Yesterday I visited the "Ladlord`s Self-Help Centre" in Toronto, funded by Legal Aid Ontario. They are staffed by 4 full-time Community Legal Workers, and offer "summary-advice" to small-scale landlords. I spoke with one of the staff regarding a question I have:
"Can I (a landlord) set up an agreement with my tenant whereby the tenant would be responsible for minor repairs and maintenece, and I would agree to compensate them financially for the trouble. I would charge normal rent (their rental payment cheques would be as per lease agreement), but I would pay them separately in return, say $75 per month, for their upkeep of the property. Major repairs and all materials would be a burden on me, of course."
Their emphatic answer was NO ! No-way, now-how. I found this surprising. Here was their explanation:
The Landlord and Tenant Act (Ontario) stipulates that the landlord is responsible for all repairs and maintenance.
Further, there can be no side-contracts which contravene the Act. They would be considered null and void.
Well, I asked, how about if I negotiated an agreement verbally with the tenant ? (i.e., not a written side-contract /agreement ?)
The lady countered: I don`t recommend it. What would you do if the tenant, after a couple of months stopped doing the work ? "
Simple, I said, I would simply stop making the payments to them, and that would be the end of it.
That didn`t go down well either. I was told (to my disbelief
) that if I put in place a regime where I make a payment back to the tenant for services rendered, then in a dispute, the Landlord and Tenant Board would consider it part and parcel of my lease agreement with the tenant (wittten or not) and once having been set up, I would have to continue the payments forever, even if the tenant stopped doing the work. It would be considered a part of the lease agreement. Lease agreements apparently do not HAVE to be written to be legal.
I am not convinced that what I was told is correct. Could anyone please comment on any experiences you may have had (good or bad) with any agreements beyond the written lease agreement with your tenants ?
John
"Can I (a landlord) set up an agreement with my tenant whereby the tenant would be responsible for minor repairs and maintenece, and I would agree to compensate them financially for the trouble. I would charge normal rent (their rental payment cheques would be as per lease agreement), but I would pay them separately in return, say $75 per month, for their upkeep of the property. Major repairs and all materials would be a burden on me, of course."
Their emphatic answer was NO ! No-way, now-how. I found this surprising. Here was their explanation:
The Landlord and Tenant Act (Ontario) stipulates that the landlord is responsible for all repairs and maintenance.
Further, there can be no side-contracts which contravene the Act. They would be considered null and void.
Well, I asked, how about if I negotiated an agreement verbally with the tenant ? (i.e., not a written side-contract /agreement ?)
The lady countered: I don`t recommend it. What would you do if the tenant, after a couple of months stopped doing the work ? "
Simple, I said, I would simply stop making the payments to them, and that would be the end of it.
That didn`t go down well either. I was told (to my disbelief
I am not convinced that what I was told is correct. Could anyone please comment on any experiences you may have had (good or bad) with any agreements beyond the written lease agreement with your tenants ?
John
