Can a landlord refuse to give a receipt for rent payment?
<p>Is it legal for a business to refuse to give you a receipt when you pay them?</p>

<p>For example a property management company refused to give someone a receipt for rent because they had not yet signed a lease but they have been living there and have paid rent (which the property management company accepted).</p>

<p>Also, if a person initially doesn't ask for a receipt, and comes back later, can they say it's too late to give them the receipt? </p>

<p>I am an Ontario-licensed lawyer.  The following is a general information about the law and not specific legal advice.  You are not my client and I have not given you advice related to your circumstances.</p>

<p>First, even when you ask a generic question, define the jurisdiction of interest.  For the purpose of your question, Canada is a collection of different jurisdictions with different rules.  My answer relates to Ontario, Canada.  Other Canadian jurisdictions have different rules.</p>

<h1>The Law</h1>

<p>The applicable Section 109 of Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act
<a href="http://canlii.ca/t/33p" rel="noreferrer">http://canlii.ca/t/33p</a> is reproduced below for your convenience. EMPHASES MINE.</p>

<p><strong>Receipt for payment</strong></p>

<p>109 (1) A landlord shall provide FREE OF CHARGE to a tenant or former
tenant, on request, a receipt for the payment of any rent, rent deposit,
arrears of rent or any other amount paid to the landlord.  2006, c. 17,
s. 109 (1).</p>

<p><strong>Former tenant</strong></p>

<p>(2) Subsection (1) applies to a request by a FORMER TENANT only if the
request is made within 12 months after the tenancy terminated.  2006, c.
17, s. 109 (2).</p>

<h1>Regulation</h1>

<p>Ontario Regulation 516/06 <a href="http://canlii.ca/t/sjx" rel="noreferrer">http://canlii.ca/t/sjx</a> dictates minimal form:</p>

<p><strong>Receipt</strong></p>

<ol start="9">
<li>A document constitutes a receipt for the purposes of section 109 of
the Act if it includes, at a minimum,</li>
</ol>

<p>(a) the address of the rental unit to which the receipt applies;</p>

<p>(b) the name of the tenants to whom the receipt applies;</p>

<p>(c) the amount and date for each payment received for any rent, rent
deposit, arrears of rent, or any other amount paid to the landlord and
shall specify what the payment was for;</p>

<p>(d) the name of the landlord of the rental unit; and</p>

<p>(e) the signature of the landlord or the landlord’s authorized agent.
O. Reg. 516/06, s. 9.</p>

<h1>Landlord Compliance</h1>

<ul>
<li>A good landlord will provide receipts immediately upon payment, and keep a copy.</li>
<li>An very good landlord will provide additionally a summary of payments for the year, in tabulated form, and keep a copy of the yearly receipt instead of the multiple receipts for each payment.</li>
<li>An excellent landlord will keep the tabulated information in a computer system and will issue a receipt for the whole tenancy period on termination.  Keep a copy.</li>
</ul>

<h1>Tenant's Application</h1>

<ul>
<li>If your Ontario landlord refuse to comply with the above, file a T2 <a href="http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Tenant%20Applications%20&amp;%20Instructions/T2.pdf" rel="noreferrer">http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Tenant%20Applications%20&amp;%20Instructions/T2.pdf</a>
*A T2 can also be filed online.</li>
<li>Remember to ask for cost <a href="http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Interpretation%20Guidelines/03%20-%20Costs.html" rel="noreferrer">http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Interpretation%20Guidelines/03%20-%20Costs.html</a></li>
</ul>

<p>The advice provided here by @patrick87 is completely WRONG and full of assumptions, so is not useful.</p>

<p>Especially in the context of rental payments, a landlord is legally obliged to give you receipts upon request. It is illegal for them to refuse. And you can ask for receipts retroactively.</p>

<p>If the landlord refuses, to resolve this would probably require you to go to the provincial rental board, which takes time and possibly some fees - which you can recover at the end of the process.</p>

<p>Reference (as quoted by @user6726...thx)
<a href="http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/act07.phtml#RTA109" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/act07.phtml#RTA109</a></p>

<p>BTW, I am a landlord in Ontario.</p>

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