Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is a beautiful city in Ontario, Canada. By far the biggest and most populated city in the country, it could be described as a mix between New York and Moscow. Restaurants, hotels in all price ranges and amazing shopping malls abound; aside from all the other exciting things to do. But a picture is worth a thousand words:

I went to Toronto many times and it never ceases to amaze me. Toronto reminds of New York, with a downtown largely reminiscent of New York city’s famous Time Square. Every year, I religiously celebrate the countdown watching Anderson Cooper and the drop of the ball!

Toronto is marvelous for a tourist, since it has many facilities for the adventurous soul. For example, laundromats, dry cleaners and 24/7 Internet cafes are present throughout the metropolitan. Also, many stores are open well past “curfew”, even clothing stores, not to mention speciality or pawn shops.

Front street, Toronto, photo by Elena

Places to stay include hotels and motels, for all kinds of budgets, although all in all Toronto is a fairly expensive city, at least by the standards of this avid traveler. Attractions are countless, including the spectacular CN Tower, the adjacent Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, museums, a gorgeous waterfront (Queens Quay – Harbourfront), magnificent and numerous shopping malls, including designer boutiques in the high end district, Yorkville.

Living in Toronto, as with most cities in the world, is quite different from vacationing. Rent is very pricy, as compared to other Canadian cities, such as Montreal, Quebec, and getting around may seem more difficult due to several factors. Nonetheless, the city is a vibrant and lively one, and present many challenges, but also opportunities, for those who can afford it.

Toronto harbor. Photo by Elena

Renting an Apartment in Toronto

Renting an apartment in Toronto can be quite challenging. Most landlords demand references from previous rentals, a letter of employment and a bank draft or proof of income. Additionally, first and last month rent are required. A credit report from a reputable agency such as Equifax can also be helpful.

A big concern in Toronto is cockroaches and bedbugs, the latter being much worse. Toronto is notorious for bedbugs infestations. However, there are Websites reporting buildings and other dwellings that have these nasty parasites. Bedbugs live on the mattress, below the sheets and suck blood while a person sleeps. Bedbug bites are painful, disrupt sleep, leave red bites and are very hard to get rid of. If you fall prey to these bugs, you must throw out your mattress and pillows, fumigate all your clothes, sheets and curtains. To check for bedbugs, lift the sheets on the mattress’ sides and look for black spots.

Cockroaches are less invasive, but obviously also very unpleasant. While management can exterminate cockroaches on request, unless they perform the procedure in all the apartments, these parasites will come back. For many reasons, Toronto is prone to parasites much more than other cities such as Montreal.

Toronto View from the heaven. Photo by Elena

Ok, so let’s say you jumped through all the hoops and got an apartment. The difficulties might not stop there. Landlords in Toronto are prone to send out eviction notices. The law outlays several timelines for different cases as to how soon a landlord can evict you. Regardless, a notice of eviction does not necessarily mean you have to move out. If you know your rights and go the tribunal of the Landloard and Tenant Board, the court may rule in your favour. The court is known to favour tenants and many evictions are illegal. The landloard cannot take your belongings without a court ruling and the sheriff presence or you can sue them.

In the case you have to move out before the end your lease, the landloard will owe you the last month rent deposit you made. In some instances, it may take up to three months. But the truth is, that deposit must be refunded within thirty days. Charges may be subtracted from the total, but whether that is illegal remains a question.

The following article does not constitute legal advice. Professional lawyers are far best suited for the full story. The Landloard and Tenant Board has addresses of walk-in legal clinics, much like in the medical field, where you can get information about the law without an appointment: Toronto Landloard and Tenant Board