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Making a profit means earning more from a business than you are spending on the business. If the original poster is limited to earning the same amount as the rent; she is not making a profit.
To the original poster. I’m sorry that so many regular posters here are being so rude to you.
I don’t think that many if any posters here live in Canada and most of us own our properties, so I don’t know how much usable advise you’ll find here. You might want to try asking on Reddit.
True. There are a lot of illegal renters there who are getting away with it.
It doesn’t sound like the original poster is renting illegally or renting via Airbnb illegally. She said that she’s consulted an attorney.
Around here, everything but the bannister would be considered a tenant issue. Housing is in short supply here, and unless you are in the upper echelon of rentals, paint, and loose screws would be too minor for a landlord to take it seriously.
Sounds to me like he is hoping that your insurance will cover your complaints. Of course, no insurance company pays for peeling paint. That is considered normal wear and tear. Of course, you know what is “normal” in your world. I don’t think the landlord plans to fix these things, and figures he could rent the place again without any problems.
Difficult. Personally, I would get a screwdriver and tighten the shower curtain (might need a toggle bolt), and scrape the paint, and repaint using a proper high-humidity paint in a color that makes you happy.
Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!
Seriously, I am exhausted. I don’t know if it’s Mercury in retrograde 
, but it seems like everyone is testy today. In threads all across the forum. We should all just step away from the keyboard.
Here is a picture of a kitten!
So what? That doesn’t make it any more ethical. From her description, the landlord doesn’t like her doing Airbnb. And she’s getting an attorney so she can keep doing it. She wants him to fix minor issues, some of which may be caused by increased wear and tear from guests in and out. He’s dodging it. That is how I am reading it.
I don’t know about legal or not legal in your municipality or province. You still have to have your landlord’s approval because at the end of the day, he owns the place. And you don’t.
She was the one who started being rude and telling me to get lost, I just responded by saying no, I’m not going anywhere. Sorry about that.
Nobody is denying this. But the rest of us are waiting with curiousity to see where it is legal to rent out an apartment, and then run out an Airbnb…with the landlord taking all risk. And this is completely legal and landlord must do whatever the tenant wants with his apartment. The tenant runs the game…very interesting…
And Tokyo is obviously doing it the right way, with approval from the landlord, it’s a grey and shady area with the OP, she is a little light on details. Does she have the landlord’s express permission or is she demanding he allow her to do Air? We are awaiting patiently for the answers. 
Without going back through all comments, I think people are using the terms “roommates” and “airbnbing” and other terms interchangeably.
There is one thing for a landlord to reasonably expect you will have a roommate, and another where you may be running a hotel out of your home.
Nice to know Canadian laws are so lax that they allow their short term tenants to run hotel…
No… It’s only the OP using those terms interchangeably. Most of the rest of us know the difference.
I really think the OP’s issue is a landlord/tenant dispute, and help should be sought on a forum or non-profit for Canadian tenants. As others have noted, most of us are homeowners and not based in Canada.
I agree the maintanence issues sound minor, minus the hole. In my city (based in the US), if the landlord won’t fix something, the renter can fix it herself (or hire someone) and bill the landlord. That would just be for major issues like the hole. Landlords aren’t really obligated to keep the paint or carpet looking nice, for example.
Without landlord’s permission Airbnb your apartment is a violation of Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act.
Also, CRA classifies your airbnb income as self employed income.
There is no province in Canada that allows tenants to sublet / run airbnb business without landlord’s consent.
Good luck.
You keep on reffering to your province. Why? You rented from a person, not a province. There is an agreement between your landlord and you, not a province and you. Province can not tell landlord what to let you do and what not to do. There are certain laws of course, but not in this case when you are trying to profit from your landlord’s property. I am surprised in a first place that your landlord knew about you doing Air and still was ok with it unti you started asking about maintenance.
Just think for a second how ridiculous it is. You are profiting from your landlords property, your guests using your landlords property and it comes with damages. So, you pocket the money but your landlord has to fix damages that are done by your guests.
ON TOP of that you are consulting with lawyer?? You are quite a nightmare of a tenant. If i was your landlord i would kick you out immediately. So… you are not even profiting from Airbnb, you just live there rent free BECAUSE you are hosting people.
And BAD BAD LANDLORD does not want make your appartment pretty enough so you would make even more money on your Airbnb guests.
This is the most ridiculous post ever that i read on this forum, but the most ridiculous part is that some hosts here even sided with you
C[quote=“torohost, post:52, topic:7653, full:true”]
Without landlord’s permission Airbnb your apartment is a violation of Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act.
Also, CRA classifies your airbnb income as self employed income.
There is no province in Canada that allows tenants to sublet / run airbnb business without landlord’s consent.
Good luck.
[/quote]
Hope @EllenN reads this! It’s a profit when it’s a business, I am certain. Sharing the cost of rent with another roommate is a totally different thing. And yes @konacoconutz is right, she was rude first. For some reason she thinks other tenants would have better advice.
I’m an owner of some properties, and a landlord approved tenant in others. Despite a very good relationship with my landlords, I’m waiting for the day that they decide they want me to stop hosting guests. We have much stricter laws here (New Jersey) and the landlords are the ones taking on the liability, so I realize it’s a different scenario.
What I do with any kind of maintenance issue is assess the value. If the provided central air con goes out? I request that the landlords repair it, as it’s an included amenity and the access point is outside of my apartment. If the toilet is plugged or the kitchen sink is leaking? I fix it or arrange for fixing it, as it’s within the confines of my apartment. Any interior repairs or upgrades I take care of, after seeking the landlords approval. I also take care of keeping the entrance clean and fresh, as I’m in small buildings with no super. So the cleaners vacuum and dust the building interior once a week. I don’t have to do this, but I recognize that I’m getting a heck of a deal with these landlords allowing me to host guests, so I want to make sure I keep the place spotless.
I know this doesn’t address your question directly but the maintenance issues that you’re getting harrassed about - can you take care of them yourself? It might be worth it to figure out your breaking point - like you’ll add a new lock to your apartment door but you won’t put new carpets in the hallway. Remember that whatever $$ you spend on your business is a legitimate expense so it might be worth figuring out how much you can live with doing yourself rather than depending on the landlord to do what he should be doing.
Or like someone else noted, he’s looking for a kickback.
The thing is that landlord should not be fixing her damages at all unless it’s something like a AC . She is running a hotel out of her rented apartment and she should take responsibility of all damages. But she dares demanding from landlord to make her apartment pretty for her guests. She said it herself : minor things. Unbeilevable
You may be certain, but you are incorrect. If you’re spending more than you’re earning; it’s called loss. If you’re spending the same as you’re earning; it’s called breaking even. If you’re spending less than you’re earning; it’s called profit. The original poster said that she is not allowed to earn more than her rent, so considering that there are other costs than rent to run an Airbnb; her Airbnb is running at a loss.
Really you think I need a dictionary? Please refrain from responding to me with your condescending comments. I ran a multi million dollar business in NYC, I have a good handle on p&l. I DONT NEED YOUR OPINION.
Ellen,
The OP is not operating at a loss. She is earning money from hosting, and giving that money to the landlord to help pay her rent. Therefore she is earning a profit.
The OP would drop hosting if it was costing her money every month.
In this case you can not calculate rent at all as business expense because it is not her business expense, its a rent that she pays to landlord in exchange for roof over HER head. When you do tax return, you can not write off your whole house as business expense if you work from the house, only a room may be.
But watch out, IRS does not like these write offs at all.
She did not rent the appartment to use as hotel. She rented it to live in it. And according to her the landlord agreed that she will be using spare room to make some income, silly landlord.
But now she turned it around and makes him pay for minor things to make appartment more attractive for her guests. Now, the silly landlord realizes that he is taken for a ride. Now, he gets angry at the situation and his tenant for treating him as a complete idiot,and of course refuses to do those minor things.
It reminds me of a children story tale about a fox and a rabit.
