What are your renter’s rights? Part 2

Entry

While they are technically the owners of your property, the landlord may only enter the property with proper notice and for a valid reason. They may enter between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday unless you have agreed to a different time or day. Generally, the landlord must give you 24 hours notice.

Quiet Enjoyment

In spite of its name, quiet enjoyment does not mean you need to keep the volume down as a tenant. Instead, it ensures that you are provided with reasonable peace, comfort, and privacy and have the opportunity to make full use of your property. This means your landlord must always maintain services like water and electricity while you occupy the property and may not regulate who can visit the property.

Quiet enjoyment is a two-way street, because as a resident of the home, you are also responsible for providing reasonable peace, comfort, and privacy for your neighbours. If you are not, they may speak to your landlord, who may address it with you but is not obligated to.

Rent increases

There are a couple of ways your landlord may increase your rent. If you renew your rental agreement, the landlord may modify how much you pay each month. They may also periodically increase your rent without a new contract, but must give you two months notice and six months must have passed since the last increase or since the rental agreement started. If you feel that the increase is excessive, you may dispute it with your landlord or with the state.