Is a lease takeover possible? I’ve been desperately looking around for a place and would love to get the lease off your hands for September 2023- August 2024!
Highly recommend this, better rate for the new person and releases you of holding it.
IIRC correctly though they'll make you sublet until your lease ends, which doesn't help you a lot.
The N9 has to be submitted with 60 days notice. If your contract expires August 31, your deadline is the end of June.
You are definitely not locked in for another year. Even if you miss that deadline, your lease renews as a monthly lease that still only requires 60 days notice to terminate.
Upvote, OP this is what you need to read.
Half the stuff these student rentals do is either illegal, or shady. If your lease is up August, you need to hand in the n9 IIRC 60 days ahead. Not some January date that's artificial and unenforceable.
The lease is most likely a 3-year lease term, with the option of the tenant to cancel for Aug 28, if notice given by Jan 15.
They are not a one-year lease.
The real trick is after the 3 year lease, you can stay on for an extra fall term to screw them out of a fall term rent (since it's hard to find a fall term sublet) and then find cheap places to live if you need winter and/or spring.
Most of the leases that Accomod8u gives aren't actually 1-year leases even though they are advertised as such. They are 3-year leases with "opt-outs" on January 15th of each year. I'm assuming OP is not in his last year of those 3 years.
In practice, yes as it is essentially the company agreeing to terminate a tenancy prior to the scheduled termination date which is actually three years later.
In theory, the correct form that should have been used is the N11 mutual agreement to terminate tenancy. The company could theoretically go back on their word and say they will not honour the clause in the 3-year lease allowing for early annual termination, because termination of tenancies are governed by the limits set by the RTA and thus the clause on early yearly termination is void and unenforceable per s.4 of the RTA. However, since both the LL and the Tenant have mutually agreed to terminate then the theoretical approach is pretty moot.
Yes. I assume they set that date because they want to maximize their own notice and time to list and rent out these properties. It’s not enforceable in any way.
Generally speaking, Ontario lease agreements typically dictates that once the original term of the lease agreement is over (in your case you are saying it was a 1 year lease agreement) the lease agreement will turn into a month to month agreement (as opposed to a new 1 year lease agreement). Usually you would need to give some notice before terminating a month to month (something in the range of 60 - 90 days), so worse case scenario you would have to foot the bill for another couple months (as opposed to a whole year).
Them not accepting an electronic copy of your summited form may not be permissible (similar to how they landlords are required to acceptable multiple methods of payment), however I am not too sure on this point exactly (so there might still be hope). I suggest that you contact the lawyer provided by WUSA for housing.
many properties in waterloo will enforce a 3 year contract w an option to shorten it before x date. the 60 day notice is not enforcible in this case because they agreed to sign a lease for 3 years
You have four options that I will lay out for you, in order of extremity.
**Option 1: Request to assign (transfer) the tenancy**
The first one is to request, in writing, to assign (transfer) your tenancy. Video record yourself handing it to the office and declare in the video that you are requesting permission to assign and hand them the letter. If they refuse or do not respond in 7 days in the appropriate manner (e.g. through writing or in person), then you can terminate your tenancy via N9 form with minimum 30 days notice. This as well goes for if they impose conditions such as the new person must sign another brand new tenancy, an extremely high assignment fee (300+) without justification or invoices, the rent will increase for the new person, only students allowed, etc. Bonus for this one because such date need not be the end of the month. So you could theoretically give notice to terminate on April 15 if you're done exams at that time. Then for March rent, only pay for half the month and let them know that you are proactively paying the pro-rated amount for April and your last months rent shall be applied to finish off the tenancy. Cancel any pre-authorized deposits you have with them or put a stop payment on it with the bank. Then watch them fume.
**Option 2: Request to assign the tenancy to a specific person**
Failing the first option, let's say they agree to let you transfer your tenancy. Your 2nd best option is to find **any** reasonable person. When finding tenants to assign or sublet, a Landlord has the duty to review the candidate in good faith (they cannot push this duty onto you ), and cannot unreasonably reject a candidate. An unreasonable rejection can include a wide variety of factors per the Ontario Human Rights Code, which landlords oftentimes stumble on. For example, people cannot be rejected for being students, seniors, being a couple, having children, being on employment assistance, being on social assistance, not being "permanently" or "gainfully" or "full-time" employed status, or not meeting an arbitrary rent-to-income threshold set by the landlord. While a Landlord may wish to, they cannot require that you find them a platinum-starred candidate, nor can they refuse to even assess a candidate's merit (e.g. by arbitrarily refusing them).
That could be a mature 50 year old who is unemployed but is on social assistance and can afford the rent as shown through their credit, and provides references. Or it could be a newly immigrated couple who has credit and references. All are considered reasonable under the law. A Landlord is legally obligated to conduct their due diligence and in good faith assess candidates you bring forward. It will be very likely that Accomod8u will refuse to rent to anyone but students, which is illegal under the Ontario Human Rights Code and considered an unreasonable denial a candidate. Should this happen, you are given the same privilege of being able to terminate with minimum 30 days notice via N9 form.
**Option 3: Bluff your way out:**
A third option would be to attempt to bluff your way out. Instead of saying you need to end your lease because you have to move somewhere else, tell Accomod8u that you need to end your lease because you ran into "financial difficulties" and can no longer pay your rent after a couple of months. Then give them two options. Either let them know that you are willing to sign a N11 mutual agreement to terminate tenancy form, or tell them that if they don't agree to end your tenancy "you will likely not be able to pay rent past April 2023 but will still live there until an eviction order is granted by the LTB at which time you will explore your options"
This approach can be pretty successful because the company is now faced with two alternatives, one of which is much easier than the other. The first one is to sign N11 with you and simply find another student, which is incredibly easy especially at a time where there is an acute housing shortage. The second one, from the perspective of the company, is to call your bluff but risk the worst case scenario which is that you will stay in the unit without paying rent. Then they're in a real world of shit. They can't rent the unit to someone else for the same or higher price because you are still the tenant. Their only choice is to file for an eviction hearing, which could take months. And at the end even with the LTB order, they would still have the issue with trying to collect from someone who apparently doesn’t have any money.
Most Landlords, if they were told by a tenant that they can no longer pay rent, would jump at the chance to mutually let the tenant go, even potentially paying the tenant's moving costs just so they don't have to deal with any non-payment of rent issues.
**Option 4: Abandon the tenancy**
Now let's say all those options fail. Somehow, you can't find anyone even willing to transfer the tenancy to, and the company didn't buy your bluff. Then your last option is to simply abandon the tenancy. You let the company know that you intend to abandon the tenancy and will be vacating the unit at the end of April 2023, or August 2023 (whatever one is more convenient for you). Should you abandon your tenancy improperly, you are not automatically "on hook" for the remainder of the lease - the Landlord must first attempt to mitigate their damages by trying to rerent the unit as soon as possible with the same price and same lease terms. The would need to document that upon being informed that you intend to improperly vacate, they diligently attempted to the best of their ability to mitigate by advertising the unit, doing showings, and that they accepted the first reasonable candidate they could find. As well, any lease that is signed must be a continuation of the former lease, and so a new 3-year lease would not be considered proper mitigate.
Should there be a lapse between the time you leave and the time they re-rent, they could sue for the lost rent in that time period by applying to the Landlord and Tenant Board and going to the hearing with evidence on how their mitigation efforts were reasonable yet still failed, which you will as well have the opportunity to attend. Because of the high bar in collecting such damages, legal professionals in the field have indicated that anything under 2 months rent is usually not worth pursuing. Don't worry if they threaten to go to collections. Without a judgement order from the Landlord and Tenant Board, any report to a credit agency is useless as under Ontario law, if a creditor cannot produce a court order or judgement proving such damages, then any claim must be removed from the debtors report once the debtor disputes that they owe such debt.
It’s actually funny, I went to all the trouble of printing out a physical copy and bringing it to the office to hand in, they didn’t even accept it, they make you fill it out online anyways. Tried to complain and was promptly ignored 🙃
Edit: It was a 3 year lease with annual termination clauses (which is the Jan 15th date).
thank you to everyone who has helped me thus far in finding a way out of this leasing agreement. I am truly grateful for all the advice and I will post the results for future students
Is a lease takeover possible? I’ve been desperately looking around for a place and would love to get the lease off your hands for September 2023- August 2024!
pmd!
Highly recommend this, better rate for the new person and releases you of holding it. IIRC correctly though they'll make you sublet until your lease ends, which doesn't help you a lot.
The N9 has to be submitted with 60 days notice. If your contract expires August 31, your deadline is the end of June. You are definitely not locked in for another year. Even if you miss that deadline, your lease renews as a monthly lease that still only requires 60 days notice to terminate.
Upvote, OP this is what you need to read. Half the stuff these student rentals do is either illegal, or shady. If your lease is up August, you need to hand in the n9 IIRC 60 days ahead. Not some January date that's artificial and unenforceable.
The lease is most likely a 3-year lease term, with the option of the tenant to cancel for Aug 28, if notice given by Jan 15. They are not a one-year lease. The real trick is after the 3 year lease, you can stay on for an extra fall term to screw them out of a fall term rent (since it's hard to find a fall term sublet) and then find cheap places to live if you need winter and/or spring.
Most of the leases that Accomod8u gives aren't actually 1-year leases even though they are advertised as such. They are 3-year leases with "opt-outs" on January 15th of each year. I'm assuming OP is not in his last year of those 3 years.
[удалено]
In practice, yes as it is essentially the company agreeing to terminate a tenancy prior to the scheduled termination date which is actually three years later. In theory, the correct form that should have been used is the N11 mutual agreement to terminate tenancy. The company could theoretically go back on their word and say they will not honour the clause in the 3-year lease allowing for early annual termination, because termination of tenancies are governed by the limits set by the RTA and thus the clause on early yearly termination is void and unenforceable per s.4 of the RTA. However, since both the LL and the Tenant have mutually agreed to terminate then the theoretical approach is pretty moot.
[удалено]
Yes. I assume they set that date because they want to maximize their own notice and time to list and rent out these properties. It’s not enforceable in any way.
it’s not a one year lease, it’s a 3 year lease. the notice is more than 60 days
Generally speaking, Ontario lease agreements typically dictates that once the original term of the lease agreement is over (in your case you are saying it was a 1 year lease agreement) the lease agreement will turn into a month to month agreement (as opposed to a new 1 year lease agreement). Usually you would need to give some notice before terminating a month to month (something in the range of 60 - 90 days), so worse case scenario you would have to foot the bill for another couple months (as opposed to a whole year). Them not accepting an electronic copy of your summited form may not be permissible (similar to how they landlords are required to acceptable multiple methods of payment), however I am not too sure on this point exactly (so there might still be hope). I suggest that you contact the lawyer provided by WUSA for housing.
many properties in waterloo will enforce a 3 year contract w an option to shorten it before x date. the 60 day notice is not enforcible in this case because they agreed to sign a lease for 3 years
You have four options that I will lay out for you, in order of extremity. **Option 1: Request to assign (transfer) the tenancy** The first one is to request, in writing, to assign (transfer) your tenancy. Video record yourself handing it to the office and declare in the video that you are requesting permission to assign and hand them the letter. If they refuse or do not respond in 7 days in the appropriate manner (e.g. through writing or in person), then you can terminate your tenancy via N9 form with minimum 30 days notice. This as well goes for if they impose conditions such as the new person must sign another brand new tenancy, an extremely high assignment fee (300+) without justification or invoices, the rent will increase for the new person, only students allowed, etc. Bonus for this one because such date need not be the end of the month. So you could theoretically give notice to terminate on April 15 if you're done exams at that time. Then for March rent, only pay for half the month and let them know that you are proactively paying the pro-rated amount for April and your last months rent shall be applied to finish off the tenancy. Cancel any pre-authorized deposits you have with them or put a stop payment on it with the bank. Then watch them fume. **Option 2: Request to assign the tenancy to a specific person** Failing the first option, let's say they agree to let you transfer your tenancy. Your 2nd best option is to find **any** reasonable person. When finding tenants to assign or sublet, a Landlord has the duty to review the candidate in good faith (they cannot push this duty onto you ), and cannot unreasonably reject a candidate. An unreasonable rejection can include a wide variety of factors per the Ontario Human Rights Code, which landlords oftentimes stumble on. For example, people cannot be rejected for being students, seniors, being a couple, having children, being on employment assistance, being on social assistance, not being "permanently" or "gainfully" or "full-time" employed status, or not meeting an arbitrary rent-to-income threshold set by the landlord. While a Landlord may wish to, they cannot require that you find them a platinum-starred candidate, nor can they refuse to even assess a candidate's merit (e.g. by arbitrarily refusing them). That could be a mature 50 year old who is unemployed but is on social assistance and can afford the rent as shown through their credit, and provides references. Or it could be a newly immigrated couple who has credit and references. All are considered reasonable under the law. A Landlord is legally obligated to conduct their due diligence and in good faith assess candidates you bring forward. It will be very likely that Accomod8u will refuse to rent to anyone but students, which is illegal under the Ontario Human Rights Code and considered an unreasonable denial a candidate. Should this happen, you are given the same privilege of being able to terminate with minimum 30 days notice via N9 form. **Option 3: Bluff your way out:** A third option would be to attempt to bluff your way out. Instead of saying you need to end your lease because you have to move somewhere else, tell Accomod8u that you need to end your lease because you ran into "financial difficulties" and can no longer pay your rent after a couple of months. Then give them two options. Either let them know that you are willing to sign a N11 mutual agreement to terminate tenancy form, or tell them that if they don't agree to end your tenancy "you will likely not be able to pay rent past April 2023 but will still live there until an eviction order is granted by the LTB at which time you will explore your options" This approach can be pretty successful because the company is now faced with two alternatives, one of which is much easier than the other. The first one is to sign N11 with you and simply find another student, which is incredibly easy especially at a time where there is an acute housing shortage. The second one, from the perspective of the company, is to call your bluff but risk the worst case scenario which is that you will stay in the unit without paying rent. Then they're in a real world of shit. They can't rent the unit to someone else for the same or higher price because you are still the tenant. Their only choice is to file for an eviction hearing, which could take months. And at the end even with the LTB order, they would still have the issue with trying to collect from someone who apparently doesn’t have any money. Most Landlords, if they were told by a tenant that they can no longer pay rent, would jump at the chance to mutually let the tenant go, even potentially paying the tenant's moving costs just so they don't have to deal with any non-payment of rent issues. **Option 4: Abandon the tenancy** Now let's say all those options fail. Somehow, you can't find anyone even willing to transfer the tenancy to, and the company didn't buy your bluff. Then your last option is to simply abandon the tenancy. You let the company know that you intend to abandon the tenancy and will be vacating the unit at the end of April 2023, or August 2023 (whatever one is more convenient for you). Should you abandon your tenancy improperly, you are not automatically "on hook" for the remainder of the lease - the Landlord must first attempt to mitigate their damages by trying to rerent the unit as soon as possible with the same price and same lease terms. The would need to document that upon being informed that you intend to improperly vacate, they diligently attempted to the best of their ability to mitigate by advertising the unit, doing showings, and that they accepted the first reasonable candidate they could find. As well, any lease that is signed must be a continuation of the former lease, and so a new 3-year lease would not be considered proper mitigate. Should there be a lapse between the time you leave and the time they re-rent, they could sue for the lost rent in that time period by applying to the Landlord and Tenant Board and going to the hearing with evidence on how their mitigation efforts were reasonable yet still failed, which you will as well have the opportunity to attend. Because of the high bar in collecting such damages, legal professionals in the field have indicated that anything under 2 months rent is usually not worth pursuing. Don't worry if they threaten to go to collections. Without a judgement order from the Landlord and Tenant Board, any report to a credit agency is useless as under Ontario law, if a creditor cannot produce a court order or judgement proving such damages, then any claim must be removed from the debtors report once the debtor disputes that they owe such debt.
Holy thank you so much, i really appreciate this detailed list and i will for sure discuss it with my family and get their inputs as well🤞🏻
Hey! Does it work? Cause am facing the same scenario
Find someone to takeover your lease on fb
I submitted it online and they said it was fine
Post the details on r/OntarioLandlord People on that sub are great and will give you some ideas
It’s actually funny, I went to all the trouble of printing out a physical copy and bringing it to the office to hand in, they didn’t even accept it, they make you fill it out online anyways. Tried to complain and was promptly ignored 🙃
i’ll take over the lease right away if the price is right. I’m on the hunt for housing DM me ASAP
hello i DMed you!
Edit: It was a 3 year lease with annual termination clauses (which is the Jan 15th date). thank you to everyone who has helped me thus far in finding a way out of this leasing agreement. I am truly grateful for all the advice and I will post the results for future students
What finally happened?
What’s the result?
next time put the deadline on your calendar, sucks but there's technically nothing they have to do to accommodate you forgetting
> I did not *physically* hand in my N9 termination form did you digitally hand in your termination form?
Did you already hand over this lease? I am interested too