Renting with a pet in Hamilton
The local picture
Hamilton rents in towers, low-rise buildings and houses. Some of the houses are divided into flats, and some are let room by room near McMaster University.
In the smaller buildings and the houses, the landlord is often a person rather than a company. That can mean no written pet policy at all, and someone who can be persuaded by a specific, tidy request with references.
The law, which is the same everywhere in Ontario
A “no pets” clause does not bind you in Ontario
Section 14 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 makes any term in a tenancy agreement that prohibits animals in or about the building void. Once you are a tenant, a no-pets clause cannot be enforced, whatever the lease says. The rule protects tenants, not applicants: a landlord can still ask whether you have a pet and turn down an application because of one.
If a landlord later tries to end a tenancy over an animal, section 76 lets the Landlord and Tenant Board order an eviction only if it is satisfied that the animal’s behaviour has substantially interfered with others’ reasonable enjoyment of the building, that it has caused the landlord or another tenant a serious allergic reaction, or that the species or breed is inherently dangerous. A landlord cannot take a pet deposit either: the only deposit allowed is a rent deposit of no more than one month’s rent (sections 105 and 106).
Condominium rules are separate. The Condominium Act requires everyone living in a unit, tenants included, to comply with the condominium’s declaration, by-laws and rules, and those can restrict pets. How Ontario’s no-pets rule works, and where it stops.
Disputes go to the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Renting a room in someone’s home
The Residential Tenancies Act does not apply if you share a kitchen or bathroom with the owner, or the owner’s spouse, child or parent, and they live in the building. In that arrangement the rule voiding no-pets clauses does not protect you, and there is no Landlord and Tenant Board to turn to. What the owner agrees to is the arrangement.
A flat in a divided house with its own kitchen and bathroom is different: the Act applies in full, even with the owner upstairs. Before a pet moves in, work out which of the two you are renting, because the answer decides whether a no-pets clause means anything.
Practical notes for Hamilton
- Hamilton requires every dog to have a licence, renewed each year. Registering a cat is optional.
- The Hamilton Community Legal Clinic gives information, advice and representation to low-income tenants.
- The City of Hamilton publishes a Tenant Guide on renting in the city.
- Ask whether the owner lives in the building, and whether any kitchen or bathroom is shared, before you sign.
What there is to buy
A letter, if you would like help with one. We write the pet request letter from your answers, for Ontario, with a one-page pet resume to go with it: $35 on its own, or $55 with the certificate. Or copy the free letter template and write it yourself: it is the same kind of letter. Neither obliges a landlord to agree. We would rather you sent a good letter than no letter.
One payment, delivered by email. With the certificate and card, $55 for both. Prices are in US dollars. Any sales tax is calculated by Creem and shown at checkout before you pay.
Not a legal document. Canada ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official register of emotional support animals exists in Canada. It does not give you a legal right to keep a pet, to housing, or to access with your animal.
Other cities
Not a legal document. Canada ESA Register is a private service, not a government body, and no official register of emotional support animals exists in Canada. This page is general information about renting in Ontario, not legal advice.