Ontario Landlord Lawyer – evictions, mediation, buying or selling a property with tenants, Landlord Tenant Tribunal https://t.co/vdHLib9RTu

— Landlord Law Canada (@Landlord_Law_CA) December 22, 2015

This is a quick post based on a telephone call I had yesterday. You might be interested in buying a property that has tenants in it. You could be buying as either a potential owner or as an investor. Either way, this is a purchase that will require some thought. The primary factor driving a purchase or sale with a “tenanted property” is the Residential Tenancies Act in Ontario (or I am sure comparable legislation where you live).

Residential Tenancies Act:

The legislation gives tenants clear rights. The most relevant right is the right to stay in the property (assuming they pay rent).  In other words, absent very narrow circumstances, a landlord cannot simply give the tenant notice and ask him to leave. The primary “objective reason” that a “paying and responsible tenant” can be asked to leave is if the owner, or his immediate family, wants to move into the rental unit. (Now, I do understand that this is a bit of an oversimplification, but I don’t want to get sidetracked.)

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