The relationship between landlords and tenants shapes the housing experience for millions of Canadians. Rental housing has become increasingly essential as homeownership slips out of reach for many, yet the power dynamics inherent in the landlord-tenant relationship create persistent tensions. Renters depend on landlords for shelter—a fundamental need—while landlords rely on rental income and retain significant control over their property. Navigating this relationship involves complex provincial legislation, evolving expectations, and competing interests that communities, courts, and governments continue to negotiate.
The Rental Housing Landscape
Canada's rental housing market has tightened dramatically in recent years. Vacancy rates in many cities hover near historic lows, while rents have risen faster than incomes. This imbalance shifts power toward landlords, who can often find new tenants quickly if current ones leave or are evicted. For tenants, finding alternative housing has become difficult and expensive, raising the stakes of every disagreement with a landlord.
The rental stock itself is changing. Purpose-built rental apartments, once the core of the market, have given way to a more fragmented landscape including condominiums rented by individual owners, basement suites, secondary suites, and various informal arrangements. These different housing types create different relationship dynamics and varying degrees of regulatory coverage.
The Legal Framework
Provincial Jurisdiction
Landlord-tenant law falls under provincial jurisdiction, resulting in significant variation across Canada. Each province has its own residential tenancies act, its own enforcement mechanisms, and its own approach to balancing landlord and tenant rights. What is prohibited in one province may be permitted in another. Tenants who move between provinces must navigate unfamiliar rules, while national discussions about rental policy must contend with this jurisdictional complexity.
Rent Control Variations
Rent control policies differ dramatically across provinces. Ontario limits annual rent increases for most existing tenancies but exempts newer buildings. British Columbia applies rent control more broadly. Alberta has no rent control, allowing landlords to increase rents to market levels between tenancies and sometimes during tenancies. These different approaches reflect different philosophies about market intervention, property rights, and tenant protection.
Proponents of rent control argue it provides stability for tenants, prevents displacement, and ensures housing affordability. Critics contend it discourages new rental construction, leads to deteriorating buildings, and creates inequities between long-term tenants paying below-market rents and newcomers facing market rates. The empirical evidence is mixed, and the debate continues.
Eviction Protections
Provincial laws specify grounds for eviction and processes landlords must follow. Common grounds include non-payment of rent, damage to the property, interference with other tenants, and landlord use of the property. The notice periods, hearing requirements, and burden of proof vary. In most provinces, tenants have the right to dispute evictions through tribunals or boards, though access to these processes can be challenging.
Renovictions—evictions ostensibly for renovations—have become contentious in tight markets. Some provinces have strengthened protections, requiring landlords to offer tenants the right to return after renovations at the same or similar rent. Enforcement remains difficult, and tenants may lack resources to challenge pretextual evictions.
Common Friction Points
Maintenance and Repairs
Disputes over maintenance are among the most common in landlord-tenant relationships. Tenants may face slow responses to repair requests, live with substandard conditions, or hesitate to complain for fear of retaliation. Landlords may face unreasonable demands, tenants who damage property, or genuine financial constraints on maintenance. Provincial laws generally require landlords to maintain rental units in good repair, but enforcement varies and proving violations can be difficult.
Privacy and Entry
Tenants have rights to privacy and quiet enjoyment of their homes, but landlords have legitimate reasons to access rental units—inspections, repairs, showing to prospective tenants. Provincial laws specify when landlords can enter and what notice is required. Disputes arise when landlords enter without proper notice, when tenants refuse reasonable access, or when the frequency of landlord visits feels intrusive.
Deposits and End-of-Tenancy
Security deposits, damage deposits, and move-out inspections frequently generate conflict. Tenants may feel deposits are unfairly withheld for normal wear and tear. Landlords may find that deposits don't cover actual damage. Documentation practices, move-in and move-out inspections, and clear communication can reduce but not eliminate these disputes. Provincial regulations about deposit amounts and return timelines aim to provide structure, but disagreements persist.
Pet Policies
Pet ownership is common among Canadians, including renters, yet landlords often prohibit or restrict pets. In some provinces, no-pet clauses are unenforceable once a tenant has moved in; in others, landlords can prohibit pets and evict tenants who violate these rules. The emotional significance of companion animals makes pet disputes particularly fraught, while landlords cite concerns about damage, allergies, and liability.
Power Imbalances
Information Asymmetries
Landlords typically have more experience with tenancy law and greater resources to access legal advice. Tenants, especially first-time renters or newcomers to Canada, may not know their rights. This information gap can lead tenants to accept illegal terms, fail to challenge improper evictions, or forego remedies to which they're entitled. Tenant rights education and accessible legal resources help address this imbalance but don't eliminate it.
Fear of Retaliation
Even when tenants know their rights, fear of landlord retaliation can prevent them from asserting those rights. Tenants may worry that complaining about conditions will lead to eviction, poor references, or harassment. Provincial laws prohibit retaliation, but proving retaliatory motive is difficult. The power landlords hold over tenants' housing security affects the relationship even when never explicitly exercised.
Access to Justice
Residential tenancy tribunals were designed to provide accessible, informal dispute resolution. In practice, backlogs, procedural complexity, and geographic barriers can impede access. Tenants juggling work and family responsibilities may struggle to attend hearings or navigate processes. Legal representation is often unavailable or unaffordable. While landlords may also face these barriers, the consequences of losing housing typically fall more heavily on tenants.
Discrimination in Rental Housing
Human rights legislation prohibits discrimination in housing based on protected grounds including race, religion, gender, family status, disability, and receipt of social assistance. Yet discrimination persists. Prospective tenants may face explicit refusals or subtler exclusion. Families with children encounter landlords who claim their units aren't suitable for children. Indigenous renters, racialized renters, and recipients of income assistance report discrimination that is hard to prove but real in its effects.
Addressing rental discrimination requires not only complaint-based enforcement but proactive measures. Some jurisdictions have experimented with anti-discrimination testing, public awareness campaigns, and enhanced penalties. The tight rental market exacerbates discrimination, as landlords can afford to be selective.
Building Better Relationships
Communication and Respect
Many landlord-tenant conflicts could be reduced through clearer communication and mutual respect. Written documentation of agreements, prompt responses to concerns, and good-faith efforts to resolve problems benefit both parties. Tenant associations and landlord groups sometimes promote best practices, though their reach is limited.
Professional Property Management
Professional property management can improve tenant experiences by providing responsive maintenance, clear processes, and consistent enforcement of rules. However, professionalization also introduces distance between owners and tenants, potentially reducing flexibility and personal relationships that some smaller landlord-tenant arrangements offer.
Alternative Models
Some advocate for alternative rental models that shift power dynamics. Tenant co-operatives give residents collective control over their housing. Community land trusts separate land ownership from building ownership to maintain affordability. Non-profit and public housing providers operate outside market incentives. These alternatives remain small relative to the private rental market but offer different approaches to the landlord-tenant relationship.
Policy Debates
Regulating Small Landlords
A significant portion of rental housing is provided by small landlords—individuals renting a basement suite, a second property, or inherited housing. These landlords may lack professional management expertise and operate informally. Some argue for licensing requirements, mandatory education, or enhanced inspections. Others worry that increased regulation will drive small landlords from the market, reducing supply.
Purpose-Built Rental Incentives
Governments have explored various incentives to encourage construction of purpose-built rental housing, which may offer more stable tenancies than condominium rentals. Tax measures, zoning changes, and direct financing aim to increase rental supply. Whether increased supply will moderate rents and ease landlord-tenant tensions depends on how much is built, where, and at what price points.
Strengthening Enforcement
Stronger enforcement of existing protections—against illegal evictions, discrimination, and substandard conditions—could improve tenant outcomes without new legislation. This requires adequately resourced enforcement agencies, accessible complaint processes, and meaningful penalties. Currently, many violations go unreported and unenforced.
Questions for Further Discussion
- How should governments balance tenant protections with landlords' property rights and investment returns?
- Does rent control help or harm tenants in the long run, and what evidence should guide policy decisions?
- What resources and supports do tenants need to effectively assert their rights?
- How can rental housing discrimination be more effectively prevented and remedied?
- What role should non-market housing play in reducing pressures on landlord-tenant relationships in the private market?