Rights & LegalTenant Rights in BC: What Your Landlord Can't Do
Entry without notice, guest fees, lockouts, cut-off services and other things a BC landlord cannot do under the Residential Tenancy Act, and what you can do about them.
10 min read
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- Rights & Legal
Rights & LegalThe Human Rights Code and Rental Advertising: What Ontario Landlords Can't Say
Rental ad discrimination rarely looks like discrimination — it looks like friendliness: "perfect for young professionals," "ideal for a quiet couple," "great family neighbourhood." Under Ontario's Human Rights Code, the ad is where compliance starts, and warmly-phrased tenant preferences are the same violation as blunt
14 min read
Screening & ApplicationsTenant Reference Check Questions That Actually Work
The reference call is screening's cheapest instrument and its most badly run: most landlords either skip it, ask questions that invite rehearsed answers, or drift into territory the Human Rights Code governs even on a phone call. Here's the call done properly — why previous landlords beat current ones, the twelve quest
13 min read
Screening & ApplicationsCan You Screen a Tenant Using LTB Orders? What the Human Rights Code Actually Allows
LTB orders became public data on July 24, 2026, and the screening question became live the same day: can a landlord look up a prospective tenant's Board history — and act on it? The honest answer has two halves: no law forbids reading a public order, and the Human Rights Code governs every rental decision exactly as it
14 min read
Rights & LegalOttawa's Renoviction Bylaw: What Landlords Must Do Before January 1, 2027
Ottawa city council passed its Rental Renovation Licence bylaw 21–5 on July 15, 2026, and it takes effect January 1, 2027: a municipal licence within 7 days of issuing an N13, a building permit secured before the notice goes out, and a city-produced tenant rights guide served alongside it. Here's what the bylaw actuall
15 min read
Rights & LegalHouse Hacking in Ontario: Living in One Unit, Renting the Other
House hacking sounds like a financing strategy. In Ontario it's a legal one. Whether your tenant shares a kitchen or bathroom with you decides whether the Residential Tenancies Act applies at all — and whether the Human Rights Code does either. Same house, same rent, same person. One fact, two statutes, and most of the
30 min read
Rights & LegalTenant Screening in Ontario: What the Human Rights Code Actually Lets You Ask
Most Ontario landlords screen on income first — three times the rent, or a 30% cut-off. The Human Rights Commission says that rule is illegal, and the regulation makes income the one tool you can't use on its own. Credit and rental history can stand alone. Income can't. Here's what you may actually ask.
24 min read
Rights & LegalAdding a Co-Tenant to an Existing Lease in Ontario: The Right Way
"Can my partner move in?" is a simple question with a layered answer. Occupant, authorized occupant, or co-tenant — each status carries different rights, and only one adds a second person fully responsible for the rent. Here's how to add a co-tenant properly: the paperwork that works, the joint-and-several prize, the a
12 min read
Screening & ApplicationsBackground Checks Beyond Credit: What Ontario Landlords Can (and Can't) Legally Check
A credit check is just one piece of tenant screening — and the moment you go beyond it, the legal lines get sharp. Criminal record checks, references, employment and income verification, eviction history, even a social-media search: each is governed by the Human Rights Code, Ontario's screening regulation, and privacy
9 min read
Rights & LegalThe T2 Application: How Ontario Tenants Enforce Their Rights
When a landlord enters without notice, harasses, changes the locks, or shuts off a vital service, the T2 is how an Ontario tenant fights back. This guide covers exactly what the T2 covers, the strict one-year deadline, the remedies you can ask for — rent abatement, compensation, an order to stop — and the mistakes that
11 min read
Screening & ApplicationsHow to Screen Tenants in Ontario: A Landlord's Complete Guide
Screening the right tenant is the single best way to avoid problems later — but in Ontario you have to do it within strict Human Rights Code limits. This complete guide walks landlords and property managers through a legal, effective screening process: applications, credit and reference checks, income verification, wha
13 min read
Rights & Legal5 Things Your Landlord CAN'T Do in Ontario
Renting in Ontario? You have rights. The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) protects you from unfair landlord practices — but many tenants don't know what's actually illegal. Here are 5 things your landlord absolutely cannot do.
3 min read