Key Takeaways

• Tenants in Canada have the right to clean, well-maintained housing that meets health, safety, and housing standards.
  
  
• Rent increases are regulated and must be properly notified within legally defined limits and timelines.
  
  
• Evictions must follow due legal process, including valid reasons, notice periods, and formal hearings.
  
  
• Security deposits are strictly regulated, must be held in trust, and returned on time unless lawful deductions apply.
  
  
• Tenants are protected from discrimination based on race, gender, disability, family status, or income source under human rights laws.

Why Knowing Your Tenant Rights Matters in 2025

In 2025, navigating Canada’s housing market is more stressful than ever. Rent prices in major cities like Toronto and Vancouver have surged by 8–10% year over year, putting millions of renters under extreme financial pressure.

‍

This blog will give you a clear, actionable breakdown of your rights as a tenant—whether you're facing an unexpected rent increase, a sudden eviction notice, or a landlord who refuses to fix essential issues.

‍

Without knowing your rights, you're vulnerable to illegal rent hikes, harassment, and unsafe living conditions. Many renters don’t realize that federal, provincial, and territorial laws provide strong legal protections—until it’s too late.

‍

Don’t wait for a crisis. This guide covers everything you need to stay protected—from Ontario’s rent control laws to nationwide eviction procedures—so you can secure your home, defend your rights, and live with peace of mind.

Who Regulates Tenant Rights in Canada?

Tenant rights in Canada are primarily regulated at the provincial and territorial levels, leading to variations in specific laws. Key regulatory bodies and legal frameworks include:

• Provincial Tenancy Boards: These administrative tribunals resolve landlord-tenant disputes. Examples include the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) in Ontario, the Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB) in British Columbia, and the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) in Quebec. They handle issues like rent increases, maintenance, evictions, and security deposits.

‍

• Human Rights Codes: Federal and provincial Human Rights Codes prohibit discrimination in housing based on protected grounds such as race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, family status, and income source. Tenants can file complaints with provincial human rights commissions if they experience discrimination.

‍

• Municipal Bylaws: Local bylaws in cities like Toronto (e.g., Toronto's RentSafeTO) address specific housing issues such as property standards and noise control, providing additional tenant protections.

‍

Also Read: How Long Does Credit Card Payment Take to Process?

Your Rights as a Tenant (By Category)

It is important to know the rights of a tenant and make their living situation harmonious and safe. The provincial and territorial tenancy acts and human rights laws contain these rights throughout Canada.

Right to a Safe, Habitable Home

All the tenants are endowed with a right to be in a habitable home, which is sound and healthy. This could be seen as the responsibility of repairs by the landlord. As a landlord, you have a legal responsibility of providing a good condition of repair, fitness of habitation to the rental unit and the common parts of the property including ensuring all the housing, health, and safety regulations are followed. It also involves making sure:

• Structural integrity: Walls, roofs, and foundations are sound.
• Essential utilities: Consistent access to heat (during colder months), hot and cold running water, and electricity.
• Pest control: The landlord is generally responsible for addressing infestations of pests like rodents, cockroaches, or bed bugs.
• Working appliances: If appliances are included in the lease, they must be kept in good working order.
• Safety features: Smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire exits must be functional and up to code.

‍

Examples of uninhabitable conditions may include a long-term lack of heat in winter, a serious mold growth, structural destruction putting one in danger, or a long-term lack of necessary utilities because of the landlord's neglect of their duties. In the event that your landlord does not carry out repairs needed following reasonable notice, then you can just be in a position to complain to your provincial tenancy board.

‍

Right to Privacy & Quiet Enjoyment

It is your apartment, which happens to be your residence and you should enjoy your privacy there. That is, it does not mean that your landlord can gain access to your unit anytime he/ she want. Generally, landlords are required within most provinces to give at least 24 hours notice in writing before they can enter your unit and entry should be of a justifiable issue (e.g. repairs, inspection, showing the unit to potential tenants). There are exceptions to emergencies (e.g. fire, flood) where no notice is to be given.

‍

Moreover, you can enjoy the peaceful occupation of the property you rent. This entitles one the right to occupy and enjoy his house without undue harassment by his landlord or other occupants. Under this right, some of the issues include loud noise in other apartments or made by the landlord or harassment or visits by the landlord repeatedly and without justifications. Although landlords have no direct role in solving neighbor problems that do not involve them, landlords may be duty-bound to handle some prolonged complaints or nuisance cases in the event that they contravene the lease agreement or the regulations of the building.

‍

Right to Fair Rent Increases

Controlling rental raises is one of the most notable safeguards for the tenants. Most of the provinces in Canada have limits on rent increases that landlords have to follow. e.g. in Ontario they have the legal rent increase Ontario 2025 guideline at such a percentage (maybe 2.5% in 2025, but this is a future planning, actual figures will be decided upon by the authorities yearly). The guideline applies to the majority of the units to rent constructed before November 15, 2018. Others, such as Alberta, do not control the rent.

‍

Whether the cap exists or not, the landlord should give adequate notice before imposing a rent increase, so usually there will be 90 days' notice before the increase in writing. The notice has to be in the right form for the provincial tenancy board. In case you get a notice that says that your rent will increase by an amount that seems above the legal limit, or without appropriate notice, you can compare legal rent increases using the tools, which are commonly provided on the website of your provincial tenancy board, or by directly contacting the board.

‍

Right to Be Free from Discrimination

Canada's human rights legislation protects tenants from discrimination in housing. Landlords cannot refuse to rent to you, evict you, or treat you differently based on protected grounds such as:

• Race, ancestry, place of origin, colour
• Religion
• Sex, gender identity, gender expression
• Sexual orientation
• Disability
• Family status (e.g., having children)
• Marital status
• Age
• Receipt of public assistance/income source (e.g., welfare, ODSP)

‍

That is, a landlord cannot refuse to provide you with housing because you have children, receive social assistance, or due to your ethnicity. In case you feel that you have been discriminated against as a tenant in Canada, you can appeal with the human rights agencies in your province or territory. Such commissions process complaints and may issue remedies, such as fines or the need to modify the practices of the landlord.

‍

Must Read: Understanding the Ontario rent increase guidelines 2025: What Tenants & Landlords Need to Know