Some Ontario landlords charging illegal application fees, tenant advocate says

TORONTO -

The cost to rent an apartment or condominium in Ontario has been creeping back up to pre-pandemic levels.

As some renters scramble to try and find an affordable place to live some landlords have introduced application fees which one tenant advocate says is illegal.

"I've rented in Toronto and rented in Ottawa and it's something I’ve never seen before," said Gillian, who asked us not to use her last name.

Currently renting in Ottawa, Gillian said she applied to a property management company to rent an apartment in Kemptville, Ontario to get out of the city and have more space while working from home.

She said she was shocked when she was told she would have to pay a $45 non-refundable rental application fee before even having a chance to see the apartment unit.

“I found it very exploitive. I don't understand why they are charging this fee and I found it very unfair," said Gillian.

Geordie Dent is the executive director with the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations and said some landlords are trying to introduce new charges, including application fees, which he says is against the law.

“Landlords can not charge you up front to apply for a place. They just can’t. It’s illegal to do that,” Dent said.

Dent added that landlords also can’t charge deposits to hold units, apply cleaning charges or charge a finder’s fee.

“These are strictly prohibited under the law and you should be very wary of a landlord that is asking you to pay that because they are breaking the law," said Dent.

Once a rental application has been approved, a landlord is allowed to ask for first and last month’s rent and a key or access card deposit, but Dent says that about it.

A landlord is also allowed to charge fees for late rent payments if a rent cheque fails to clear.

Dent says another reason not to pay money in advance without seeing an apartment is that it could be a scam.

“If a landlord says you can't see the place be very, very wary,” said Dent.

As for Gillian, she decided to stay in her current apartment but wanted to warn others about the fee.

“I just didn't think it was fair for them to be doing something that," she said.

When CTV News Toronto reached out to the landlord that was charging the application fee, they said they would stop charging it and remove the $45 charge from their rental application process.