Small Claims

The keys are back, but the unit tells a story the landlord did not want to read. Holes in the walls, unpaid rent, a hydro bill left in arrears, and a pile of garbage where a clean unit should be. When a tenant moves out and leaves the mess behind, many landlords assume the money… Read More

It usually starts with good intentions. A friend is short on rent, a sibling needs help with a car, a coworker is between paycheques, and the money changes hands on trust. No contract, no interest, just an understanding that it will be paid back. Then months pass, the repayment never comes, and every reminder makes… Read More

A tenant’s partner starts staying over, then never seems to leave. A friend crashes on the couch for what turns into months. A roommate quietly moves in without a word to anyone. For landlords, these situations raise an understandable question: when does a guest become something the landlord can actually do something about? The answer… Read More

Few words spark more anxiety in Ontario’s rental market than renoviction. A tenant receives an N13 notice, sees a renovation on the horizon, and fears losing their home for good. A landlord, meanwhile, may believe that a genuine renovation is a simple ticket to a vacant unit. Both are missing the full picture. The N13… Read More

Almost every rental in Ontario begins with the same ritual. First and last, please, before you get the keys. That last month’s rent deposit is so routine that most landlords and tenants never think twice about it. That is exactly the problem. The rules governing this deposit are far stricter and more specific than most… Read More