Illegal Charges
Are you covered by the Residential Tenancies Act?
Please note that the information on this page is for tenants covered under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), specifically those who live in for-profit rental housing. You may be excluded from all or parts of the Residential Tenancies Act if you live in social housing, non-profit housing, co-operative housing, a student dormitory, a shelter, a jail/prison, or a care home. If you share a kitchen or bathroom with your landlord or a landlord's close family member, you are likely exempt from the RTA (unless the landlord moved in after you moved in).
Is this charge from my landlord illegal?
If your landlord asks you to pay for an illegal charge, you can simply refuse. The following is a list of common
illegal charges from landlords:
- Late fees for paying rent
- garbage maintenance/disposal fees
- charges for maintenance
- Seasonal air conditioning fees
- Bills or invoices for services or work you have never agreed to
- Landlord taxes
- Contents insurance
- General cleaning fees
You have no obligation to pay for property damages or legal fees without a legal order from the Landlord and Tenant Board that confirms that you owe the money.
Some charges are legal if the fees are written in your lease and you agreed to pay these fees when you move in. However, your landlord cannot arbitrarily introduce new fees for services, facilities, or appliances that were previously available to you without fees.
For example, if hydro was included in your rent when you moved in, your landlord cannot start charging you for hydro later in your tenancy. Sometimes landlords may ask you to sign a new lease or a consent form to pay charges. You are under no obligation to sign a new lease or new agreement.
If your landlord removes your access to services or facilities you have had access to throughout the course of your tenancy, you may be eligible for a rent rebate due to a reduction in services.
Here is a list of things a landlord can legally charge you for, if you agreed to it when you moved in:
- Parking space
- Cable television
- Satellite television
- An air conditioner
- Extra electricity for an air conditioner
- Extra electricity for a washer or dryer in the rental unit
- Blockheater plug-ins
- Lockers or other storage space
- Heat
- Electricity
- Water or sewage services, excluding capital work
- Floor space
Do I have to pay a deposit?
Only a last month rent deposit and key deposits are legal deposit fees in Ontario (with restrictions). Any other deposit (e.g. pet deposits, smoking deposits, damage deposits, children deposits, etc.) are illegal and you can take the money back off your rent once you move in. A last month’s rent deposit cannot be used for damages, or for anything but last month’s rent.
For more information, please see this excellent post from the Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations: Illegal charges - Do I have to pay?
Source: Federation of Metro Tenants' Associations