Renting out a secondary suite in your home is a great way to help pay your housing expenses if you have more room in the house than you need. But many small landlords don't realize they are running discriminatory housing advertisements for their units.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission recently studied 28 websites that offer rental housing ads and found that up to 20 per cent of the ads were discriminatory.

"Housing is a human right and by spreading the message that discriminatory housing ads are illegal, we can advance human rights for tenants everywhere," says Barbara Hall, chief commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

The commission is reaching out to advertising websites and print media to try and educate the public about discriminatory ads. Some of these sites direct landlords to other sites that outline do's and don'ts of advertising, but the commission says many of these links are U.S.-based. "Most of these statements refer to U.S. Fair Housing legislation, while protections in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada are broader," says the commission. "Sending Canadian site users to these U.S.-based links will give them a false impression of their actual rights and responsibilities."

In Ontario, you can't refuse a tenant because of their age, race, colour, ethnic background, disability, sexual orientation, marital status (including common-law or same-sex couples), religion, citizenship or where they are from. You can't refuse them because you know they are receiving public assistance such as welfare or employment insurance. In some provinces, there are also protections for political beliefs and for those with a criminal record. The only time these rules may not apply is if the tenant is sharing a kitchen or bathroom with the landlord or the landlord's family.

Some examples of ads that may seem okay but that openly discriminate says things like, "Adult building" or "Not suitable for children" or "Seeking mature couple".

More obvious discriminatory ads may say, "Must have working income" or "Must provide proof of employment." You can't say your unit would be ideal for a quiet couple because it implies you don't want singles. You can't say it would be "perfect for a female student" or "suitable for a single professional" or "great for working folks or students." All of these ads may discourage people from applying and are not allowed.

Rather than trying to name the "ideal" person for the unit, have the ads focus on the unit itself, describing the location, size, rent, local amenities and other information about the unit.

You can't say "no pets" because people with disabilities who use service animals like guide dogs cannot be denied access to housing based on a "no pet" policy.

"Not soundproof" would be considered a statement that discriminates against families with children, says the commission.

Unless you are providing subsidized housing, it is also illegal to apply a rent-to-income ratio (such as a 30 per cent cut-off rule) to your tenants.

The commission says that "residents don't have to be working to have money to pay the rent. Research shows that people living on social assistance, pensions or retirement income are just as likely to pay their rent as people who are working."

So how can you protect yourself as a landlord?

You are allowed to ask for information about the tenant's rental history, ask for credit references and perform credit checks. You can ask for income information, but the commission says you can only use this to confirm that the person has enough money to cover the rent.

You can also ask that a guarantor signs the lease, but only if you have the same requirement for all of your tenants. If you ask some prospective tenants for this, but not all of them, you are discriminating.

The commission says that some of the best prospective tenants may not have a rental or credit history because they are young people, women returning to the workforce after long periods of care-giving or the end of a marriage, or newcomers to the country.

Some advertising sites offer suggestions for non-discriminatory language in ads and the commission is hoping that all sites will follow. It also is asking sites to review ads before posting them or to have some systems in place where a monitor can look at an ad and remove it if someone complains that itís discriminatory. It is also asking print media to keep an eye for these ads. More information is available at Ontario Human Rights Commission website.

Written by Jim Adair
for my monthly Realty Times newsletter
Realty Times June 21, 2011

Recently, one of my clients, a young professional real estate investor, asked me on how one could go about inspecting their rental condos.

This is a good question and so I thought of putting this useful information on my blog for all my other investors and visitors to read and learn.

No pain, No gain

There is no doubt, that real estate investment is one of the best methods to get rich over time, however real estate is not a quick flip get rich scheme. The important thing is how you protect your investment when you have chosen to be a landlord.

Being a landlord brings lot of responsibilities. Finding tenants is a daunting task, and real estate professionals like myself try to select good tenants for their landlord clients. Having said that, it is not possible for real estate professionals to ensure that tenants take full and proper care of landlord's property.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you

I recently came across one of my landlord's condos where a so called good tenant (someone who qualified as a professional with a good job and credit history and who always paid on time for more than three years of his renting), had left the unit in not such a good condition. Of course normal wear and tear is always acceptable but causing damages to someone else's property is not allowed or acceptable. I cannot comment more on this particular issue as this is outside of my domain, and a lawyer has taken over this case.

Tenant's responsibility

Condo investors should take steps about keeping their property in good state of repairs at all times. Getting rental properties inspected regularly is a good way of addressing this, as long as this has been agreed to in the lease contract. In fact, as per the rental laws, the tenant is responsible for keeping the unit clean, up to the standard that most people consider ordinary or normal cleanliness.  The tenant is also responsible for repairing or paying for any damage to the rental property caused by the tenant, their guests or another person living in the rental unit.

Landlord's responsibilty

There are some rules for landlords also. A landlord has to keep the rental property in a good state of repair. A landlord must obey all health, safety, housing and maintenance standards, as set out in any provincial laws or municipal bylaws. This is true even if the tenant was aware of the problems when they agreed to rent the unit.

When landlord can enter the rental unit

A landlord can enter the rental unit between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., and only if they have given the tenant 24 hours written notice to make repairs or do work in the unit, to carry out an inspection, where reasonable, in order to determine whether repairs are needed, to allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the complex to view the unit, to allow a potential purchaser/registered real estate agent or broker to view the rental unit, to allow an engineer, architect or other similar professional to make an inspection for a proposed conversion under the Condominium Act; or for any reasonable purpose allowed by the rental agreement. The notice must include the reason why the landlord wants to enter the rental unit and must state what time, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., the landlord will enter the unit. If the landlord gives the tenant the correct notice, the landlord can enter even if the tenant is not at home.

Here is a landlord tenant guide that will help answer some other questions on this topic

Vacancy rates are down in the entire GTA, thanks to rebound in employment, a high level of immigration, and the rising cost of renting units in the condominium market. The most influential underlying force was the slowdown in demand for buying homes. Fewer first time buyers relate into more number of renters.

CMHC's outlook of rental market sees a slower outflow of households from rental units to homeownership. This trend is likely to persist in 2011.

The average vacancy rate of condo apartments in the GTA increased to 1.6% in 2010.

Above is good news for investors looking to buy condos for the purpose of renting, in my opinion. Less expensive rentals in expanding Peel condo market (dominated by Mississauga Square One), maintained an average vacancy rate of less than half of a percentage point.

However, rents have increased in 2011; which also has encouraged some renters to buy instead of renting. The introduction of HST is likely a factor that contributed to the sizeable increase in condo rents. HST is applied to certain maintenance costs such as electricity, heating, lawn care, snow removal etc. which led to rise in condo fees. Rent increased also as a result of lower vacancy rates. Furthermore, the new units entering the rental pool over the past year were purchased for higher prices (some purchased at pre-construction stage) compared to previous years.

There is a trend amongst renters to move from older to newer building offering better amenities.

Despite the annual increase in condo vacancies and added rental listings over past few months, the market for condo rentals is tightening. During May to Aug period, the ratio of rented to listed condo apartments was 63 percent, up from 59 per cent the same period a year ago.

As per CMHC nearly 150,000 household were estimated to be living in secondary units at the time of the survey (single detached, semis, townhouses, duplex, accessory units)- three times the number living in condominium apartments, representing 30 percent of entire rental market universe in Toronto CMA.

Read full report: Rental Market Report- Greater Toronto Area: Fall 2010

I serve Mississauga Square one rental market and will be happy to work with you if you are a renter, landlord or an investor.   For an up to date rental market advice on your Square One or any other Mississauga condo call me now!