Glossary
In Housing Law
Ex parte is a Latin phrase that refers to a legal step done with only one side participating.
In Housing Law
A fixed-term tenancy is an agreement to rent a place for at least a certain length of time. The agreement is often called a lease, and the length of time is called the term. The most common term is one year, but it can be shorter or longer. When the term is over, the tenancy automatically continues as a month-to-month tenancy unless the landlord and tenant agree to another fixed term, or one of them takes legal steps to end the tenancy.
In Employment and Work, Housing Law, Human Rights
Ontario’s laws say that harassment happens when someone says or does things that they know, or should know, will bother you. This could be because what is said or done is offensive, embarrassing, humiliating, demeaning, or not welcome. This usually has to happen more than once to be considered harassment, but a single incident can be considered harassment if it causes you to feel very uncomfortable.
Harassment can include sending emails, posting materials or pictures, making jokes or other comments about:
- your race, gender identity, gender expression, sex, disability, sexual orientation, religion, or age
- things like the way you dress, how you talk, or your religious practices
- in housing law, if you are receiving social assistance
- in employment law, your record of criminal offences
Harassment like this goes against human rights laws and is a kind of discrimination. For example, if an employer harasses you because of your record of criminal offences or a landlord harasses you because you are on welfare.
Harassment is also against the laws that protect a workers’ health and safety, and the laws that protect tenants.
In Housing Law, Renting a new place to live, Subsidized housing
A household is a person or a group of people who live in the same home. The people do not need to be family members. Examples of households include a person living alone, roommates, or a grandparent living with grandchildren.
In Debt and Consumer Rights, Housing Law
Interest is a percentage fee that you pay to your creditor in exchange for the money they lend, or that you pay because you didn’t pay a bill on time. For example, you might be charged interest each month on a student loan, credit card balance, or mortgage. In addition to interest, you may also have to pay other late fees.
The amount of interest that is charged each month is usually a set percentage of the money you have been lent. The percentage is called an “interest rate”.
In Housing Law
An interim order is a temporary order made by the Landlord and Tenant Board. It usually lasts for a certain amount of time, until a certain event happens, or until the Board makes a final order in the case.
In Housing Law
A land lease home is a home that is owned by someone who does not own the land the home is on. The owner of the home is a residential tenant who pays rent for the land. They might also pay for common areas and services, like recreational facilities or snow plowing. This arrangement is like a mobile home park except the homes are permanent structures that are not designed to be moved.
An independent agency set up by the Ontario government to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. It is similar to a court, but less formal. It has “members” who are like judges and make decisions after hearing both sides.
In Housing Law
Members of the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) make decisions about issues that are covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. They’re in charge at LTB hearings. Their role is like that of a judge in a court. An LTB member is sometimes called an adjudicator.