Renting with a pet in Kitchener-Waterloo
The local picture
Kitchener-Waterloo is two cities with one rental market. It has three large schools: the University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College.
That brings a large stock of shared student houses and purpose-built student buildings near the two universities, alongside ordinary apartments and houses across both cities. In Waterloo, most landlords renting units in low-rise buildings need a City rental licence.
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.
Student leases, residences and shared houses
A lease for a room in a shared student house or a private student building is usually covered by the Residential Tenancies Act, and a no-pets clause in it is void like any other. University residence can be different: the Act excludes some accommodation that a college or university provides to its own students, and there the institution’s rules decide.
In a shared house the pet is also your housemates’ business. The void clause stops the landlord enforcing a ban; it does nothing about a housemate who never agreed to a dog, and a serious allergic reaction in the landlord or another tenant is one of the grounds on which the Landlord and Tenant Board can end a tenancy over an animal. Settle it with the housemates before anyone signs.
Practical notes for Kitchener-Waterloo
- Kitchener and Waterloo both require dogs to be licensed every year: in Kitchener through the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth, in Waterloo online through the City.
- Waterloo Region Community Legal Services gives free legal help to low-income tenants across the region.
- In Waterloo, it is reasonable to ask a landlord renting you part of a house to show their City rental licence.
- The University of Waterloo’s off-campus housing office publishes resources for student tenants.
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.