At Living Properties, we deal with many tenants and landlords and a we often receive questions about rent payments. One question that pops up a lot is whether a landlord in Ontario can ask for post-dated cheques for rent payment. So, let’s take a look.
The question itself has equal importance for both landlords and tenants. Landlords need to know what they are allowed to do according to the law, while it is important that tenants know their rights when signing a lease agreement. Fortunately, with the question of whether landlords are allowed to request post-dated cheques is a simple one to answer and it is spelled out clearly in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.
The answer is: no… and yes.
Ok, that might look confusing, so let’s go into a bit more detail…
In part VII of the Residential Tenancies Act, called Rules Relating to Rent, section 108 talks specifically about post-dated cheques:
“Neither a landlord nor a tenancy agreement shall require a tenant or prospective tenant to,
It is unequivocal. According to the act, a landlord in Ontario cannot insist that a tenant provides post-dated cheques. It is a simple and clear rule: as a landlord you cannot demand that rent be paid via post-dated cheques. On the flip side, as a tenant, you cannot be forced to hand over post-dated cheques for rent payment.
However, there is more nuance to the rules and this isn’t a blanket ban on post-dated cheques. The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), which was created by the Residential Tenancies Act, has a useful guide to the act on its website. The guide gives a quick overview of the act and clarifies some points of contention, including post-dated cheques. In a section titled “Post-dated cheques and automatic payments” the LTB guide says the following:
“When a landlord and a new tenant agree to enter into a rental agreement, they usually discuss how the rent will be paid.
Although the landlord and tenant can agree that the rent will be paid by post-dated cheques or automatic payments (such as debits from a tenant’s account or by credit card), a landlord cannot require the tenant to pay by either of those methods.”
And this is why the answer is no and yes. According to the law in Ontario a landlord cannot demand that rent is paid with post-dated cheques and cannot include that stipulation in a tenancy agreement. However, the landlord and tenant are free to come to an agreement to use post-dated cheques if both parties agree with that payment method.
Want to know more about lease agreements? Looking to avoid the hassle and let a professional property management company manage these matters for you? Contact us today and speak to one of our professional property managers.