Rental agreements

6. Tenants' responsibilities

As a tenant you have certain responsibilities to your landlord. Some of them are so important that you can be evicted if you don’t do them. If you are having trouble meeting your responsibilities to your landlord, it is best to talk to him or her about the situation. Usually, the problems can be worked out.

• You have to pay all of the rent on time. (s.41 (1) and (2) and the regulations)

• If you damage the unit, you have to repair it. This does not apply to normal wear and tear. Remember that you will be held responsible for any damage a pet or visitor causes to the unit. (s.1(4) and 18(4))Talk to your landlord if you are not sure if something is normal wear and tear. (s.42 (1), (2) and (3))

• You can’t disturb other tenants or the landlord. This does not mean that you can never make noise in the unit, but they have to be able to use their own units without dealing with unreasonable noise and disruption. (s.43 (1) and (2))

• You can’t do anything illegal on the rental property. (s.46)

• You have to do whatever you have agreed to do in a written tenancy agreement. For example, you might agree that you will not allow pets in the unit. (s.12 (1), (2) and (3), 45 (1))

• You have to keep the rental property clean. (s.45(2))

• You can’t overcrowd the unit. If the tenancy agreement says that only a certain number of people can live there, you can’t allow more people to move in. (s.45(3))

• You have to notify the landlord if there are any problems with the property. For example, if something breaks or there is a health or safety problem, you have to let the landlord know so it can be fixed. (s.30(5))

• You can’t change the locks unless the landlord says it’s okay. (s.25 (1) and (2))

• If the landlord needs to come into the unit to do his job, you have to let him or her in. This includes situations where the landlord needs to fix something that’s broken, inspect the unit, or show it to other people if you have given notice. Unless there’s an emergency, the landlord has to give you 24 hours’ written notice that he or she needs to come into the unit. (s.26 and 27)

• If the unit is a single building, like a house, you and the landlord can agree that you will be responsible for maintenance and making sure that there are no health or safety problems. (s.31(1))