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Discrimination
The Ontario Human Rights Code states that tenants cannot be discriminated against because of your:
  • Ethno-racial background
  • Sex
  • Citizenship
The Ontario Human Rights Code also states that landlords cannot discriminate against you because you are:
  • Disabled
  • A woman
  • Single, married or living in a common-law relationship
  • Gay or lesbian
  • On welfare or family benefits
In December of 1998, after eight years of deliberations, the Ontario Human Rights Commission ruled that landlords can’t discriminate against prospective tenants on the basis of income.  The Commission’s Board of Inquiry stated that there was no evidence that people with low incomes are more likely to default on paying their rents.

When selecting a prospective tenant, a landlord is allowed to request and use income information such as bank statements, credit checks, credit references, rental history, guarantees and certain other business practices.  See section 38 of the “Tenant Protection Act”.

If you feel you have been discriminated by your current or potential landlords, contact the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA) Tenant Hotline at 416-921-9494; or the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) at 416-944-0087.  

Also, in November 2001, an Ontario Board of Inquiry found that minimum income criteria or rent to income ratios constitute discrimination on the grounds of race and age, and are prohibited under Ontario's Human Rights Code.  The ruling is significant because the board rejected arguments from landlords and from the Ontario Human Rights Commission and agreed with CERA's position, that amendments to the Ontario Human Rights Code and a Regulation governing tenant selection adopted by the Conservative Government in 1998 DO NOT permit minimum income criteria such as the common rule that rent must not exceed 30% of income.
For details, see the CERA Home Page -- scroll down and open the files related to Newby and Sinclair v. Morris A. Hunter Investments .

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