Guests
Tenants have the right to reasonable enjoyment and possession of the unit during their tenancy. This means that landlords cannot interfere with a tenants’ rights to day-to-day life unless the rules can be proven to be reasonable. See Landlord Rules for more details.
Clauses or rules against having guests, including overnight guests, are likely in the vast majority of cases unenforceable. This includes rules that prohibit the number of days a year a tenant can have guests over. Cases in which a rule against guests (or a particular guest) might be enforceable are:
If the guest is there so often they’re essentially an occupant.
If a guest is interfering with other tenants’ reasonable enjoyment of the unit, or is causing damages to the property.
Cases of Intimate Partner Violence.
This extends to rules about parties or large gatherings. Rules against parties or gatherings are vague and can’t reasonably prove they’ll protect a landlord’s property because parties do not inherently cause property damage, and even just one guest could theoretically do a lot of damage.
Tenants are still liable for damages that their guests cause, and any damages could be deducted from the security deposit.
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Some landlords include rules against having guests or overnight guests. This effectively tries to restrict the tenants’ day-to-day life. Rules against overnight guests especially overstep appropriate boundaries, and can be a way of trying to control the moral behaviour of tenants.
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You could still be held responsible for damages because of your guests, so make sure if you have people over they are acting respectfully and do not damage anything or disturb other tenants.
If you think someone will be staying with you for extended periods of time (i.e. weeks at a time), discuss this with your landlord to see if it is worth adding them as an occupant.
Tenant insurance can protect you from liability because of your guests, or if guests destroy your property. See here for more information.
