Okay, so here's the situation:

My room mates and I found this gorgeous house near University Plaza. We told the landlord that we were interested, and he said he would save it for us until Monday. He's asking for a $200 deposit and for first and last when we sign the lease. I spoke to my dad about it, and he's kind of suspicious about paying for first and last so soon, since we'll be moving in September 2009. I am stressing out like CRAAAZY as he keeps telling me this group of 5 guys are interested in signing the lease and stuff like this week. I don'tt really know what to do...I really don't want to give up the house because it's perrrrfect, but this whole situation seems kinda fishy...

Some other additional info:
- lease is for 12 months
- we'd get 4 out of the 5 bedrooms
- some of us haven't even seen the house yet, but we're intent on living with each other... (and he wants us to sign the lease asap!)
- we're not sure if we're gonna get hte deposit back

oh and another question -- is it easy getting someone to sublet during the summer?

Originally Posted by shleyaa

He's asking for a $200 deposit and for first and last when we sign the lease.

I don't understand what that is supposed to mean...

I'm not clear on what you mean by the deposit either... is it a security deposit in case stuff breaks? If so, that's illegal. Landlords cannot ask you for that.

It is common, though for landlords to ask for the first and last month's rent cheques but I thought that they'd be post dated...

If you are still sketched out, you could always go to the off-campus housing resource centre. It's in the basement of the student centre beside the underground (place with photo copiers).

... is it a security deposit in case stuff breaks? If so, that's illegal. Landlords cannot ask you for that.

What the hell... I had to give my land lord $50 for that. He's a douche bag though, and he won't repair our washing machine >:U.

Originally Posted by temara.brown

If you are still sketched out, you could always go to the off-campus housing resource centre.

You could also buy a sketch pad, such as those used in the 1C03 Engineering design course.

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

I don't understand what that is supposed to mean...

First and last is first and last months' rent

I had a similar situation when I went looking for a house after living in res... our landlord kept telling us that another group wanted to sign, although he wouldn't let us sign with only 6 of 7 rooms filled.

We thought it was perfect house too... turned out to be an awful, AWFUL experience. The landlord was a jerk who you could never get a hold of, screwed us out of money, the old tenants were STILL IN THE HOUSE when we went to move in, and the landlord thought this was okay, and the house was completely filthy when we moved in.

I know your potential house might look perfect, but don't rush into signing anything. Seriously, there are some NIIIIICE houses out there. A lot of people don't need to re-sign their leases for another couple of weeks, so keep looking!

(also, check out some old articles that Danielle wrote about what to look for when leasing a place... super helpful!)

This website has lots of tips for students:
http://macoffcampus.mcmaster .ca/oc...lease_tips.htm

This is also the off-campus housing resource centre's website so spend some time checking it out.

I'm pretty sure asking for a security deposit is not illegal. Here is a link that will lead you to the Ontario Tenants rights page.

http://hamilton.ontariotenan ts.ca/

It's important to go over this stuff before you move into a rented place, knowing what your rights are as a tenant can help you avoid problems in the future. They also have a hotline you can call if you have questions.

Asking for first and last is totally normal, but I've never heard of anyone asking for that 8 months in advance, and whatever you do, don't let him pressure you into signing anything if your not ready.

I'm pretty sure I read that on the ohrc website.. and it says this too:

Security/damage/key deposits are not allowed in Ontario; landlords are only allowed to collect a rent deposit, which can equal up to one month’s rent. This money will be held in trust and can only be applied toward your last month’s rent. Landlords must then pay the tenant 6% interest on that amount at the end of the lease term;

Thanks everyone, for your responses. My room mate's mom will be calling the landlord tomorrow and trying to sort everything out. I'm just really concerned about this $200 deposit thing...he didn't even tell us what it was for! And yeah, why is he asking for first and last so early? That's the main problem with my parents...they don't want to give so much money so far in advance...but then again, there is the option of post-dating the cheque. There's no problem with that is there? I just hate how he's pressuring us to sign and pay and whatnot. I feel like he's taking advantage of us because we're students, haha. Is this usually how it is? I feel like once this phase is over though it'll all be smooth sailing from then on...

Asking for first and last month's rent when you sign the lease IS normal. In most cases these are post-dated though.

And as previously mentioned the landlord can't ask you for the $200 deposit, UNLESS that is the amount of rent you would be paying (highly doubtful), and if so that would be included in first and last months rent.

To everyone on this site who is having landlord problems, go check out the OCRC website or go visit them. If your landlord isn't doing the necessary repairs, there is stuff you can do to make them do it. I'm not solid on the details but I've had to deal with similar things.