Joy Savoline and the Ontario Progressive Conservatives under leader Tim Hudak are calling for legal damage deposits in Ontario in 2011!! Make your voice heard!! Support Bill 145!!
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Bill enacts new Part VI.1 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, which provides rules relating to damage deposits. Here are some highlights of those rules:
1. The purpose of a damage deposit is to compensate landlords for the cost of repair or replacement of property that was wilfully or negligently damaged by a tenant or other specified persons. The damage deposit may not be used to compensate a landlord for ordinary wear and tear. (see subsections 104.1 (1) and (2) of the Act)
2. A landlord may require a tenant to pay a damage deposit that is not more than 25 per cent of one month’s rent. The landlord and tenant must agree in writing as to the condition of the rental unit on the day the tenancy begins. (see subsections 104.1 (3), (4) and (5) of the Act)
3. Interest must be paid to the tenant annually on a damage deposit at the same rate as the rent increase guideline in effect at the time the interest is due. (see subsection 104.1 (9) of the Act)
4. A landlord is required to repay a damage deposit, including interest, no later than 15 days after a tenancy ends. The landlord is permitted to retain any portion of the deposit that reflects the cost of damage referred to in subsection 104.1 (1) of the Act. (see section 104.4 of the Act)
5. A tenant may apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an order requiring the landlord to repay any portion of the damage deposit that the landlord was not entitled to retain. The landlord bears the onus of proving that he, she or it was entitled to retain the portion of the damage deposit. (see section 104.5 of the Act)
The Act is amended to provide that it is an offence for a landlord to not repay the damage deposit in accordance with section 104.4 or for a landlord to not provide a receipt for a deposit to a tenant or former tenant. (see section 234 of the Act)
Subsection 241 (1) of the Act is amended to provide that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may prescribe,
(a) what constitutes ordinary wear and tear for the purposes of subsection 104.1 (2); and
(b) the information a landlord must file with the Board in respect of an application under section 104.5.
Consequential amendments are made to various provisions of the Act.
Send your support to Joyce Savoline:
Joyce Savoline, MPP (Burlington) http://www.joycesavolinempp.ca/
Sned your support of this Bill to your local MPP. Find their email address HERE!
