Renting to pet owners in ontario

[flanabum]

I am looking at renting an apt. to a women with a small dog.....I understand we cannot charge a pet deposit in ontario, so what I want to do, is add an extra $50-$100 to her rent each month and let her know that this will be totally rebated back to her , assuming there is no damage to the apartment once she moves out. Can I do this???
Sue

PS.....I am new to REIN and I must say I`m impressed !

 

[Yev]

Hi Sue,

I had the same question and did some research on it. You can not do what you suggest. You can however ask a new tenant to pay whatever rent the market will bear. I have spoken with LTB in Ontario and they clearly state that you can`t make the extra charge relate to a pet. Also, the law states that you can`t either evict them or charge them more if they get a pet AFTER they move in... So, the solution is: the rent is X, (what ever the X is YOU determine), but DO NOT offer refunds etc. If they want to pay X, great, if not, you are allowed to negotiate how much they pay - remember, once they are in your place - YOU CAN`T RAISE THE RENT ABOVE THE GUIDELINES - NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO!!!

I hope this helps

(you can make your X 50/month more than if they did not have a pet...)

Yevgeni

 

[flanabum]

QUOTE (Yev @ Jun 23 2008, 12:13 PM) Hi Sue,

I had the same question and did some research on it. You can not do what you suggest. You can however ask a new tenant to pay whatever rent the market will bear. I have spoken with LTB in Ontario and they clearly state that you can`t make the extra charge relate to a pet. Also, the law states that you can`t either evict them or charge them more if they get a pet AFTER they move in... So, the solution is: the rent is X, (what ever the X is YOU determine), but DO NOT offer refunds etc. If they want to pay X, great, if not, you are allowed to negotiate how much they pay - remember, once they are in your place - YOU CAN`T RAISE THE RENT ABOVE THE GUIDELINES - NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO!!!

I hope this helps

(you can make your X 50/month more than if they did not have a pet...)

Yevgeni

 

[flanabum]

QUOTE (Yev @ Jun 23 2008, 12:13 PM) Hi Sue,

I had the same question and did some research on it. You can not do what you suggest. You can however ask a new tenant to pay whatever rent the market will bear. I have spoken with LTB in Ontario and they clearly state that you can`t make the extra charge relate to a pet. Also, the law states that you can`t either evict them or charge them more if they get a pet AFTER they move in... So, the solution is: the rent is X, (what ever the X is YOU determine), but DO NOT offer refunds etc. If they want to pay X, great, if not, you are allowed to negotiate how much they pay - remember, once they are in your place - YOU CAN`T RAISE THE RENT ABOVE THE GUIDELINES - NO MATTER WHAT THEY DO!!!

I hope this helps

(you can make your X 50/month more than if they did not have a pet...)

Yevgeni

Thank you for the input.....I had a feeling I could not do the rebate thing!
Sue

 

[MoneyMan]

You have to be kidding. I would hate to be a landlord in Ontario if a tenant can get a big german shepard in an apartment after move in and you can`t do anything about it. Utter ludicrousy!

 

[invst4profit]

If I didn`t live here there would be know way I would be a landlord in Ontario.
Tenants have far to many rights that they often abuse. It is extremely important
that tenant screening be followed to the letter as the tenant you get can be
very difficult to get rid of. Personally I would never allow pets no matter how nice
they may be and if one came in I would find a "creative" way to evict.
When buying small, 1-4 unit, rental it is best to request the present owner evict
all tenants prior to closing.
In Ontario although you are not allowed to do this it definitely is done.

 

[TomRebstock]

Sue

If you don`t want pets (don`t tell tenants that). Screen them (i.e. find out if they have them), and don`t rent to pet owners.

Just say it`s been rented if you are challenged.

If a property stays on the market, and you get challenged, tell them the deal fell through.

 

[terri]

you know what I think is really great is that some pet rescue services actually call landlords as part of the screening process before allowing a person to adopt. They confirm with the landlord that the applicant is allowed to have a dog on the premises. This is to help prevent the animal from showing up at the shelter again a month later. I wish breeders had the same kind of guilde lines.

 

[terri]

you know what I think is really great is that some pet rescue services actually call landlords as part of the screening process before allowing a person to adopt. They confirm with the landlord that the applicant is allowed to have a dog on the premises. This is to help prevent the animal from showing up at the shelter again a month later. I wish that breeders had the same policy.

 

[realfortin]

QUOTE (terri @ Jun 27 2008, 06:02 AM) you know what I think is really great is that some pet rescue services actually call landlords as part of the screening process before allowing a person to adopt. They confirm with the landlord that the applicant is allowed to have a dog on the premises. This is to help prevent the animal from showing up at the shelter again a month later. I wish that breeders had the same policy.

Things would be a lot easier in Ontario if there could be a damage deposit and/or a pet deposit. Everyone could be up front about things and the honest and responsible pet owners would be able to find apartments where their pet is welcomed