A lease is a contract outlining the terms under which one party agrees to rent property owner by another party. When a lease has expired, many people are unsure of what to do and if they need to move out.
The simple answer is no. You do not need to move out when the lease has expired. Let me explain it a bit further.
In Ontario, the residential tenancy automatically renews on the expiry date. Unless, the landlord or tenant has given notice of termination. The automatic renewal goes from month to month and uses the original terms from the lease.
What can change is the rent amount. Usually the landlord cannot increase your rent more than the “guideline” percentage which is set by the government each year. This upcoming year of 2020, the increase percentage is 2.2.
As for ending the tenancy, there are a few “for cause” reasons that the landlord can terminate the tenancy and they are:
- Not paying the rent in full,
- Causing damage to the rental property,
- Illegal activity in the rental unit or residential complex, and
- The landlord requires the rental unit because the landlord, a member of the landlord’s immediate family or their caregiver wish to move into the unit.
If you have any questions on renting, buying or selling, feel free to reach out to me as I would be happy to help.
