Rental housing support

The city supports safe rental housing through licensing, inspections and enforcement of applicable bylaws. 

On this page

  1. Check the status of a rental licence
  2. Report unlicensed rental housing
  3. Minimum property standards
  4. Request an inspection of your rental unit

Check the status of a rental licence

According to our rental housing bylaw, a valid licence is required for residential rental units in buildings up to three storeys tall. Larger apartment buildings do not require a licence.

Check rental licence status online 

If you need to obtain or renew a licence, visit our residential rental licences page. 

Report unlicenced rental housing

If you suspect a residential rental unit does not have a valid licence, you can:

If you need to obtain or renew a licence, visit our residential rental licences page. 

Minimum property standards

Our property standards and adequate heat bylaws set out minimum standards for all residential rental units in Waterloo. 

Maintenance issues covered under these bylaws include:

  • heating, electrical and plumbing
  • certain appliances not working
  • mold
  • doors and windows not fitting properly

We do not regulate issues such as key deposits, payment schedules or move-in dates. These are covered by the provincial Landlord and Tenant Board.

Request an inspection of your rental unit

If you suspect your rental unit is below minimum standards and the property manager is unwilling to fix the problem, you can request an inspection. You do not need to notify the property manager of an inspection, though we do require a tenant to provide voluntary access to the unit.

To request an inspection:

We review all requests and will reply within two business days. If a unit is found in poor condition, we have the authority to issue an order for the property owner to comply with the bylaw. The property owner has the right to appeal an order within 14 days of issue.