Accessible housing – Ontario housing law basics

Ontario’s Human Rights Code has primacy over all other legislation in Ontario, and offers the most fulsome protection of a tenant’s accessibility rights. Two other laws also protect tenants’ accessibility rights in Ontario: the Building Code Act, and the Accessibility for Ontarians and Disabilities Act.

The Ontario Building Code Act governs the construction of new buildings and the renovation and maintenance of existing buildings. However, the accessibility requirements set out in the Building Code do not always result in equal access to housing for people living with disabilities as required by the Ontario Human Rights Code. Many housing providers continue to rely only on the requirements of the Ontario Building Code without considering their obligations under the Human Rights Code. However, because the Human Rights Code takes precedence over all other legislation in Ontario, including the Building Code, housing providers may be vulnerable to a human rights claim if their premises do not meet the requirements of the Human Rights Code that housing must be accessible to residents.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) provides a mechanism for developing, implementing and enforcing accessibility standards to provide full accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities in goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises by January 1, 2025. Under the AODA, housing providers will be required to comply with accessibility standards for people with disabilities. If accessibility standards under the AODA fall short of the requirements in the Human Rights Code, the requirements of the Human Rights Code will prevail.

• Learn more about accommodation in housing under the AODA

Provisions concerning housing under the Ontario Human Rights Code state:

“Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to the occupancy of accommodation, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability or the receipt of public assistance.”

What this means is that everyone in Ontario is entitled to equality, equal treatment, and freedom from discrimination in housing, whether through the tenancy application process or in the terms and conditions of a tenancy. The Code applies to public and private housing, as well as to housing cooperatives and condominiums.

If you are facing accessibility issues in your building or unit, under the Human Rights Code you have the right to request an accommodation from your landlord.

CCHR has a self-advocacy toolkit that walks tenants through the process of requesting accommodation from their landlord.

CCHR also provides assistance to tenants throughout this process, including advocating directly with landlords on their behalf.

• Contact us if you need support:
  • Call: 1-800-263-1139   OR   416-944-0087
  • Email: cchr@housingrightscanada.com

If you have made a request and you believe that you have not been properly accommodated by your landlord, you can file an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

For more information about how to pursue an application at the Tribunal, reach out to the Human Rights Legal Support Centre:

• Call: 1-866-625-5179 OR 416-597-4900

For more information about the Human Rights Code, visit our FAQ on Human Rights.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s Policy and Guidelines on Disability and the Duty to Accommodate set out the definition of disability, as well as obligations related to the duty to accommodate and the process involved in making accommodations.

Disability is defined very broadly and includes:

• any degree of physical disability, including intermittent disabilities, such as epilepsy
• any form of mental disability
• invisible disabilities, such as chronic pain or a learning disability

If a tenant is in need of accommodation, they have the option of requesting an accommodation from their landlord. Under the Human Rights Code, landlords are obligated to accommodate a tenant’s disability by taking action to make their unit accessible.

CCHR has a self-advocacy toolkit that walks tenants through the process of requesting accommodation from their landlord.

CCHR also provides assistance to tenants throughout this process, including advocating directly with landlords on their behalf.

• Contact us if you need support:
  • Call: 1-800-263-1139   OR   416-944-0087
  • Email: cchr@housingrightscanada.com

If you have made a request, and you believe that you have not been properly accommodated by your landlord, you can file an application with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

For more information about how to pursue an application at the Tribunal, reach out to the Human Rights Legal Support Centre:

• Call: 1-866-625-5179 OR 416-597-4900

No. Landlords are responsible for the costs of making a building or unit that they own accessible for tenants.

Under the Human Rights Code, your landlord is obligated to accommodate your accessibility needs up to the point of “undue hardship”. This means that your landlord is only discharged of their duty to accommodate your needs if they can demonstrate that making the accommodations you asked for would result in undue hardship.  To do that, your landlord would need to prove that:

• the costs for making an accommodation would be so high that it would affect the very survival or change the essential nature of their business
• no outside sources of funding are available to assist with the accommodation process
• health and safety risks of making the accommodation would outweigh any benefit of the accommodation itself

CCHR has a self-advocacy toolkit that walks tenants through the process of requesting accommodation from their landlord. CCHR also provides assistance to tenants throughout this process, including advocating directly with landlords on their behalf.

• Contact us if you need support:
  • Call: 1-800-263-1139   OR   416-944-0087
  • Email: cchr@housingrightscanada.com

If you have questions or concerns about your landlord not accommodating your disability, you can contact CCHR for assistance. We can help you by advocating on your behalf to your landlord.

• Call: 1-800-263-1139   OR   416-944-0087
• Email: cchr@housingrightscanada.com

If you need legal information or help, contact the ARCH Disability Law Centre. ARCH is a legal clinic that offers free services to people with disabilities with low income or who receive social assistance.

• Call: 416-482-8255 OR 1-866-482-2724
• TTY: 416-482-1254 OR 1-866-482-2728
• Email: archgen@lao.on.ca