Print

Can your landlord take your stuff?

If you speak French

In many cases you have the right to government services and legal proceedings in French, including hearings before French-speaking decision-makers.

If you have a legal problem, you can ask a lawyer or a community legal clinic about your French language rights.

Si vous parlez français

Il existe de nombreuses situations où vous avez droit à des services gouvernementaux et à des procédures juridiques en français. Ainsi, vous pouvez avoir droit à ce qu’une audience à laquelle vous êtes partie soit tenue devant un décideur qui parle français.

Si vous avez un problème juridique, vous pouvez demander à un avocat ou à un intervenant d’une clinique juridique communautaire de vous informer des droits linguistiques liés au fait de parler français.

When is it against the law for my landlord to take my things?

In most situations, it is against the law for your landlord to take your things. For example, it is against the law for your landlord to take any of your belongings just because you owe rent, caused damage, or broke a rule.

Also, your landlord cannot take anything from you or stop you from taking your belongings when you move out.

When is it legal for my landlord to take my things?

If you leave things behind when you move, your landlord can sell them, keep them, or throw them away. This includes furniture, cars, appliances, clothing, food, or anything else you leave behind. It even includes a mobile home or land lease home.

This applies if:

• you move out after giving notice, after your landlord gave you notice, or after you made an agreement with your landlord to move out,
• you are evicted by an order of the Landlord and Tenant Board, or
• you move without any notice or agreement.

This resource describes the laws that apply in each of these situations.

If you have things that you do not fully own, such as a rent-to-own appliance or a car that you are still making payments on, the situation can get complicated. If this applies to you, try to get legal advice.

Different rules also apply when a tenant dies. Click here for more information.

What if I move because of a notice or agreement?

If you move out:

• after you give your landlord a written notice to end your tenancy,
• after your landlord gives you a written notice to end your tenancy, or
• after you and your landlord agree to end your tenancy,

then your landlord can immediately keep, sell, or throw out anything you leave behind.

So, it is important to take all your belongings with you when you move out. Be sure you move your belongings on or before the date stated in the notice or agreement. Often this is the day before your rent would be due. Even if you plan to move your things the next day, it could be too late. Do not leave anything for later unless your landlord agrees in writing to save it for you.

What if I am evicted by the Landlord and Tenant Board?

If the Landlord and Tenant Board makes an eviction order against you, you have 72 hours after the Sheriff evicts you to get your belongings. During this 72-hour period, your landlord must keep your things safe in your place or nearby, and must let you get them any time between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

It is against the law for your landlord not to do this.

You and your landlord can agree to different rules about this. This agreement should be in writing.

What if I move without giving or receiving a notice or making an agreement?

If your landlord thinks that you have moved without making an agreement, or giving or receiving notice, your place might be considered "abandoned".

If your landlord thinks you have abandoned your place, your landlord cannot just take your things. First, your landlord must either:

• apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for an order ending your tenancy, or
• give a notice, to both you and the LTB, stating that your landlord plans to get rid of your belongings in 30 days. Your landlord does not have to give you this notice in person but can leave it at your apartment.

Your landlord can get rid of any unsafe items right away. Your landlord can keep, sell, or throw out anything else 30 days after the LTB made the order or your landlord gave you the notice.

If you contact your landlord within the 30 days and say that you want to pick up your things, your landlord must let you in to pick them up at a reasonable time. Your landlord must store them in your place or nearby.

If you owed any rent when you left, your landlord can make you pay the overdue rent, plus the cost of moving and storing your belongings. If you do not pay the money within the 30 days, you lose your right to get your things back. Remember, this is legal only if you have abandoned your place and your landlord has taken one of the steps mentioned above. In any other situation your landlord cannot take your things just because you owe rent.

If your landlord sells your things after the 30 days, your landlord can keep enough money from the sale to cover any unpaid rent and expenses. If there is any money left over, you can claim it by contacting your landlord within 6 months from the day:

• the LTB made its order, or
• your landlord gave you the notice about getting rid of your things.

If your landlord will not give you this money, or you believe that there was money left over and your landlord says there was not, contact a lawyer or community legal clinic. You can apply to the LTB to get this money back. Click here for more information.

What happens if a tenant dies?

If a tenant dies and there are no other tenants in the apartment, the landlord can get rid of any unsafe items right away. The landlord must keep other belongings safe for 30 days so that the tenant's relatives or "executor" can arrange to deal with them.

The executor is usually the person who is named in the will or by a court to look after the property (estate) of the person who died.

After the 30 days, the landlord can do whatever they want with the person's belongings.

If the landlord sells the things, the landlord can keep enough money from the sale to cover any unpaid rent and expenses. If there is any money left over, a family member or the executor can claim the money for the estate. They must make this claim within 6 months after the tenant's death.

If the landlord keeps anything, and a family member or the executor shows up within the 6 months to claim it, the landlord has to give it back.

The landlord and the executor can agree to different terms about the property. This agreement should be in writing.

Some of the rules are different if the tenant was living in a mobile home that the tenant owned. If you are dealing with this situation, it is important to get legal advice.

What if I live in a mobile home or land lease home?

If you live in a mobile or land lease home, most of the rules described so far in this article apply to your belongings. But there are different rules for your home itself, if your tenancy was ended by any of the following:

• a notice you gave your landlord,
• a notice your landlord gave you,
• an agreement between you and your landlord, or
• an order of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

If your tenancy was ended in one of the ways listed above and you leave behind your mobile or land lease home, your landlord must do all the following things before taking it:

• send you a notice by registered mail to your last known address, and
• have the notice published in any regular newspaper in your area, and then
• wait for 60 days to see if you contact your landlord.

If you contact your landlord to claim the home before the 60 days are up, your landlord must return it to you. But your landlord can first make you pay any unpaid rent and reasonable expenses.

If you do not contact your landlord within the 60 days, your landlord can then sell, keep, or get rid of the home.

But if you then contact your landlord within 6 months of when your landlord mailed and published the notice, your landlord must do one of the following:

• If your landlord has already sold the home, your landlord must give you the money from the sale, minus any unpaid rent and reasonable expenses.
• If your landlord kept the home, your landlord must return it to you. But your landlord can first make you pay any unpaid rent and reasonable expenses the landlord had in keeping the mobile home for you.

If you left your home behind without giving or getting any notice or making an agreement with your landlord, your landlord might think you abandoned it. If this happens, your landlord can treat your home like any other abandoned property. To find out about the rules that apply to your home in this situation, please read the section called What if I move without giving or receiving a notice or making an agreement?

What if I can’t get all my things in time?

You should tell your landlord if you will not be able to get all your things in time. Your landlord might agree to give you more time. Or they might agree to other arrangements, such as storing your things for you somewhere in the building or nearby.

It is safest to put your request, and any agreement you make with your landlord, in writing. If any of your belongings are especially valuable or more important to you than they might appear to someone else, tell the landlord this in writing, too.

Although you do not have a legal right to extra time, some court decisions say your landlord must still act reasonably. So it might help if you can prove that your landlord knew you did not intend to abandon your belongings.

What can I do to get my things back?

If your landlord has taken your belongings after following the legal rules described in this article, your landlord cannot be forced to return them. In that situation, you can try to make a deal with your landlord to get your things back.

But if your landlord takes or keeps your belongings without following the law, there are several things you can do. You can call the Ontario government’s Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU) at 1-888-772-9277. Or, you can call the police.

There are also some legal steps you might be able to take. Depending on the situation, you could:

• apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to make your landlord return your things or pay you for them,
• go to a Justice of the Peace and charge your landlord with an offence, or
• sue in court to make your landlord return your things or pay you for having taken them.

Every situation is different. If you are thinking about taking legal action against your landlord, it is best to get legal advice first. See the next section for more information.

Where can I get help or more information?

There are community legal clinics across Ontario that give free legal help to tenants who have low incomes.

You can find the community legal clinic for your area on Legal Aid Ontario’s website at legalaid.on.ca or call:

Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258

TTY: 711

You can also see CLEO’s resource called Getting legal help: A Directory of Community Legal Clinics in Ontario.

CLEOss Steps to Justice is a website that gives step-by-step information about common legal problems, including housing law issues. Steps to Justice has practical tools like forms and checklists, and referral information for legal and social services. Visit stepstojustice.ca and see the information about moving out in the Housing Law section.

For application forms and general information about landlord and tenant issues, you can contact the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). The LTB cannot give you legal advice.

The LTB’s website address is tribunalsontario.ca/ltb. You can call the LTB at 1‑888‑332‑3234. For toll-free TTY, call Bell Relay Service at 1-866-607-1240.

The Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU) is a provincial government office set up to help make sure that landlords and tenants follow the Residential Tenancies Act. You can call the RHEU at 1-888-772-9277 or visit their website at ontario.ca/page/solve-disagreement-your-landlord-or-tenant.