Renting in Mississauga or elsewhere in the GTA

Are you thinking of renting your property?

One of our clients, a young professional real estate investor, asked about how one can go about inspecting their rental condos.

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

Renting – 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 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

Sometimes even a good tenant (someone who is qualified professional with a good job and credit history and who always paid on time for more than three years of his renting), leave 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. Having said that, Mississauga rental market is good and with proper due diligence, landlords can attract quality tenants. 

Tenant’s responsibility when renting

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 responsibility with renting

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. Some landlords hire professional property management companies to manage their rental properties.

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.

Read more about Landlords and tenants in Mississauga.