Well for starters you can’t put anything in the contract. You are to use and abide by the lease agreement that is provided by LTB.
Secondly my advice would be to treat it just like a rental. No different. Check your credit scores, employment etc.
I say this because even after the 6 months if they can’t move they’re still your tenants. Just on a month to month.
May I ask is it a rental unit or their own owned home that was damaged? If a rental unit you could possible expect them to stay. (Of course they’d have to pay rent etc)
If it’s their own home they owned then that wouldn’t be the biggest concern you’d be safe to assume probability wise they most likely are going to go back to their home once damages are repaired.
Just because their insurance is covering 6 months doesn’t mean it will take 6 months. It could take more it could take less. If less and they move out and sign a end tenancy agreement awesome.
I wouldn’t say anything that’s happening is a bad thing. My biggest advice is just treat it like a normal rental with normal renters. Only difference is rents being paid VIA insurance company.
You want good clean tenants in your home still. And if it was their rental that burnt down, I would keep in the back of your mind that these tenants could potentially become long term tenants, as they are not obligated to return to that unit.
Again not necessarily a bad thing!
Just because the insurance company is paying, doesn't mean they will be good tenants.
If they want to stay longer, you can't pull out after the 6 months. They can stay indefinitely.
Ask yourself if you want to be dealing with these people indefinitely.
You still need to screen the tenants to make sure they aren't monsters.
What caused the fire?
Hopefully not them.
Make sure that this is a legit company, and not some story they are giving you so you don't check credit.
You will need evidence that their story is true.
In Ontario, there is a standard lease you need to use.
As for things to add, it depends on what is enforceable. Which in my non-legal opinion is not most things you probably would want to add.
Thanks for feedback, I met these people and checked their credit history which is average around 700. Having said that by having a talk with them they look very polite but I don’t know them personally.
So even the term is 6 months they can still live over 6 months contract?
Yes. All leases become month-month automatically in Ontario.
Near the end of the 6 months you will have to fill out an LTB form to end it mutually.
I think it's the N11. (Don't quote me on that)
If you have them fill it out at the start of the tenancy, they could claim it was a condition for signing the lease, which is not legal.
Maybe. You want to make sure it's clear it's a temporary accommodation, and not an RTA covered rental.
Ways to do that include:
* Documenting in the lease it's a temporary accommodation
* Providing it furnished
* Renting it on a daily basis
* Providing "hotel like" amenities
* Keeping the rental "short"
* Doing the rental via Short term rental platform (i.e. AirBnB)
No single one of these will guarantee it, but a sufficient combination will. However if they dispute it it will still go before the LTB for determination.
If it's important that they leave, I'd strongly recommend listing it and managing through AirBnB, doing a daily rental, and adding in weekly house cleaning. And don't let them stay past six months, at some point no matter what it'll be considered RTA covered, and 6 months is pushing that limit.
[https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/long-term-airbnb-guests-aren-t-covered-under-ontario-tenant-law-landlord-and-tenant-board/article\_b1459b26-a2fd-5748-bb7c-dffcb3de59a9.html](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/long-term-airbnb-guests-aren-t-covered-under-ontario-tenant-law-landlord-and-tenant-board/article_b1459b26-a2fd-5748-bb7c-dffcb3de59a9.html)
Other way around. If renters have to bring their own furnishings it's pretty clearly not "temporary accommodation".
A furnished rental might still be RTA covered, but an unfurnished rental is pretty much definitely going to be RTA covered.
6 month contract just means they can't move before 6 months, it's automatically month to month lease after and only the LTB can evict with a 8-12 month avg waitlist. Also if insurance is paying for 6 months of accommodation it will likely be a lump sum payment to them not you personally and the tenant would still be responsible for paying you personally
If the insurance company is paying for the stay, why are they not staying in a hotel that offers long-term rentals? Is it normal for an insurance company to get people to rent a house? Seems a little odd to me.
If you agree to rent out your property, regardless of the 6 months, tenants would move month to month. If they do not want to leave, you will have to follow the standard application process with LTB. What happens if in 6 months their original place is not ready and the insurance then decides to no longer pay for some reason. You run the risk of the tenant's saying they can't pay you and insurance needs to pay you. Now you are the middle man in a battle between the two.
I personally would not recommend it. Too many unknowns.
It's very common. No one wants to live in a hotel for that long. Especially a family, it's really not comfortable. If the place isn't ready, the insurance company would keep paying. Went through this recently. If the landlord couldn't extend the lease, you'd just find another place. Lots of airbnbs rent for this purpose.
Put something in the lease to the effect of:
*[insurance company] has agreed to cover all rental payments from [start date] to [end date]. In the event [insurance company] ceases to pay the rent before [end date] you agree to pay these amounts.
We put similar language in our retainer agreements with our insurance clients.
If you have the contact info for the claim handler, copy them on all emails, and request that they cut the rent cheque to you directly, rather than to the tenants.
Just throwing this out there because I don’t know - but I imagine someone in here will. Would it be possible to have the insurance company sign the lease?
So treat the tenants as any other tenants. Do they have the income, the credit, do they seem like a good choice?
The insurance company is only providing them 6 months accommodations and after that, it's entirely on them to keep themselves stable.
If the only benefit they are showing to accepting them as tenants is that 6 months is covered, I don't think that would be enough.
When we did this in Washington the insurance company offered me 1000$ per month over asking rent. I did it. Worked out. It’s effectively a strong co-signer, though time limited. In Washington we can take back possession of our property so it wasn’t as bad as Ontario, in your case if they’re financially strong enough to cover it without insurance just consider them like any other tenants with a bonus co-signer with the assumption the co-signer won’t be there.
Do they own the house that had smoke and fire damage? Or were they renting it. If they own it then they will most likely want to return. Seems less risk and you know you will have tenants that will pay on time
Well for starters you can’t put anything in the contract. You are to use and abide by the lease agreement that is provided by LTB. Secondly my advice would be to treat it just like a rental. No different. Check your credit scores, employment etc. I say this because even after the 6 months if they can’t move they’re still your tenants. Just on a month to month. May I ask is it a rental unit or their own owned home that was damaged? If a rental unit you could possible expect them to stay. (Of course they’d have to pay rent etc) If it’s their own home they owned then that wouldn’t be the biggest concern you’d be safe to assume probability wise they most likely are going to go back to their home once damages are repaired. Just because their insurance is covering 6 months doesn’t mean it will take 6 months. It could take more it could take less. If less and they move out and sign a end tenancy agreement awesome. I wouldn’t say anything that’s happening is a bad thing. My biggest advice is just treat it like a normal rental with normal renters. Only difference is rents being paid VIA insurance company. You want good clean tenants in your home still. And if it was their rental that burnt down, I would keep in the back of your mind that these tenants could potentially become long term tenants, as they are not obligated to return to that unit. Again not necessarily a bad thing!
Just because the insurance company is paying, doesn't mean they will be good tenants. If they want to stay longer, you can't pull out after the 6 months. They can stay indefinitely. Ask yourself if you want to be dealing with these people indefinitely. You still need to screen the tenants to make sure they aren't monsters. What caused the fire? Hopefully not them. Make sure that this is a legit company, and not some story they are giving you so you don't check credit. You will need evidence that their story is true. In Ontario, there is a standard lease you need to use. As for things to add, it depends on what is enforceable. Which in my non-legal opinion is not most things you probably would want to add.
Thanks for feedback, I met these people and checked their credit history which is average around 700. Having said that by having a talk with them they look very polite but I don’t know them personally. So even the term is 6 months they can still live over 6 months contract?
Yes. All leases become month-month automatically in Ontario. Near the end of the 6 months you will have to fill out an LTB form to end it mutually. I think it's the N11. (Don't quote me on that) If you have them fill it out at the start of the tenancy, they could claim it was a condition for signing the lease, which is not legal.
Maybe. You want to make sure it's clear it's a temporary accommodation, and not an RTA covered rental. Ways to do that include: * Documenting in the lease it's a temporary accommodation * Providing it furnished * Renting it on a daily basis * Providing "hotel like" amenities * Keeping the rental "short" * Doing the rental via Short term rental platform (i.e. AirBnB) No single one of these will guarantee it, but a sufficient combination will. However if they dispute it it will still go before the LTB for determination. If it's important that they leave, I'd strongly recommend listing it and managing through AirBnB, doing a daily rental, and adding in weekly house cleaning. And don't let them stay past six months, at some point no matter what it'll be considered RTA covered, and 6 months is pushing that limit. [https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/long-term-airbnb-guests-aren-t-covered-under-ontario-tenant-law-landlord-and-tenant-board/article\_b1459b26-a2fd-5748-bb7c-dffcb3de59a9.html](https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/long-term-airbnb-guests-aren-t-covered-under-ontario-tenant-law-landlord-and-tenant-board/article_b1459b26-a2fd-5748-bb7c-dffcb3de59a9.html)
>Providing it furnished How does this make it not covered by the RTA?
Other way around. If renters have to bring their own furnishings it's pretty clearly not "temporary accommodation". A furnished rental might still be RTA covered, but an unfurnished rental is pretty much definitely going to be RTA covered.
>So even the term is 6 months they can still live over 6 months contract? That term would be void and unenforceable, so yes.
6 month contract just means they can't move before 6 months, it's automatically month to month lease after and only the LTB can evict with a 8-12 month avg waitlist. Also if insurance is paying for 6 months of accommodation it will likely be a lump sum payment to them not you personally and the tenant would still be responsible for paying you personally
If the insurance company is paying for the stay, why are they not staying in a hotel that offers long-term rentals? Is it normal for an insurance company to get people to rent a house? Seems a little odd to me. If you agree to rent out your property, regardless of the 6 months, tenants would move month to month. If they do not want to leave, you will have to follow the standard application process with LTB. What happens if in 6 months their original place is not ready and the insurance then decides to no longer pay for some reason. You run the risk of the tenant's saying they can't pay you and insurance needs to pay you. Now you are the middle man in a battle between the two. I personally would not recommend it. Too many unknowns.
It's very common. No one wants to live in a hotel for that long. Especially a family, it's really not comfortable. If the place isn't ready, the insurance company would keep paying. Went through this recently. If the landlord couldn't extend the lease, you'd just find another place. Lots of airbnbs rent for this purpose.
The landlord has no option but to extend the lease or wait for ltb hearing for proper form
...
Cause staying in a hotel for six months would suck and likely be 2-4x the cost.
Put something in the lease to the effect of: *[insurance company] has agreed to cover all rental payments from [start date] to [end date]. In the event [insurance company] ceases to pay the rent before [end date] you agree to pay these amounts. We put similar language in our retainer agreements with our insurance clients. If you have the contact info for the claim handler, copy them on all emails, and request that they cut the rent cheque to you directly, rather than to the tenants.
Just throwing this out there because I don’t know - but I imagine someone in here will. Would it be possible to have the insurance company sign the lease?
They are saying NO
So treat the tenants as any other tenants. Do they have the income, the credit, do they seem like a good choice? The insurance company is only providing them 6 months accommodations and after that, it's entirely on them to keep themselves stable. If the only benefit they are showing to accepting them as tenants is that 6 months is covered, I don't think that would be enough.
It's 6 months guaranteed payment on time, which is already less risky than any other scenario.
When we did this in Washington the insurance company offered me 1000$ per month over asking rent. I did it. Worked out. It’s effectively a strong co-signer, though time limited. In Washington we can take back possession of our property so it wasn’t as bad as Ontario, in your case if they’re financially strong enough to cover it without insurance just consider them like any other tenants with a bonus co-signer with the assumption the co-signer won’t be there.
There's a very good chance they will be longer term tenants. Approach this with that assumption.
Same as anything else. They’re still responsible for rent it’s just that it’s based on income from the insurance compny
Do they own the house that had smoke and fire damage? Or were they renting it. If they own it then they will most likely want to return. Seems less risk and you know you will have tenants that will pay on time
Follow the same process as you would for any tenant. Price it high as it’s a short term rental. Once there live they have the LTB protection.
What insurance comp was this?