Discrimination in Housing
Written in plain language for general understanding. This is educational content, not legal advice. Based on Canadian federal statutes and official sources.
What is this right?
It is illegal in Canada to refuse to rent to someone, treat them differently, or evict them based on prohibited grounds. These include race, ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, family status, disability, and pardoned criminal conviction.
Provincial human rights codes may add additional grounds. For example, Ontario also prohibits discrimination based on receipt of public assistance — meaning a landlord cannot refuse to rent to you because you receive social assistance or disability benefits.
Both direct discrimination ("we don't rent to families with children") and systemic discrimination (policies that have a discriminatory effect) are prohibited.
When does it apply?
- At all stages of a tenancy — rental ads, tenant screening, lease terms, maintenance and repairs, and eviction.
- Applies to private landlords and property management companies alike.
- Covers apartments, houses, condos, rooms, and all other residential rentals.
What should you do?
- Document the discriminatory conduct — save emails, texts, screenshots of ads, and notes of conversations with dates and details.
- File a complaint with the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) for federal matters, or your provincial human rights tribunal. Most have a 12-month filing deadline.
- Contact a legal clinic or community legal aid organization that handles human rights cases.
- Report discriminatory rental ads to the platform hosting them and to your provincial human rights body.
What should you NOT do?
- Don't assume nothing can be done — human rights tribunals exist specifically to handle these cases.
- Don't wait too long to file. Most jurisdictions have a 12-month deadline from the date of the incident.
- Don't retaliate against your landlord — it can weaken your complaint.
- Don't accept "it's already rented" at face value if you suspect discrimination. Document what happened and file a complaint.
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