.

So an Ontario landlord cannot require a pet deposit or a pet fee. What they can do is what they can do for any damage: apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for the cost of repairing undue damage caused wilfully or negligently (section 89).

British Columbia: up to half a month’s rent, once

If a landlord permits a pet, they may require a pet damage deposit (Residential Tenancy Act, section 18). The rules:

• It can be no more than half of one month’s rent (section 19). That is on top of the security deposit, which has the same limit, so the two together can reach one month’s rent.
• Only one pet damage deposit per tenancy, however many pets are allowed (section 20).
• It can only be required when the tenancy starts, or when the landlord agrees to a pet part way through (section 20).
• No monthly pet fees. The provincial government’s own guidance says landlords cannot charge a fee for pets beyond a pet damage deposit.
• If you pay more than the limit, you can deduct the overpayment from rent or otherwise recover it (section 19).
• A certified guide or service dog is not a pet, and no pet damage deposit can be charged for one.

At the end of the tenancy, the landlord has 15 days from the later of the tenancy ending and receiving your forwarding address in writing to either repay the deposit with interest or apply for dispute resolution. A landlord who does neither loses the right to claim against it and must pay you double (section 38). A pet damage deposit can only be used for damage caused by a pet, unless you agree otherwise.

Alberta: one month’s rent in total, but watch the non-refundable fees

Alberta has no separate pet deposit regime. A security deposit can be no more than one month’s rent, and a landlord cannot require you to increase it later (Residential Tenancies Act, section 43).

The province’s handbook for landlords and tenants explains how pet charges fit around that:

• A refundable pet fee or pet deposit becomes part of the security deposit, so the total of everything refundable still cannot exceed one month’s rent.
• A non-refundable pet fee is different. If it is agreed in the tenancy agreement, it is treated as a contractual charge, is not subject to the deposit limit, and you will not get it back. The handbook says fees should reasonably reflect the landlord’s actual costs, and that any fee can be reviewed by the courts or the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service.

The landlord has 10 days after you give up possession to return the deposit, or the balance with a statement of account. If they cannot yet work out the deduction, they must send an estimated statement and settle within 30 days (section 46).

Manitoba: up to a full month’s rent

Manitoba allows the largest pet deposit of the five (The Residential Tenancies Act, sections 29 and 29.1):

• The security deposit can be no more than half of the first month’s rent.
• A pet damage deposit, on top of that, can be up to one month’s rent.
• Only one pet damage deposit, regardless of the number of pets.
• The landlord must tell you it is required before you sign, or when they give you permission for a pet during the tenancy, and must give you a written receipt.
• If you already paid a pet damage deposit, the landlord cannot ask you to increase it.
• No pet damage deposit can be charged for a service animal as the Human Rights Code defines it, which is an animal trained to assist a person with a disability.

The landlord keeps the deposit for the whole tenancy, even if the pet dies or is rehomed. Afterwards, a landlord with no claim must return it with interest within 14 days; one who wants to claim must send you written notice within 28 days and return the rest (section 32). Disagreements go to the Residential Tenancies Branch.

Nova Scotia: no separate pet deposit

Any money a landlord takes on top of rent is treated as a security deposit, and the total cannot be more than half of one month’s rent (Residential Tenancies Act, section 12). The province’s renting guide puts it directly: “A landlord can’t charge an additional deposit for pets.”

The deposit must be returned with interest within 10 days of the end of the lease. If the landlord wants to keep some of it and you do not agree in writing, they must file a claim with the Director of Residential Tenancies within those same 10 days, and the claim cannot include ordinary wear and tear (section 12A).

What a deposit is for

A deposit covers damage beyond normal wear and tear. Pet stains that mean a carpet has to be replaced early are damage. A carpet that wore out after years of ordinary use is not. It is not a fee, and it is not the landlord’s money until they have shown a claim.

The best protection is boring: a condition report at move-in, dated photos, and the same again when you leave. In British Columbia, if you get a pet part way through a tenancy and no move-in inspection was done, the Act requires a joint inspection when the pet arrives.

Offering a deposit when you ask for a pet

Where a pet damage deposit is lawful, offering one inside the limit can make a yes easier. That is British Columbia and Manitoba, and in Alberta a refundable pet deposit if the security deposit leaves room under the one-month total.

In Ontario and Nova Scotia, do not offer one. The landlord cannot lawfully take it. Our free letter template has a deposit line you keep or delete by province.

Does an ESA certificate change any of this?

No. No registry certificate, ours included, exempts an animal from a pet damage deposit anywhere in Canada. The exemptions that exist are narrow and defined in law: in British Columbia for certified guide and service dogs, and in Manitoba for service animals trained to assist with a disability. A certificate does not put an emotional support animal in either category.

If your animal is part of how you manage a disability, that is a human rights question, covered here. Our certificate is a keepsake. It has no part to play in what you pay a landlord.