Interest on Last Month's Rest 

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Hey All!

I recently read online that landlords owe their tenants interest on their last month's rent every year. Is this true?

My friend's landlord has not paid her interest and has now asked her to pay the difference between her initial payment and her rent currently. Is this okay? Or is her landlord scamming her?

I had never heard about any of this and I just want to look out for her.

Thanks!

How to get your deposit backThe easiest way to get your rent deposit back is to use it to pay for the last rent period before you move out.
You can tell your landlord to use your deposit, plus any interest your landlord owes you, for that final rent payment. If it's not enough, you can pay the difference.
To get your key deposit back, ask for it when you hand in all your keys and entry devices to your landlord.

Make sure that you get something in writing from your landlord confirming you gave back all the keys. You'll want this proof if your landlord refuses to return your key deposit.

Interest on depositsEach year, the landlord must pay you interest on your deposits. Interest is extra money to make up for the fact that you can't use your money because the landlord is holding it as a deposit.
The interest rate is equal to the guideline rent increase for the year in which the interest payment is due. For example, if you paid a last months' rent deposit on August 1, 2016, the landlord must have paid you interest on August 1, 2017. The rent guideline for 2017 was 1.5%, so the landlord owed you 1.5% interest on your deposit. A year after that, the landlord must have paid you 1.8% interest, because the rent guideline for 2018 was 1.8%.

Your landlord pays the interest by giving it to you or by adding it to your deposit. If they do not do this, you can deduct it from your next rent payment or apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to make them pay it.