Landlording in Canada: A Practical, Business, and Legal Guide

Vernon V. Kakoschke was a lawyer in the law department of Canadian Pacific.

If you have ever considered becoming a landlord of residential property, then this guide could be of great assistance to you. It explains every aspect of landlording from finding a suitable property to keeping proper records in a clear and straightforward manner. The book is addressed primarily to new landlords, but it could also prove useful to more experienced landlords.

The landlord/tenant relationship is heavily regulated by provincial legislation throughout Canada. The basic elements of this governing legislation are set out in this guide in a general way. For example, the book lists the provinces in which rent control legislation is in effect and outlines the maximum annual increases permitted in each province. Unfortunately, this is a fast-changing and complex area of law, so this guide should not be taken as a substitute for sound legal advice. Certain information in the guide is already out of date: the 6% limit on rent increases in Ontario has been reduced to 4%.

The most useful parts of this book deal with finding and screening potential tenants and the mechanics of signing them up with a lease. One of the many blank forms at the end of the book is a Tenant Application, which is designed to elicit relevant information from applicants without asking discriminatory questions. The sample Residential Tenancy Agreement found in the book is a good example of the various matters that should be covered in the lease. For more specific guidance on leasing, however, the reader is referred to another book in the Self-Counsel Press series called “Rental Forms Kit.”

The author, a consumer activist, has learned through her own landlording experiences and passes on some of her lessons to her readers. As an introductory guide, this book provides practical advice to potential landlords and warns them of the pitfalls to be avoided.