the commission also noted that the scope of the code’s protections, which could be engaged if potential tenants were able to show that a proof-of-vaccination requirement adversely affected them because of a protected ground, “would be dependent on all of the facts.”
the calculus around health and safety risks would likely change, they noted, for congregate and non-congregate housing, as well as shared personal residences.
in fact, the code doesn’t apply if you have to share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner or owner’s family. same goes for ontario’s residential tenancies act. and that’s a game-changer when it comes to implementing a vaccination requirement for existing tenants.
for rta tenancies — which most traditional rental situations in ontario would fall under — once a landlord and tenant have a tenancy agreement (written, oral or implied), the landlord can’t just decide they no longer want to rent to someone because they’re unvaccinated, explained michael thiele, a partner at quinn thiele mineault grodzki llp.
“the policy underlying the residential tenancies act is housing in perpetuity,” he said.
in other words: there’s no way a landlord can end your tenancy, unless it’s for one of the “for-cause” reasons in the rta, or one of the few “no-fault” reasons.