The appellant university landlord appealed a decision of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal which found that the university's 'no pet rule' and refusal to renew a tenancy agreement substantially interfered with the tenants' reasonable enjoyment.
The tenants, who kept cats in their student housing unit, had signed an agreement to terminate the tenancy at the time of entering the lease.
The Divisional Court allowed the appeal, holding that while the 'no pet' provision was void under the Tenant Protection Act, the university was exempt from the prohibition against agreements to terminate signed at the inception of a tenancy due to the student housing exemption in O. Reg. 194/98.
Consequently, the university was entitled to rely on the agreement to refuse a new tenancy at the end of the term.
