Category
Renting
27 posts on renting.
Two towers, one block apart: how to compare apartment buildings before you sign
A RentSafeTO score is a good start, but it's only one signal. Here's how to compare two Toronto apartment buildings using the score, the sub-scores, and the bylaw record — with a real pair as an example.
Read the post →Fire Prevention Week: what your building's record says about fire safety
Ontario's new carbon monoxide alarm rules are in their first heating season, and Fire Prevention Week starts October 4. Here's what your landlord owes you — and which public records hint at how seriously a building takes safety.
Read the post →The September 21 LTB changes: the fine print beyond the seven-day clock
Ontario's second wave of rental-law changes is now in force — including the half-the-arrears rule that had no confirmed date until now. The full list of what changed at the Landlord and Tenant Board, including two new protections tenants shouldn't miss.
Read the post →Toronto rents may have found their floor — should you lock in a longer lease?
Urbanation says the GTHA rental market is turning: record leasing, shrinking listings, and the first quarterly rent gain in three years. What a rebound forecast means for lease timing — and why rent control matters more than lease length.
Read the post →Toronto rents are falling — unless you need three bedrooms
Average asking rents in Toronto dropped again in August 2026, but two- and three-bedroom units moved the other way. Why family-sized rentals are bucking the trend, and what the bigger unit actually costs on a Toronto income.
Read the post →Elevator down again? How to check a Toronto building's elevator record before winter
Ontario has ~20,000 residential elevators and a public log of every outage over 48 hours. Add RentSafeTO's two elevator lines and the City's orders, and you can see whether a building's lifts are a problem before you're carrying groceries up 22 floors.
Read the post →The storm flooded your rental. Now there's mould. Who fixes it, who pays, and where the record lives
A week after Toronto's September 2 storm, tenants are finding wet drywall, musty smells and black spots behind the baseboards. Here's what Ontario law requires of your landlord, when the City will step in, what a relocation actually costs you, and how to check whether your building has been here before.
Read the post →Fall is rat season in Toronto — here's how to check your building's pest record
As temperatures drop, rats move indoors. Toronto's first Rat Response Plan is rolling out this year, but it won't treat your building. Here's how to read the pest data the City already publishes.
Read the post →Is your unit actually rent-controlled? The November 2018 line, and how to check it yourself
A landlord can raise rent by any amount on a unit first occupied after November 15, 2018 — but the landlord has to prove the date. Here's how the exemption works, and how the building's permit record answers the question before the LTB does.
Read the post →Bill 60's seven-day eviction clock starts September 21 — here's what changes
On September 21, 2026, Ontario's grace period for unpaid rent drops from 14 days to 7, and long-notice own-use evictions stop requiring compensation. What renters and small landlords need to know about the second wave of Bill 60.
Read the post →Move-in week: the only deposit that's legal in Ontario
September 1 is the biggest lease-turnover day in Toronto, and it's also peak season for illegal deposits. Here's what a landlord can actually collect, the interest they owe you, and what to do if you already paid something you shouldn't have.
Read the post →Cash for keys: what a buyout offer is actually worth in Toronto
Landlords are offering tenants money to leave voluntarily — sometimes a token amount, sometimes tens of thousands. Here's what the N11 form does, why the offer exists at all, and how to price your tenancy before you sign anything.
Read the post →Can you still negotiate your rent down? In Toronto, the window is closing
Toronto asking rents just posted their biggest monthly gain of any major Canadian market. In Brampton and Markham they're still falling hard. Where you renew decides how much leverage you actually have.
Read the post →LTB orders are now a public download — what that changes for renters and landlords
Since July 24, Ontario publishes final Landlord and Tenant Board orders on the open data catalogue. It's a real transparency win, and it comes with a screening problem nobody has solved yet.
Read the post →Is that basement apartment legal? The permit record answers faster than the landlord
September 1 is a week away and the cheapest listings are basement units. A legal second suite leaves a paper trail — here's how to check for it before you hand over first and last.
Read the post →Got an N12? What an own-use eviction requires — and how to spot bad faith
The N12 'landlord's own use' notice is the eviction tool renters ask about most. Here's what the rules actually require in 2026, what happens to landlords who fake it, and how a building's public record helps you judge the one you got.
Read the post →Your landlord filed for an above-guideline increase — check the building's record first
An AGI has to be built on real, recent, necessary capital work. Toronto's permit history, open orders and RentSafeTO score are public — and they're the fastest way to test whether the claim holds up before the hearing.
Read the post →Two months free: what a rent incentive really costs you in year two
Incentives are on offer at 64% of new GTHA rental projects. But rent-free months don't lower your lawful rent — here's the math before you sign.
Read the post →They're tearing your building down: what Toronto's rental replacement rules actually give you
Midtown tenants just learned federal rental money is helping fund the redevelopment of their block. If your building is in a demolition plan, the City's rental replacement rules set out what you're owed — and the public record tells you how close it is.
Read the post →Is $3,125 a month really "affordable" rent? Run the number against your own income
The $2.7 billion rental announcement came with an affordability benchmark pegged to average household income — about $3,125 a month. Here's what that math assumes, and what 30% actually looks like on a Toronto income.
Read the post →Renting a room in Toronto? The rooming house rules that protect you
Rooming houses are now legal — and licensed — across all of Toronto, with updated bylaw rules in effect since February. If you're hunting for a September room, here's what to check before you sign.
Read the post →Ontario's 2027 rent guideline is 1.9% — what it means for you
The province set the 2027 rent-increase guideline at 1.9%. Here's who it covers, the big exemption most renters miss, and how to think about staying versus buying at today's numbers.
Read the post →When does the heat have to come on? Toronto's heating rules, explained
Toronto landlords must keep rental units at 21°C or warmer from October 1 to May 15 — the dates changed in 2025. Here's what the rules cover, what changes in 2026, and what to do if your unit is cold.
Read the post →Before you sign a lease: how to check a landlord's record
A Toronto landlord was recently fined nearly a million dollars for letting a building decay. You don't have to guess whether yours is a problem — the City's enforcement record is public. Here's how to pull it.
Read the post →Toronto's renovictions bylaw turns one, on July 31: what tenants can actually check
The Rental Renovation Licence Bylaw has been in effect for almost a year. Here's what it requires before a landlord can issue an N13 — and how to tell a genuine renovation from a pretext using public records.
Read the post →Ontario's new cooling rules: how to check your building's heat history
New rules require landlords to keep rental units from getting dangerously hot. Here's what they cover — and how to check whether your building has a track record of heat and maintenance complaints.
Read the post →RentSafeTO building evaluations, explained
Toronto scores every large apartment building out of 100, and the scores are public. Look up any building free, and see what counts as a red flag.
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