Bunz Home Zone Rules

BUNZ HOME ZONE GUIDELINES

ABOUT BUNZ HOME ZONE:

This is a group for people to find/list homes in and around the GTA,
and to look for advice regarding rentals, rental law, etc. Long-term
and short-term rentals are offered within this group. We do not
permit the sale of real estate.

This group is an official Bunz Zone and as such is subject to the

Bunz Community Guidelines, which can be found here. Please
review these standards for any questions you may have with regard
to the operation of groups under the Bunz brand.

Find us here: https://www.bunz.com

HOW TO JOIN BUNZ HOME ZONE:

There are questions that you must answer in order to join the group.
Please read the rules in their entirety in order to answer the
questions. We expect that you read the group rules in full and
adhere to them; your membership in the group is your agreement to
follow the guidelines. Entry questions must be answered within
24 hours of your request to join Bunz Home Zone; if the
questions are not answered within that time, your request will
be denied. This system is in place to ensure an agreed-upon
standard of behaviour in this community. If you require
accessibility accommodations to read the rules, please
message the admins so we can meet your needs.

POSTING FORMAT:

For full details on Posting Format, please see our Posting Format
documentation
at http://bit.ly/BunzHomeZonePostingFormat that covers each
post type that is allowed and the formatting it must follow. Bunz
Home Zone operates on post approval - if your post does not
follow the format, it will not be approved. This document is in-
depth and covers both the copy-paste format we require at the top of
each post and common errors that see your post declined. Please
read it. Bunz Home Zone Rules

PLEASE NOTE: Following up on the Posting

Format documentation, while roommate agreements fall outside of
the protections and consequences laid out by the RTA, (2006, c. 17,
s. 5; i.), Bunz Home Zone does not allow discrimination of any kind
and we reserve the right to reject/close/delete posts at our discretion
with regards to roommate postings. For example: “only white
people”, “only employed people”, “only straight people”, etc., will not
be allowed within Bunz Home Zone. People have the right to choose
the person they want to live with; however, blatant discriminatory
practices will NOT be tolerated.

As per Bunz Community Standards, we prescribe to the modern

definitions of racism and sexism that are rooted in systemic and
institutional discrimination and power dynamics, so no, we will not
ban a user for reverse racism or reverse sexism. On that note, for
marginalized people, in the context of their personal comfort and
safety, stating their preferences for who they want to live with in
roommate situations are valid (as these are outside the
systemic/institutional definitions mentioned above).

STANDARDS OF CONDUCT:
The following is not permitted UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES:
1. Racism
2. Sexism
3. Homophobia
4. Transphobia
5. Ableism (definition: https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/ableism)
6. Classism (definition: https://www.merriam-
webster.com/dictionary/classism)
7. Anti-sex work sentiments
8. Messages sent to members without their express public
permission within a given thread (Admins/Mods are outside of
this rule so long as the DM/PM is solely regarding Bunz Home
Zone).
9. Naming and Shaming
 10. DO NOT speak against marginalized people with regards
Bunz
to Home Zone
their personal comfortRules
and safety in their preferences for
who they want to live with in roommate situations.
11. Spamming the group with anything that isn’t home related
or links to dodgy “rental” sites.
12. Inflammatory posts regarding members, admins or other
posts.
13. Sexualizing an OP in their post or anything else that falls
under the heading of gross and unnecessary.
14. Promoting, encouraging, or requiring a “bidding war” for
your listed unit or room.

Please keep the following standards in mind when interacting in the

group:
15. Price harassment and budget shaming are not permitted
(we get it, it's rough out there but we can’t do anything about
it). If you have a concern about an above market unit, feel
free to remark as much to the OP. However, your criticism
must be polite and focused on the unit itself and must not
become rude, personal, or antagonistic. With all that in mind,
if you want to try to help, contact the Mayor, your MPP and
MP, and get involved with housing action groups to affect
positive systemic change.
16. Civility is required. We know housing is an emotionally
charged topic nowadays. In short, “be nice or get out”.
Frustration is allowed depending on the situation. Verbally
“roasting” someone or being continuously and persistently
antagonistic is not allowed and doing so in defiance of Admin
warnings may result in removal.
17. When responding to an advice post, ensure that the
advice you give follows the RTA Guidelines and rental law.
RODENBACH We do not provide “legal advice” in this group
as we are not legal professionals. However, we still expect
responses to follow the RTA. Anecdotal evidence is not a
baseline or a metric to denote standards and a lot of the time
is misinformation that will confuse an OP asking for
RODENBACH advice. Cite your resources when offering
advice; burden of proof is on the claimant, not the other way
around.
 18. Real Estate Agents are not allowed within Bunz Home
BunzAny
Zone. Home
postsZone
by them Rules
will be closed and the member will
be removed; that is what realtor.ca is for. Messaging a
member posting an ISO for a home or leads is the same as
advertising yourself. IF you own property as a landlord, you
CANNOT message someone who posts an applicable ISO.
We are unable to separate whether that message (or
comment saying you have messaged) is related to the
property you own. You may join and post a listing if your own
property is available (not one you represent as a realtor), but
must not comment or message others unsolicited, and this
property must be verified due to the number of realtors
“claiming” they own the unit when it was a client’s.
19. DO NOT offer unsolicited advice. You do not know the
whole scope of someone’s situation and even when
responding to an advice post, if the advice you have given is
rebuffed for any reason, accept that and move on. Stay on
topic with your advice as well; do not assume or attempt to
glean understanding further than what is stated without asking
if the question is appropriate.
20. Please refrain from uploading documents or images to the
group’s Files section. Any file in that section not approved by
the Admin Team will be deleted without notice.
21. Members should not be making suggestions or providing
advice beyond the scope of the RTA or OHRC. Suggestions
to call the police or call Children’s Aid Societies do not have a
place in Home Zone.

Any infraction of rules 1 to 14 will result in your immediate

banning from the group without warning and you will not be
responded to by the admins should you take issue with this.
Repeated infractions for the rest of the rules or arguing with the
admin team when told to stop will result in the same. Please note
that we subscribe to the systemic definitions of racism, sexism, and
oppression that involve institutionalized and systemic discrimination -
we will not entertain reverse-racism or reverse-sexism arguments.

NAMES OF ADMINS AND MODS:

● Admins:
○ Jessica Ess-Bee
○ Tacha Wilks
 ○ Chris Mack
Bunz○Home Zone Rules
Sean Browne
● Moderators:
○ Pat Howard
○ Marco Bianchi

RESOURCES:
● Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17:
○ https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17
● Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA):
○ https://www.torontotenants.org/
○ (416- 921-9494)
● Social Justice Tribunals Ontario: Landlord & Tenant Board
(LTB):
○ http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/
○ (1-888-332-3234)
● Legal Aid Ontario:
○ http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/
○ (1-800-668-8258)
● Bill 124, Rental Fairness Act, 2017:
○ http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?
locale=en&Intranet=&BillID=4755

COMMON ISSUES REGARDING TENANCY:

1. NO PETS clauses are not legal in stand-alone units
(2006, c. 17, s. 14.) provided:
a. You do not share an HVAC system with the
landlord/others in the dwelling and there are
documented allergies with others within the dwelling,
where dwelling is the complex itself that comprises
your unit and others.
b. This does not apply to roommate situations and the
listing roommate can state whether or not they allow
pets.

2. Security deposits over and above first and last are not
legal in the province of Ontario.
a. The amount of deposit to secure a unit cannot
exceed the amount of one month’s rent. (2006, c. 17, s.
106 (2)).
3. It is ILLEGAL to require your tenants to produce post-
Bunzcheques
dated Home Zoneas the Rules
only form of payment you will
accept; you must accept alternative payment methods.
(2006, c. 17, s. 108; 2009, c. 33, Sched. 21, s. 11 (3,4)).
4. It is against the Human Rights Code to require PROOF
OF EMPLOYMENT as this is discriminatory. You can
require PROOF OF INCOME as it can come from different
sources.
a. In accordance with the Human Rights Code,
landlords may request income verification, references,
credit checks, etc., so long as the requests adhere to
the Human Rights Code. (2006, c. 17, s. 10).
5. Any actions taken against a tenant or a landlord must
include the applicable LTB form and the form MUST be
filed with the LTB, not just printed and issued to the
tenant/landlord.
a. Forms for landlords:
http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/forms/#landlord-forms
b. Forms for tenants:
http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/forms/#tenant-forms
6. Rental increases can only follow the current listed
percentage as defined by the LTB UNLESS an application
has been submitted to the LTB for an above guideline
increase and has been granted. (2006, c. 17, s. 111 (1)).
a. Rental increases can also ONLY be enacted ONCE
every 12mo. (2006, c. 17, s. 119 (1)) with that 12mo
period tied to your rental term (i.e. the occupancy date
is day 1 of the first 12 months).
b. The max Guideline Increase allowed per year is
2.5% of your current rent but the increase is still
subject to the listed guideline for the given year (so it is
often lower). (2006, c. 17, s. 120 (1)).
c. The max increase for 2018 is 1.8%:
https://www.ontario.ca/page/rent-increase-guideline
d. The landlord must provide 90 written days notice,
minimum, prior to a rental increase. (2006, c. 17, s. 116
(1)).
7. A tenant CANNOT withhold rent for any reason. In
doing so you risk any recourse you have against a
landlord for the issues that have caused you to want to
withhold rent.
 a. You may be able to apply to the LTB to submit your
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Home Zone
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to them to hold in trust until the landlord
complies and rectifies the issue provided you have filed
a T6 (maintenance) application with the LTB against
your landlord.
8. A landlord MAY NOT enter a unit without 24hrs
minimum written notice (email, text, hard copy notice).
a. If there is an emergency the landlord may enter the
unit without notice or if the tenant consents to the
landlord entering at that time. (2006, c. 17, s. 26 (1)).
b. If there is an agreed upon termination of tenancy, the
landlord may enter the unit without 24hrs notice to
show the unit to potential tenants. The landlord must
inform the tenant in a reasonable amount of time and
enter only between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm.
(2006, c. 17, s. 25 (3)).
9. A landlord may end tenancy (outside of illegal uses of
the unit) for personal use, with the following conditions
and effects:
a. The unit is going to be used personally by the
landlord, landlord’s spouse, a child or parent of the
landlord or landlord’s spouse, or a person providing
care services to the landlord, landlord’s spouse,
landlord’s parent or child if they reside in the building.
(2006, c. 17, s. 48 (1); 2017, c. 13, s. 7 (1)).
b. The landlord is required to present the tenant with an
N12 form notice of termination for personal use with a
minimum 60 days notice to vacate the unit. (2006, c.
17, s. 48 (2).
c. The landlord is not allowed to re-let the unit for a
period of 1yr from the date of termination of tenancy.
(2006, c. 17, s. 48 (1)).
d. Compensation: The landlord is required to provide
the tenant one month’s compensation, equal to their
rental amount, with the termination of tenancy or offer
another unit (that they own). (2017, c. 13, s. 8)). The
tenant has the right to refuse the offered unit and
receive the one month’s compensation in lieu of the
offered unit.
e. Please see sections 49-57 of the RTA for the laws
surrounding other legal reasons to end tenancy,
 compensation, right of first refusal, and terminations in
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