When you first move to Canada you may decide to rent a property in the area before you decide to buy. Renting is a good way to live temporarily in one place while working out whether it is a good place to set down permanent roots. Your decision to rent a particular property will be influenced by many things, this includes price, size and facilities of the property, the relationship you have with the landlord and the terms and conditions laid out in the rental agreement.

The rental agreement is standard on all properties being leased in Canada. It offers protection both to the tenant and to the landlord and should include information such as rental charges, what is included in the price (such as taxes or utilities) and any notice period required to end the agreement. The rental agreement should also show the terms of payment such as direct bank transfer or cheque payment. Sometimes a landlord will collect rental personally on a set date each month.

Depending on where you are living, as each province and territory is different, you may not have to pay a security deposit up front. You can check out the rules and regulations for your area prior to moving so that you can budget for such things if need be. All rental agreements should be set up within the perimeters of the law which means the landlord cannot ask or expect the tenant to do something outside of those regulations. You should be aware though that in some areas breaking one of the terms of the agreement, such as if your tenancy agreement states no pets and you later become a pet owner this can be grounds for eviction. However, other areas have a rule that an eviction can only take place if the rule is met by everyone in the building. This means that if you are renting an apartment in a block and have a pet against your lease agreement, but there is someone else living in the apartment block that has a pet then it will be hard for the landlord to evict you on these grounds alone.

The tenancy agreement should be supplied in writing with a copy for both the tenant and the landlord. Some provinces and territories do not require that an official lease agreement be in place as their laws give standard rights to both the landlord and the tenant. If this is the case in your region then it is still wise to have an official lease agreement in place.

Rental costs vary across the country with some areas being cheaper than others to live. The more remote the area then generally the cheaper the rental will be. However, if you want to check that the rental charges being asked for are fair then you can compare them to other homes for rent in the area to ensure you are getting a fair deal.

The landlord is responsible for the general upkeep of the property including normal wear and tear. If the property or furnishings are damaged by the tenant or one of the tenants’ friends or other third party known to the tenant then they are responsible for the repair or replacement of that item. A full inventory of everything included in the property prior to the tenancy period beginning should be signed for by both the landlord and the tenant, and this can be used at the end of the lease period to show any damages or missing items.

You can rent property that is either furnished or unfurnished and in some cases there are properties for rent that are classed as part furnished. If your landlord is leaving items in the home that they may be requiring at a later date then this must be clearly stipulated in the tenancy agreement. This is because the tenant can later file a ‘Loss of Use’ action against the landlord. For example, if you rent a property that has a washing machine installed and the landlord later takes it away, this means as a tenant you have suffered a loss of use of that item. If it is not stipulated in the tenancy agreement that this action may happen then the landlord will need to leave it there until the end of the current lease period, or replace it immediately with another model.

You should always keep receipts of any payments made to your landlord in respect of the property including rents or other charges that you may be liable for. Receipts are useful proofs of payment if there is ever a dispute further down the line.