Can a Landlord and Tenant Agree to Alter Statutorily Prescribed Rights or Duties?
Terms Within A Lease or Other Form of Agreement That Are Inconsistent With the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 Are Void and Unenforceable.
Understanding the Supremacy of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 As Applicable Regardless of Agreed Lease Terms
Regardless of how adamant and willing a landlord or tenant may be in attempting to waive or to restrict various rights or duties prescribed by statutory law, with only a very rare exceptions, such rights and duties are unalterable and any terms within a lease or other agreement are void and unenforceable.
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The Law
In Ontario, most residential tenancy relationships are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17 which contains various statutorily prescribed rights and duties that are unalterable despite any lease or other form of agreement that may purport to do so. Specifically, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, states:
Provisions conflicting with Act void
4 (1) Subject to subsection 12.1 (11) and section 194, a provision in a tenancy agreement that is inconsistent with this Act or the regulations is void.
There are many cases to confirm that attempts to contractually alter the prescribed provisions within the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, or regulations thereto, are void and unenforceable. Such cases, among others, include White et al. v. Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, 2020 ONSC 7822, wherein each it was said:
Summary Comment
Terms within a lease, or another form of agreement, that purport to alter or forgo the statutory rights and duties as prescribed within the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, and regulations thereto, are void with only a few very rare exceptions.
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