Posted by Keir Wilmut
Following on the heels of
Heenan Blaikie’s condominium group’s recent seminar “It’s Raining
Cats and Dogs”, the Toronto Star has weighed in on the always
controversial issue of no-pet clauses
in leases:
Under the law, you can’t
prevent a tenant from bringing a pet into your property, unless it is a
condominium and the building declaration says no pets. So even if a landlord
and tenant sign a lease that says no pets, the tenant can bring 2 dogs and 4
cats the next day and there is nothing the landlord can do about it.
Yet if the landlord has a no
pet policy in the entire building, they can probably refuse to approve the
tenant in the first place if they know the tenant has a pet.
Tenants are governed by the
same rules and
restrictions as owners. As the Star notes, if a condominium corporation’s
Declaration bans pets, an owner can ban tenants from having a pet in their
rental unit. A condominium corporation’s Declaration is the equivalent of its
constitution, and does not have to be reasonable.
However, the vast majority of
Declarations do not contain provisions banning pets. As a result, many
condominium corporations have passed rules restricting pet ownership. Like all
rules, though, rules regarding pets must be reasonable. In practice, this means
that a blanket “no pets” rule is unlikely to be upheld by the courts. Instead,
condominium corporations should consider more reasonable rules such as only one
pet per unit, or only pets that weigh less than 25 kilograms.
While tenants are subject to
the condominium corporation’s rules, landlords cannot enforce additional rules
regarding pets. If a condominium corporation’s rules allow one small pet, an
owner cannot evict a tenant who has a cat – even if the lease purports to
prohibit any pets!
For more information on this fur-raising issue, read Heenan Blaikie’s guide to pet
restrictions in condominiums, or watch “It’s Raining
Cats and Dogs”.While the simple solution becomes to LIE, the front desk concierge is there at visitation and move in to enforce the buildings Rules and Regulations.
Welcome to Condo Life; If you chose this lifestyle you agreed to the Rules Do not expect exemptions.
Some people only need one reason to buy a condominium as opposed to a house. If you are looking for a new place to live, and are located in an area where condos are plentiful and ideally located, you no doubt have given the prospect of owning one some serious thought.
ReplyDeleteToronto Condo