The rental agreement, often referred to as the lease, is a document that describes the location, length of the tenancy, amount of the rent, and the responsibilities of the parties involved.
In some provinces, it is mandatory to complete and sign a written rental agreement, while in other provinces, an oral agreement is fine. A lease is actually just one type of rental agreement and is usually binding both parties to a certain time limit, such as six months or a year. During that time, there can be no changes to the agreement unless both parties agree. For instance, the tenant must pay the rent every month for the agreed term, and the landlord cannot increase the rent during that time.
What types of tenants are there?
Although there are similarities between provinces, there are also some differences, in the types of tenancy and the rights that go along with them. Be sure to check the Residential Tenancy Act in your province.
In BC, for instance, according to the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre there are 3 main types of roommate situations: co-tenants, occupants, and tenants in common.
Co-tenants
This is the most common arrangement. Co-tenants are two (or more) roommates sharing one lease agreement. Both tenants are equally responsible for paying the rent, as well as making any necessary repairs if they cause damage to the premises.
How the costs such as utilities, insurance, and cable, are divided up and would be decided by the tenants themselves, hopefully in a signed Roommates Agreement. If one of the co-tenants wants to move out, they can provide notice, in writing, to the landlord.
If just one of several co-tenants move out, that would typically end the lease agreement with the landlord and require the remaining tenants to sign a new one. This can be avoided by finding a new roommate to replace the departing one.
If you’re the tenant moving out in this scenario, make sure you notify the landlord as required. Co-tenants are jointly liable for the rent, which includes you until you go through the proper process of moving out.
Tenants in Common
Tenants in common are two (or more) roommates each have their own individual rental agreements in place with the landlord. When it comes to paying rent, each roommate pays the landlord the individual amount owed.
If one roommate moves out or defaults on their payment, the other roommate is not affected. It is also possible that both tenants are named on the same rental agreement, but are considered Tenants in Common, as long as the agreement specifies the amount of rent each must pay.
Occupants
An occupant is someone who is not named on the rental agreement but is renting part of the accommodation from the tenant, rather than the landlord.
Occupants don’t have rights under the law the same way tenants do. If the tenant throws the occupant out and changes the locks, the occupant has little or no recourse.
Anyone living as an occupant would be well served by working with the tenant and their landlord to be added as a tenant to the lease agreement. Otherwise, if there is any kind of dispute, you would have to seek legal advice outside of the Residential Tenancy Act.
As part of a new series, the Star is answering common questions from tenants. Do you have questions about renting in Toronto that you want us to answer? Email the Star at renterFAQ@thestar.ca.
The question:
It’s no secret that living in Toronto is expensive.
And for many, living with another person is a necessity to afford rents that are currently pushing near $2,200 for a one-bedroom and $3,000 for a two-bedroom, according to recent figures from the Toronto Real Estate Board.
But living with other people, whether it’s a roommate or partner situation, can be precarious.
What happens when multiple people sign a lease and one person wants to leave?
The answer:
“We are now living in a way that the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) didn’t contemplate when it was created,” says Dania Majid, a staff lawyer at Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO).
The RTA, which governs landlord/tenant relations in residential tenancy agreements and passed into law in 2007, was created in a time where renters were typically “a married couple, their kids, or an individual that had a one-on-one relationship with the landlord,” Majid said.
In 2019, however, the stakes are different.
“Because we’re in Toronto, because we have an affordable housing crisis, because the rent is so high, we are now living in a way that the RTA didn’t contemplate when it was created,” she said. Increasingly, unmarried couples, groups of friends, or even complete strangers are signing leases together.
This means the act is “pretty much silent” on the subject of co-tenants who wish to break their lease, she says. (She notes there is an exception in that the RTA allows for a person to break joint tenancy to escape a domestic abuse situation).
The most important thing to remember when signing a lease, Majid said, is that it’s a binding legal contract between the tenant and landlord.
“People who enter roommate situations, they might enter it informally. You know, ‘I found someone on Kijiji, I need a place to stay, they have a room,’” she says.
“It might feel like an informal situation, but at the end of the day, if you’re signing a contract with a landlord, you have made an agreement with them and now you’re responsible for that agreement.”
Harry Fine, a paralegal and former adjudicator on the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), said if a tenant leaves, a landlord has no obligation to take them off the lease. That means if the remaining tenant defaults on rent, then the landlord can go after the person whose name is still on the lease for money.
However, it’s in a tenant’s best interest to be added to the lease because then they’re living in a rent-controlled unit, he said.
“Landlords (are) far better off saying, ‘Hey, you got a roommate. You’re entitled to have a roommate, but I’m not adding them to the lease.’” Fine said.
“If tenants do move in and get added to the lease, and then the original tenant moves out and (the new tenant) brings in a roommate, they’ve still got this really cheap rent from four years ago because they’re protected by the provincial guideline.”
Landlords often try to increase the rent when there is turnover in tenants, he said, but as long as at least one tenant who was on the original lease remains, such increases are illegal.
Because of the lack of specific wording about cases of joint tenancy, navigating this area of landlord/tenant law can involve a lot of negotiation, and outcomes often vary greatly on a case-by-case basis, Majid said.
“It depends on the landlord you’re dealing with and how knowledgeable they are, and what kind of relationship (the tenants) have with each other,” she said.
While roommate agreements have no legal power, Majid suggested co-tenants should write one amongst themselves prior to moving in to sort out what they will do if anyone leaves to avoid any conflicts.
“Having those discussions in advance, at the start of any sort of joint tenancy, could be an option for people so they are familiar with their rights and responsibilities before they enter this type of arrangement,” she said.
In any case where tenants want to alter the lease, discussing the matter with the landlord is always the best option, Majid said. Some landlords may be willing to make adjustments, but since they have no legal obligations, “it really depends on the landlord and what they’re willing to allow.”
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