Is it illegal to smoke in a rented house?

Provincial law bans smoking and vaping in a "public place", which includes the common areas of a multi-unit residential building such as patios, pools, recreation areas and enclosed parking garages. Cannabis smoking and vaping is banned wherever tobacco smoking is banned. We found no provincial ban on smoking inside a unit.

A landlord or condo board may ban smoking of all substances, including cannabis, in the rental agreement, and tenants renting a condo must follow the condo bylaws. Landlords can add rules during a tenancy only with the tenants' written consent; otherwise new rules wait until the tenancy ends. Repeated breach of a smoking rule may be a substantial breach of the tenancy agreement.

A landlord can ban smoking, vaping and growing cannabis plants, but the ban must be in the tenancy agreement. If it does not include a no-smoking or no-vaping clause, tenants may smoke or vape in their units and on balconies. Tobacco smoking and vaping are banned in the common areas of apartment buildings and condominiums, and within 6 metres of a doorway, window or air intake of those places; cannabis smoking and vaping are banned in the same common areas. A no-smoking term in a tenancy agreement made before October 17, 2018 is deemed to cover smoking cannabis too, but not vaping it, and those agreements are also deemed to ban growing cannabis plants, apart from some federally authorized medical growing.

Tenants may have to pay for smoking-related damage, or the landlord can choose to end the tenancy. A tenant who says excessive smoke breaches their right to quiet enjoyment must prove the smoke is ongoing and affecting their health and enjoyment of the unit.

Smoking and vaping, including cannabis, are banned in enclosed public places, which covers the common areas of a residential building. The proprietor must make sure no one smokes there, and the Residential Tenancies Branch says landlords must ensure tenants comply. We found no provincial ban on smoking inside a unit.

A no-smoking clause is a house rule, and house rules must be in writing, made known to the tenant and reasonable. If smoke drifts between units, the Branch suggests the landlord may seal the unit more tightly or let the tenant move. At the end of a tenancy, the Branch says it is not unreasonable for the landlord to expect walls and ceilings to be left reasonably clean.

The government says you cannot smoke or vape in common areas such as a lobby, laundry area or hallway, or within three metres of doorways, windows and air intakes connected to those areas. You are free to use tobacco and vapour products inside your home, but the property may have further restrictions, so check the lease and apartment policies.

A landlord may make reasonable written rules about the tenant's use of the unit, and the Act expressly lets those rules ban possessing or using cannabis and growing cannabis plants there. A tenant can ask the Office of Residential Tenancies to rule on whether a rule is reasonable. Smoking is a specific notice ground only where the unit is in a detached house that is also the landlord's principal residence and the landlord gave written notice that any smoking will end the tenancy.

Under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, no one may smoke tobacco or cannabis, or use an e-cigarette, in an indoor common area of a condo or apartment building. The Residential Tenancies Act says nothing about smoking in a unit. Section 10 of the standard lease lets the landlord and tenant agree on smoking rules for the unit or property, and the landlord must follow the Human Rights Code in making and enforcing them.

Even without a rule, a landlord may apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to end the tenancy if smoking substantially interferes with others' reasonable enjoyment, causes undue damage or impairs safety. Adults 19 and over may smoke or vape cannabis in a private residence but not in indoor common areas, and may grow up to four plants per residence if the lease or condo rules do not forbid it.

The Residential Tenancies Act says nothing about smoking, and the Standard Form of Lease has an optional box to mark all or part of the premises smoke-free. Under the Smoke-free Places Act the common areas of a multi-unit residential building are an enclosed public place where smoking, including vaping, is banned, and smoking is also banned within 9 metres of a door, air intake or window of such a place.

The government says landlords can restrict smoking and growing cannabis inside their units, and that unless a lease specifically prohibits them they are allowed. A landlord who allows smoking in a unit cannot bar smoking cannabis there. A landlord with an existing no-smoking policy does not need to rewrite it, because no smoking is inclusive of cannabis. An addition to the lease needs the tenant's agreement and must appear on both originals.

The Smoke-free Places Act bans smoking, including e-cigarettes and heated cannabis, in the enclosed common areas of multi-unit residential buildings such as corridors, lobbies, stairwells and elevators. The building's manager, which includes the owner, must not permit smoking there. The Act excludes a private residence from its definition of an enclosed place, so no provincial statute bans smoking inside a rented unit; the lease and landlord rules decide.

A landlord may change or repeal rules on four months' notice before the anniversary date, and a rule must pass the Act's reasonableness test. We did not find an official source that says how that process applies to a new smoking rule.

The Residential Tenancy Act has no smoking or vaping rule. The Rental Office FAQ says a tenant can be evicted for smoking in the unit, without saying under which ground. We found no province-wide ban for apartment common areas: the Smoke-free Places Act covers "public places" and "workplaces", and we found no official source applying it to apartment buildings.

Growing recreational cannabis in a rented home needs the landlord's written permission, and a tenant may consume cannabis in a private dwelling as the occupant or with the occupant's consent. A new tenancy term needs both parties' agreement or an order of the Director.

The Smoke-free Environment Act, 2005 bans smoking in a common area of a multi-unit residential building, including corridors, lobbies, stairwells and elevators, and "smoke" includes ignited cannabis and vaping an e-cigarette. We did not find that the Act covers the inside of a rental unit.

The government's guide says a landlord may prohibit the smoking or cultivation of cannabis in a residential premises as a condition of the rental agreement, and the standard form has boxes for no smoking tobacco, no smoking cannabis and no growing cannabis plants. A breach of a material term such as no smoking can lead to a written notice to fix it and then a termination notice. We found no official source on adding a no-smoking rule during a tenancy.