Can a landlord refuse a service dog?

Enough to confirm the dog is a service animal and that you need it, but not your diagnosis. In Alberta the government service dog ID card is the proof, and in Nova Scotia you must show the provincial ID card if asked. Manitoba lets a landlord ask whether the animal is trained and about your disability-related need, New Brunswick lets a landlord ask for a doctor's note when the need is not obvious, and Newfoundland and Labrador allows a request for a medical note or evidence of training. None of these lets a landlord ask what your condition is.

Yes, in every province covered here, subject to narrow exceptions such as undue hardship. Human rights law protects tenants who rely on a service animal because of a disability, and service dog or service animal laws in Alberta, BC, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador add specific bans on refusing a tenant because of the animal. PEI's tenancy law voids lease terms that ban service animals. Most provinces expect the animal to be trained, while Ontario says animals for psychiatric disabilities or addictions do not have to be trained or certified.

Yes, within limits. In Alberta the government ID card is the proof under the Service Dogs Act, and in Nova Scotia a certified team must show the provincial ID card if asked. Manitoba lets a landlord ask whether the animal is trained, and New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador allow a request for a doctor's or medical note; Newfoundland and Labrador also allows asking for evidence of training. In Ontario, where the need is not obvious, you must be able to show evidence of the disability and that the animal helps. A landlord cannot ask for your diagnosis.

A landlord can ask for reasonable proof, but in most provinces certification is not required. In BC certification is voluntary and a landlord cannot reject you because your dog is not certified, New Brunswick's Human Rights Commission says a landlord cannot accept only registered or certified animals, and Manitoba, Saskatchewan and PEI have no official certification at all. Where a certified team has a provincial ID card, as in Alberta and Nova Scotia, showing it is the simplest proof.

Not as a charge for the animal. Saskatchewan's Human Rights Commission says higher fees or surcharges because of a service animal are not allowed, Newfoundland and Labrador's Service Animal Act says no fee can be charged, and Alberta's and Nova Scotia's service dog laws bar terms that discriminate because of the dog. Ontario does not allow pet fees for any animal. Any ordinary rent increase still has to follow your province's rent increase rules.

In most provinces, no. Manitoba's Human Rights Commission says no pet damage deposit or cleaning fee, Saskatchewan's says no higher fees, deposits or surcharges, BC bars a pet damage deposit for a guide or service dog, and Newfoundland and Labrador's Service Animal Act bars any fee. Ontario allows no pet deposits or pet fees for any animal. You can still be responsible for damage the animal causes; Nova Scotia's Service Dog Act says so directly.

Not in BC, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario or Newfoundland and Labrador. In PEI a landlord can take only one security deposit, up to one month's rent, and in Nova Scotia any extra money counts toward the half-month security deposit, so there is no separate pet deposit in either. We found no Alberta or New Brunswick source that addresses a pet deposit for a service animal directly, but Alberta's Service Dogs Act and human rights law in both provinces bar treating a tenant differently because of the animal. If you are charged one, ask your provincial human rights commission.

Not for having the dog. Human rights law in every province covered here protects a tenant who relies on a service animal, and Saskatchewan's Human Rights Commission says a tenant with a service dog cannot be evicted from a pet-free building. The dog does have to be under your control: New Brunswick's Commission notes an eviction over an animal's unruly behaviour, unrelated to the disability, was not discrimination. If you get a notice you think is because of your service dog, contact your provincial human rights commission and your province's tenancy office right away, and see how evictions work for the notice rules.

No. PEI's tenancy law voids lease terms that ban service animals, Newfoundland and Labrador's Service Animal Act says lease bans on dogs or animals do not apply, and the human rights commissions in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and PEI say a no-pets policy does not apply to a service animal. In BC, the tenancy law's pet rules are subject to the Guide Dog and Service Dog Act. In Ontario, any no-pets clause in a lease is already void, and the duty to accommodate may require waiving a condo's no-pets rule.

Usually not. BC and Nova Scotia offer voluntary certification: in BC a landlord cannot reject a tenant because the dog is not certified, and in Nova Scotia an uncertified dog that is highly trained and medically required can be raised with the Human Rights Commission. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and PEI have no certification, New Brunswick bars a landlord from accepting only certified animals, and Ontario says animals for psychiatric disabilities or addictions need not be trained or certified. Alberta uses a government ID card as proof under its Service Dogs Act, and Newfoundland and Labrador's Service Animal Act requires training to set qualifications.

No. Guide dogs have the same protections as service dogs, and some provinces add a Blind Persons' Rights Act. Ontario's bars refusing to rent a self-contained unit, or setting different terms, because of a guide dog, with fines up to $5,000, and Nova Scotia's protects people with dog guides, with fines of $500 to $3,000. BC's Guide Dog and Service Dog Act covers guide dog teams directly, and Alberta's tenancy handbook names its Blind Persons' Rights Act for guide dogs.

Only if accommodating the dog would cause undue hardship, which is decided case by case. Newfoundland and Labrador's Human Rights Commission says a landlord may weigh the impact on other tenants, such as severe allergies, and the Ontario Human Rights Commission judges undue hardship on cost, outside sources of funding, and health and safety. In Ontario, a serious allergic reaction is one of the few grounds on which a landlord can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board about an animal. A landlord who is thinking of refusing on this ground should contact the provincial human rights commission first.