My commercial landlord is terminating or distraining in Ontario — what are my rights under the lease?
Commercial tenancies fall under the Commercial Tenancies Act, not the residential regime: a landlord may re-enter or distrain for arrears, but not both, and a tenant can apply for relief from forfeiture.
Commercial tenants in Ontario have far fewer statutory protections than residential tenants. The Commercial Tenancies Act permits a landlord to terminate for non-payment of rent by re-entering and changing the locks, or alternatively to distrain by seizing and selling the tenant's goods for arrears — but the two remedies are inconsistent and a landlord must elect one.
A tenant locked out is not without recourse. The court can grant relief from forfeiture, typically on terms that the arrears and the landlord's costs are paid, and it will consider the conduct of both parties and the proportionality of the forfeiture. Illegal distress, seizure of exempt or third-party goods, and re-entry after accepting rent are all challengeable.
Move immediately. Relief from forfeiture is discretionary and delay is one of the reasons it is refused.
Source: Commercial Tenancies Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. L.7
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