While it’s your property and you pretty much change the locks whenever you like, there are certain laws that are in place that don’t always allow you to have the go ahead to change locks when you have a tenant living in your property. The laws are fairly specific to when you can call a locksmith.
We asked a Toronto locksmith, 24hrlocksmith.ca, about this and we found out first hand that it is not unusual for a tenant can ask the landlord to change the locks when that tenant first moves in. It is actually common to do so even in Ontario. However, at no point during a lease can a tenant change the locks without having the landlords written permission. If a tenant, during the tenancy, believes there is a reason to have the locks replaced then and if a landlord agrees locks can be changed. In the case that you as a landlord disagrees then the tenant has the right to take the matter to dispute resolution.
At the same time however, the tenant cannot change the locks at any time without the permission of the landlord. This is the case as there needs to be another key holder in case of an emergency should that ever occurs. The tenant landlord act clearly states that if that emergency should occur and any doors should be removed the tenant has to cover those costs.
As things actually do happen some times and misunderstandings do occur, if a tenant does change the locks he or she need to correct the issue within a reasonable time period after the landlord provides his request in writing. The tenant then has one month to conform otherwise the landlord has the right to end the tenancy.
While this makes sense and most landlords are aware of this, it still needs to be emphasized, landlords can change the locks to a unit at any time as long as they give a key to the tenant.
Overall, the tenant landlord act is fairly straightforward when it comes to locks and locking.
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