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Limit to Right of Entry: Prescribed Restrictions Requiring Legitimate Purposes
Question: Can a landlord enter a rental unit without tenant consent?
Answer: Yes, landlords may enter without consent in emergencies or for specific reasons outlined in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, R.S.O. 2006, c. 17, [s. 26-27]. Understanding these rights helps both landlords and tenants maintain a respectful balance of privacy and necessary access.
Balancing the Right of Entry of a Landlord With the Right to Privacy of a Tenant
Landlords hold a statutory right of entry into a rental unit where such serves a permitted purpose; however, a landlord must also refrain from abusing the right of entry by limiting the frequency of entries and by ensuring that the reason for entry complies with a permitted purpose.
The Law
The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17, prescribes the circumstances under which a landlord may enter a rental unit. The prescribed circumstances are intended to balance the right of entry for a legitimate reason as held by a landlord with protection against potential abuse that may breach the privacy or cause unreasonable disruption to a tenant. Specifically, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, states:
Privacy
25 A landlord may enter a rental unit only in accordance with section 26 or 27.
Entry without notice
Entry without notice, emergency, consent
26 (1) A landlord may enter a rental unit at any time without written notice,
(a) in cases of emergency; or
(b) if the tenant consents to the entry at the time of entry.
Same, housekeeping
(2) A landlord may enter a rental unit without written notice to clean it if the tenancy agreement requires the landlord to clean the rental unit at regular intervals and,
(a) the landlord enters the unit at the times specified in the tenancy agreement; or
(b) if no times are specified, the landlord enters the unit between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
Entry to show rental unit to prospective tenants
(3) A landlord may enter the rental unit without written notice to show the unit to prospective tenants if,
(a) the landlord and tenant have agreed that the tenancy will be terminated or one of them has given notice of termination to the other;
(b) the landlord enters the unit between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.; and
(c) before entering, the landlord informs or makes a reasonable effort to inform the tenant of the intention to do so.
Entry with notice
27 (1) A landlord may enter a rental unit in accordance with written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry under the following circumstances:
1. To carry out a repair or replacement or do work in the rental unit.
2. To allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the residential complex to view the rental unit.
3. To allow a person who holds a certificate of authorization within the meaning of the Professional Engineers Act or a certificate of practice within the meaning of the Architects Act or another qualified person to make a physical inspection of the rental unit to satisfy a requirement imposed under subsection 9 (4) of the Condominium Act, 1998.
4. To carry out an inspection of the rental unit, if,
i. the inspection is for the purpose of determining whether or not the rental unit is in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and complies with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards, consistent with the landlord’s obligations under subsection 20 (1) or section 161, and
ii. it is reasonable to carry out the inspection.
5. For any other reasonable reason for entry specified in the tenancy agreement.
Same
(2) A landlord or, with the written authorization of a landlord, a broker or salesperson registered under the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002, may enter a rental unit in accordance with written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry to allow a potential purchaser to view the rental unit.
Restriction Upon Inspections
Although a landlord is granted the right of entry for purposes of inspection, the landlord must refrain from abusing such a right whereas excessive inspections may be deemed as a breach of privacy or otherwise unreasonably disruptive conduct. The requirement to act reasonable was stated within the cases of T.R. v. M.V., TET-65171-15 (Re), 2016 CanLII 38275, and L.G and P.J v. Y.L and W.C, TST-82173-17 (Re), 2017 CanLII 70566, wherein each it was respectively said:
15. A landlord’s right to inspect the rental unit and the privacy provisions in the Act are found in sections 25 through 27 of the Act.
16. A landlord does not have an unfettered right to inspect a unit even with proper notice.
17. Section 27 says:
27. (1) A landlord may enter a rental unit in accordance with written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry under the following circumstances:
1. To carry out a repair or replacement or do work in the rental unit.
2. To allow a potential mortgagee or insurer of the residential complex to view the rental unit.
3. To allow a person who holds a certificate of authorization within the meaning of the Professional Engineers Act or a certificate of practice within the meaning of the Architects Act or another qualified person to make a physical inspection of the rental unit to satisfy a requirement imposed under subsection 9 (4) of the Condominium Act, 1998.
4. To carry out an inspection of the rental unit, if,
i. the inspection is for the purpose of determining whether or not the rental unit is in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and complies with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards, consistent with the landlord’s obligations under subsection 20 (1) or section 161, and
ii. it is reasonable to carry out the inspection.
5. for any other reasonable reason for entry specified in the tenancy agreement.
(2) A landlord or, with the written authorization of a landlord, a broker or salesperson registered under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002, may enter a rental unit in accordance with written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry to allow a potential purchaser to view the rental unit.
(3) The written notice under subsection (1) or (2) shall specify the reason for entry, the day of entry and a time of entry between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.
18. What this means is that a landlord cannot inspect the unit for any reason under the sun. The Landlord can only inspect the unit for one of the listed reasons. Further, I believe that most reasonable tenants would find a program of unnecessary monthly inspections to be oppressive and an invasion of privacy. So unless there is disrepair or some other listed and reasonable reason for entry, the Landlord must take care in not threatening an oppressive regime of entries.
11. Section 27 of the Act states that a landlord may enter a rental unit in accordance with written notice given to the tenant at least 24 hours before the time of entry in certain circumstances, including to carry out a repair or replacement or to do work in the unit; and to carry out an inspection of the rental unit if the inspection is for the purpose of determining whether the Landlords have complied with their maintenance obligations and it is reasonable to carry out the inspection.
12. The Board’s Guideline 19, The Landlord’s Right of Entry into a Rental Unit, deals with the issue of frequency of entry. The guideline states:
In carrying out repairs, replacements and other work, the landlord should make reasonable efforts to limit the frequency of entries to those actually necessary to accomplish the work. The landlord should also make reasonable efforts to limit the frequency of entries in other circumstances allowed under section 27 of the [Act] such as carrying inspections of the rental unit.
13. The guideline states that if the Board determines that the landlord has made unnecessary or unreasonable entries into the rental unit, the Board may determine that the landlord has substantially interfered with the tenant’s reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit or the residential complex. I think that it is fair to say that the Board may also determine that a landlord has substantially interfered with the tenant’s reasonable enjoyment if the landlord frequently delivered unnecessary or unreasonable notices of entry to the Tenant, regardless of whether the entries were actually carried out.
Interestingly, per the L.G and P.J case above, the frequency of notices issued, even without actual entry, may be deemed as unreasonable interference in the reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit.
Conclusion
Balancing landlord entry rights with tenant privacy rights and freedom from unreasonable disruption rights requires careful observance of the mandates prescribed within the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.