BRIAN'S BLOG
Is it legal to pay rent upfront in Ontario?
April 3, 2014
Hot on the heels of the previous post on property managers for income properties… another entry on tenants.
Until recently, it was illegal for a landlord in Ontario to accept more than first and last month’s rent from a tenant. However, Ontario’s Superior Court recently ruled that the transaction is legal – if it’s the tenant’s idea.
Why would someone want to pay a year’s worth of rent in advance? Read the case that’s described in Mark Weisleder’s column. This one in particular is odd but other situations where tenants may offer more rent than required could be when someone has a shaky credit history, is a recent immigrant to Canada and has no credit history or perhaps someone who is trying to rent a prime apartment in a tight rental market. And what landlord could turn down a lump sum of $90,000?
Click here for the column