Renting with a pet in Toronto
The local picture
Toronto rents in two very different kinds of building. One is the purpose-built apartment tower, owned by a company and run by a property manager. The other is the condo unit rented out by an individual owner, a part of the market big enough that CMHC surveys it separately.
For a pet owner the difference matters. In a purpose-built building, the landlord’s answer is usually the only one that counts. In a condo there is a second set of rules, the condominium’s own, and the owner renting to you cannot waive them.
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.
In a condo, the lease is not the only rulebook
Ontario’s rule that a no-pets clause is void applies to your lease with the unit owner. It does not reach the condominium’s declaration, by-laws and rules, which the Condominium Act requires everyone living in a unit to follow, tenants included. The owner must give you copies within ten days of the lease being signed.
Ten days after signing is too late to find out. Ask for them before you commit and read the pet provisions, since a condo can limit the number, size or kind of animal. Disputes over a condo’s pet provisions are heard by the Condominium Authority Tribunal, not the Landlord and Tenant Board.
Practical notes for Toronto
- The City requires every dog and cat in Toronto to be licensed and to wear its tag, renewed every year.
- The Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations runs a free Tenant Hotline for Toronto tenants. It gives information about your rights rather than legal advice.
- If you are looking at a condo unit, ask the owner for the declaration, by-laws and rules before you sign.
- Steps to Justice, from Community Legal Education Ontario, answers common pet and tenancy questions in plain language.
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.