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.
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.
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:
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:
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.
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:
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:
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.
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.
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.
The Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) provides free, individualized services to renters in Ontario who are facing challenges in their housing.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, landlords have the right to request proof of income from prospective tenants, and they have the right to refuse to rent to someone if they believe their income is not high enough to afford the rent. However, receipt of social assistance is a protected ground under the Ontario Human Rights Code, and to prevent discrimination based on receipt of social assistance, under the Code, landlords do not have the right to request that prospective tenants provide the source of their income. This means that in some cases, when landlords ask for a letter of employment, it could act as proof of discrimination if the landlord refused a tenant who did not provide proof they are employed. Some prospective tenants may be refused by landlords because their income is not much higher than the monthly rent amount, even if they work full-time. While this is a serious concern for many tenants as housing in Ontario becomes increasingly unaffordable, it is not a violation of the Human Rights Code.
If you think a landlord has refused to rent to you based on the source of your income (for example, if you receive public assistance like Ontario Works or ODSP) contact CCHR for support.
In Ontario, the Human Rights Code protects individuals from discrimination in housing based on sixteen protected grounds, which include race, ethnic origin, disability, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, and family status, among others. If a landlord has refused to rent to you due to one of these aspects of your identity, it is against the law.
If you think you are facing discrimination when trying to access housing, CCHR may be in a position to advocate on your behalf.
You may also wish to file an application with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.
The Human Rights Tribunal is one of eight Ontario Tribunals. When a complaint is filed with the Tribunal, they will determine whether or not the Code has been violated. Applicants that file with the Human Rights Tribunal may need to attend a mediation session or a hearing and provide evidence of their complaint. If the Tribunal determines that there has been a violation of the Human Rights Code, the Tribunal may order a remedy, for example financial compensation.
The Ontario Human Rights Code protects individuals from being discriminated against for their “record of offences,” when accessing employment but not when accessing housing. For example, an employer cannot discriminate against a potential employee for having a criminal record unless the offences listed on the record would have a real effect on their ability to do their job.
Landlords can choose not to rent to individuals who have a criminal record without violating the Ontario Human Rights Code. However, requiring potential tenants to submit a criminal record check as part of a rental application process could constitute “adverse effect discrimination.” Adverse effect discrimination happens when seemingly neutral policies, practices, or rules have discriminatory effects on particular groups. For example, if a landlord requests a criminal record check or police check from all applicants for a unit, this could have a discriminatory effect on some groups of applicants who have had interactions with police connected a protected ground, such as mental health disability. The landlord’s policy could be discriminatory.
Finding accessible housing in Ontario can be very difficult, and waitlists for accessible units are often very long. For many tenants, it is easier and quicker to request accommodations from their housing provider to make their current unit accessible rather than wait for an accessible unit to become available.
If you need assistance finding affordable housing in Toronto, contact the Housing Help Centre:
The Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) provides free, individualized services to renters in Ontario who are facing challenges in their housing.
Human rights are rights that are inherent to all people simply because we are human beings.
Human rights do not refer to just one law or set of guidelines. There are different human rights laws around the world. In Canada, typically when we say that something is a “human right,” we’re referring to a protected right under either a provincial or a federal law. Those human rights are informed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was proclaimed by the United Nations in 1948. There are a total of 30 rights protected under the Declaration, including the right to be free from slavery, free from torture, and the right to freedom of expression.
The right to housing is another right protected under the Declaration. Under international human rights law, the ‘right to housing’ is recognized as the right of every person to a safe and secure home where they can live in security, peace and with dignity. A set of standards have also been recognized to ensure that a home is adequate for its inhabitants, including that it is affordable, secure, habitable, accessible, close to services, in an acceptable location, and culturally appropriate.
The first two articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state that all individuals are entitled to access the other rights in the declaration equally, and free from discrimination.
Find out more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
In Canada, human rights are protected by different laws at the federal and the provincial level. Certain rights found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, like the right to freedom of expression or freedom of religion.
The first two articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state that all individuals are entitled to access the other rights in the declaration equally, and free from discrimination. This right is protected by some sections of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but the Charter only protects groups or individuals from discrimination by governments. It does not apply to interactions between private individuals, business, or organizations.
Each province and territory has its own laws that protect individuals from discrimination when interacting with private organizations. In Ontario, the Human Rights Code protects individual from discrimination and unfair treatment.
In Ontario, the Human Rights Code protects individuals from discrimination in five social areas:
People in Ontario have the right to equal treatment and freedom from discrimination in each of these areas.
If someone is discriminated against or treated unfairly but the treatment is not related to one of those five areas, then it is not considered discrimination under the Human Rights Code. For example: two customers at a store get into an argument and one makes a derogatory remark to the other. This behaviour may be disrespectful and hurtful, but it is not considered to be discriminatory treatment under the Human Rights Code. The situation did not occur in one of the five social areas covered by the Code. Different laws govern interactions like this between two private individuals.
The Code also does not protect every type of unfair treatment. Instead, it identifies different grounds upon which individuals should not face discrimination. If a person is treated unfairly but the treatment is not connected with one or more of the protected grounds, then unfortunately it is not considered discrimination under the Human Rights Code.
Some grounds only apply to specific types of services. For example, a person cannot be discriminated against for receiving public assistance (like Ontario Works or ODSP) when they are applying for housing, but this ground of protection does not apply to the other four social areas.
The sixteen grounds that are protected when accessing housing are:
Unlike the police who patrol the streets to watch for criminal activity, there is no body or entity responsible to monitor or report discriminatory treatment under the Human Rights Code. However, if an individual has experienced discrimination or harassment under the Code, they can file an application with the Human Rights Tribunal.
The Human Rights Tribunal is one of eight Ontario Tribunals. When a complaint is filed with the Tribunal, they will determine whether or not the Code has been violated. Applicants that file with the Human Rights Tribunal may need to attend a mediation session or a hearing and provide evidence of their complaint. If the Tribunal determines that there has been a violation of the Human Rights Code, the Tribunal may order a remedy, for example financial compensation.
Find out more about the human rights system in Ontario
If you would like assistance filing a human rights complaint, contact the Human Rights Legal Support Centre:
The Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) provides free, individualized services to renters in Ontario who are facing challenges in their housing.
This toolkit is designed to assist small-to-medium-sized landlords in implementing the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and its accessibility standards. It should be read in conjunction with the AODA, its regulations and the accompanying resource guide. The guide is designed to provide you with information about the law and provide you with practical solutions to the accessibility challenges small-to-medium-sized landlords face.
This toolkit provides guidance to help people in Ontario with Environmental Sensitivities (sometimes called Multiple Chemical Sensitivities or “MCS”) request accommodations for a disability from their landlord under Ontario’s Human Rights Code. It was produced by the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR), formerly called the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA).
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