Can my tenant move someone in?

In many provinces covered here, yes. Ontario lets a tenant have a roommate without the landlord's permission if municipal occupancy by-laws are respected, and Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador, we found no rule in their Acts requiring consent. In Nova Scotia, the standard lease requires the landlord's written consent for anyone not named, and in British Columbia and Manitoba it depends on what the tenancy agreement says.

Only within the law. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and PEI let a landlord give notice for an unreasonable number of occupants, and Manitoba and Ontario allow notice where the number breaks health, safety or housing standards. Alberta, Manitoba and PEI also have public health standards for bedroom space. Any limit has to respect human rights law: New Brunswick's commission says person-per-bedroom rules have a discriminatory effect, and Newfoundland and Labrador's says a per-room limit must be in good faith and tied to a real health and safety need.

Sometimes. In Nova Scotia, and in Manitoba or British Columbia where the agreement limits who may live there, the landlord's consent matters. In Ontario, a term banning roommates is void. A sublet follows its own consent rules, and in PEI a landlord may refuse one that would mean an unreasonable number of occupants. Whatever the province, a landlord cannot refuse someone for a reason human rights law prohibits, such as the tenant's family status.

Ask your tenant in writing who the person is and whether they are paying rent, then check your lease for an occupants list or consent clause. If the lease and your province allow it, you can agree to add the person as a tenant, or give notice for a real breach such as an unauthorized sublet or too many occupants. Our advice is not to take rent from the person unless you mean to make them a tenant, and never to lock anyone out. See can a landlord evict someone not on the lease.

Often, but the tenant should check the lease first. Ontario's standard lease says a landlord cannot stop a roommate if occupancy by-laws are met, and Manitoba's protects family growth by marriage. In Nova Scotia the tenant needs the landlord's written consent for anyone not named in the lease, and in British Columbia the tenant should check whether the agreement allows added occupants. As advice, if the partner will share the rent, adding them to the lease gives everyone a clear record of who is responsible.

Only in limited cases. In British Columbia and Saskatchewan, rent can go up for an added occupant if the lease says the rent varies with the number of occupants, and in British Columbia never for a minor. PEI's Rental Office says a landlord cannot charge more because a new roommate moves in, and Ontario's standard lease rules out extra fees or a rent increase because of guests. Otherwise the normal rent increase rules apply.

Not just by moving in. In Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador, the rules we reviewed do not make a person a tenant just because the tenant lets them live there. Taking rent from them may change that in Alberta and Nova Scotia (Ontario's Act says accepting compensation for use and occupation does not by itself create a tenancy). In Ontario, if the original tenant leaves the person in the unit without an authorized sublet or assignment and you do not apply within 60 days of finding out, the occupation is treated as an assignment made with your consent.

Yes, in several provinces covered here. Alberta's privacy commissioner says landlords may ask for the names of people living in the property, PEI's public health rules require the tenant to give the owner every occupant's name if asked, and Nova Scotia tells tenants to give the landlord the names of everyone who will live there. As advice, ask in writing and keep the information private.

No. A roommate living with your tenant is usually an occupant, while a subtenant rents the unit, or part of it, from your tenant. Subletting needs the landlord's consent in most provinces covered here, and an unauthorized sublet can be a ground for notice. See how to sublet an apartment for each province's rules.

No, not for that alone. Manitoba's Branch guide says a landlord cannot give notice or raise the rent because the tenant marries, has a child or adopts (unless it breaches other terms), and Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board must refuse an eviction brought because children live in the unit unless it is overcrowding. British Columbia's Human Rights Commissioner gives evicting a family because a new baby makes it too big for the unit as an example of harm. See can a landlord refuse children.

A tenant who rents out a room is subletting, and in most provinces covered here that needs the landlord's consent or approval. Alberta requires written consent, the landlord cannot refuse without reasonable grounds and must give the reasons in writing within 14 days (no answer within 14 days means the tenant may assume consent), and no fee may be charged for consenting, British Columbia requires written consent and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse when 6 or more months remain in a fixed term, and Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador require it in writing. Ontario requires approval and the landlord must have a good reason to refuse, Nova Scotia says consent cannot be unreasonably refused, and Saskatchewan's written-consent rule applies to sublets under a fixed-term tenancy. For New Brunswick, ask the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office about subletting. In Prince Edward Island an unauthorized sublet is a ground for notice. See how to sublet an apartment.

Not unreasonably in most provinces. British Columbia does not allow a landlord to stop guests under reasonable circumstances or charge a guest fee, and Ontario's standard lease says a landlord cannot ban guests, require notice or permission, or charge extra. Prince Edward Island bans a guest fee and unreasonable restrictions on access, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan do not allow unreasonable restrictions on access. In Alberta we found no guest provision in the Act, the government says the lease can set rules about guests, and a person living there who is not a tenant can be served a notice to vacate of at least 14 days. For New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador we found no rule on how long a guest can stay or on charging for guests, and we found no time limit on guest stays in the other provinces either. Tenants answer for their guests' damage and disturbance. SQRFT's reading, not law: a long stay can raise occupant questions, since British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island each let a landlord act where there is an unreasonable number of occupants.