The applicant, an estate trustee operating a seasonal campground, sought a declaration that the rental contract for a cottage lot was governed by the Commercial Tenancies Act rather than the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.
The respondents, who purchased a permanent cottage on the rented lot, argued the RTA applied.
The court examined the nature of the rental arrangement, including the permanent structure, year-round financial obligations such as property taxes and insurance, and the pattern of long-term occupancy, and found that the lot constituted a rental unit within the meaning of the RTA.
The s. 5(a) exemption for seasonal or temporary accommodation did not apply, as the arrangement was more consistent with an ongoing residential tenancy than transient seasonal use.
The matter was remitted to the Landlord and Tenant Board.
