No Pets Void??? - Ontario, Canada

[pupyluv668]

in the tenant protection law of ontario they said that the rule "no pets" is void. how come i can't have a pet here? that is one reason why im moving out from this place. i think if you're a responsible pet owner and as long as your pet is healthy with the proper papers and you see to it your pet doesnt bother the other tenants, people should be given a chance!!! i feel so bad....this past months for giving away my dog. i shouldnt have done that but i thought i could take it.....cant....can someone fill me in about this? or somewhat enlighten me coz im really sooooo down.....

[twodogsandacat]

Pets: A landlord may evict a tenant for keeping an animal if it:

caused undue damage,
caused a serious allergic reaction in another person or the landlord,
interfered with the normal enjoyment of the property by another tenant or the landlord, for example, causing undue noise,
acted aggressively to others – thus affecting their safety, or
is a species or breed of animal that is inherently dangerous
http://www.orht.gov.on.ca/userfiles/..._3_7968_1.html

Even if you owned a pit I would assume that the dog wouldn't become inherently dangerous until the law kicks in. Of course that may be one of the first cases to hit the court system.

[pupyluv668]

when we asked him before if we could bring our dog and cat he just refused right away. (thinking im doing it for respect since its his property) i never knew about this act for tenants if i knew back then i wouldnt have given her away. my pets are all fixed. housetrained and quiet. i dont think they'll disturb other tenants...infact its the other tenants music that might scare them to death!!!! bangin til midnight!!!

[raingirl]

Yes...but if you signed a lease saying no pets, that takes a higher precedence over the tenant protection act. The tenant protection act works to protect tenants, not potential tenants. A landlord can put anything in a lease (as long as it's not illegal) and if you sign it, it's a contract, and isn't effected by the tenant protection act (mostly...there are exceptions).

So in effect, a landlord can tell you no pets allowed, especially if he is allergic. I know at my old house that the landlord was allergic so no pets were allowed.

So...if you have a pet, best thing is to find a pet friendly place. If you move somewhere with pets, and there is a no pet clause in your lease, you have no protection with the tenant protection act. You can't use the tenant protection act as proof that pets are allowed before moving in, it doesn't work like that.

And your landlord can only make you get rid of pets after you move in if they fit into the catagories above, as long as your lease doesn't say no pets.

My parents are landlords and have a no pets clause in their leases, because my mom is severly allergic to all pets, and for her to come and do any repairs, she needs to have pet free air. There is nothing illegal about that.

[Safyre]

I have known that it is illegal for them to restrict pets.
if they made you sign a lease saying no pets, they can enforce. however, if there is no lease, then yep you can have pets, allowing for the above porvisions posted by twodogsandacat.
Though, it is terribly easy for people to say they are allergic to animals.... sooo, they sorta always can get away with keeping them out.

[LL1]

I don't think so,my understanding is that a clause in a lease that states no pets is invalid,so it doesn't matter if you signed one saying that,unless there is an issue.
http://www.torontotenants.org/faq.htm
I signed a lease that said no pets, however I own a dog. Can my landlord ask me to leave?

Under the TPA, even if you sign a lease that states no pets are allowed, you can still have a pet. Sections 15 and 16 of the TPA specifically void a no pets clause in a lease. You can only be evicted for having a pet if your pet is disturbing other tenants or the landlord, or is considered dangerous.

Originally Posted by raingirl

Yes...but if you signed a lease saying no pets, that takes a higher precedence over the tenant protection act. The tenant protection act works to protect tenants, not potential tenants. A landlord can put anything in a lease (as long as it's not illegal) and if you sign it, it's a contract, and isn't effected by the tenant protection act (mostly...there are exceptions).

[pupyluv668]

i dont know if you called it a lease but we just submitted an aplication before we moved in here for screening.....the usual aplication form? well ,they're not allergic to pets coz they have 4 cats in their house.....i just cant understand why cant' we have our own....but anyways, im just voicing out my (*)&^(*&%)* coz i shouldnt have given my asia away, and im moving back home anyways where there i can have all the asias i want...hehehehe....thanks for the resposnse guys....

[twodogsandacat]

Usally private agreements (such as leases) can't trade away or supercede a right granted by the government. The same as unions can't negotiate away anything granted under the employment standards act.

For example: The government sets a maximum interest rate. No body is willing to lend me money at those rates because I have bad credit. Fat Tony the local loan shark has me sign an agreement with huge interest rates. Sure I signed but it is illegal. Now I just have to convince Fat Tony to not kill me. (there is no Fat Tony and my credit is fine BTW).

As for the allergies. Fair is fair. If they ask one person to get rid of a pet but allow others to stay then it would pretty much be acceptted that the reason isn't allergies.

[LL1]

Are you getting back the animals you gave away?

Originally Posted by pupyluv668

coz i shouldnt have given my asia away, and im moving back home anyways where there i can have all the asias i want...hehehehe....thanks for the resposnse guys....

[pupyluv668]

Originally Posted by LL1

Are you getting back the animals you gave away?

only my cat. i will have to get a new pup. its a weird situation really coz my landlord has pets of his own YET restricts pets for his tenant. I don't see the rationale there. and so far, most of the tenants in this building (which im friendly w) don't mind at all what you do as long as you don't disturb them. which they know very well im one person who never goes out of my apartment unless important and hardly make any noise at all coz i seldom watch tv.....just do my chores daily and talk in here...lol....well better than talking to myself!! lol....now if i had even just one pet with me....it wouldnt have been so lonely here all these months...

maybe it was our fault, (i don't know) we were desperate to find a place here in the soo coz it was winter and its soooo difficult for my husband to go to and from for work. but after a few months of staying here, we found out we would have been better off staying at home coz it would cost us a little bit less than our expenses here PLUS YOUR HOME. PLUS you're free to do what you want. no restrictions. (sigh)

[pupyluv668]

oh i forgot i remember them saying there was one woman who had a cat here and said that her cat was house trained, but was actually not....it messed up the whole building and they had to change the carpeting and blah blah...but i told them that my pets are all housetrained and they can even go to my house and see that my house doesnt smell at all.....no stink whatsoever....and both my cat and dog stays indoors....only time they go out is walking, playtime and pee_poop time...lol....i even showed them all the docs i have for my furbies and said im different from that woman....oh well....

[mercerch]

Originally Posted by raingirl

Yes...but if you signed a lease saying no pets, that takes a higher precedence over the tenant protection act. The tenant protection act works to protect tenants, not potential tenants. A landlord can put anything in a lease (as long as it's not illegal) and if you sign it, it's a contract, and isn't effected by the tenant protection act (mostly...there are exceptions).

So in effect, a landlord can tell you no pets allowed, especially if he is allergic. I know at my old house that the landlord was allergic so no pets were allowed.

So...if you have a pet, best thing is to find a pet friendly place. If you move somewhere with pets, and there is a no pet clause in your lease, you have no protection with the tenant protection act. You can't use the tenant protection act as proof that pets are allowed before moving in, it doesn't work like that.

And your landlord can only make you get rid of pets after you move in if they fit into the catagories above, as long as your lease doesn't say no pets.

My parents are landlords and have a no pets clause in their leases, because my mom is severly allergic to all pets, and for her to come and do any repairs, she needs to have pet free air. There is nothing illegal about that.

I realize this thread is old (dated 2005) but I had to reply to this comment.

This is wholly inaccurate! The legislation clearly states that any no pets clause of any landlord tenant agreement is void. Meaning, you can sign an contract saying "No Pets" but the second you sign it and it becomes the agreement, the legislation voids that clause.