What should an Ontario bin rental agreement say about damage?

Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002 requires that a future performance agreement, which a bin rental is when delivery and pickup happen after you sign, be in writing and include specific information. If you do not receive a written copy that meets those requirements, you have up to one year to cancel under s.23. That is the legal floor; the damage terms themselves are contract language, not a statutory list.

What a damage clause should cover

A written bin rental agreement should spell out, at minimum:

• who is responsible if the bin damages the surface it sits on (driveway, interlock, asphalt, lawn), and whether the company puts boards or planks underneath
• who pays if the bin is damaged while on your property (by a vehicle, a falling branch, or overloading past the fill line)
• what "overloading" means in the agreement, whether by weight, by fill height, or both
• what happens if prohibited items are found in the bin when it is picked up, including any extra charges and whether the load can be refused
• whether a fuel or environmental surcharge, or a winter scrape fee for a frozen load, is a fixed amount or calculated at pickup

Ask each of those questions before you sign, and get the answers in the agreement itself, not in a separate email. If the company says "we'll sort it out after," that is a gap worth closing in writing before the bin arrives.

On placement: the City's TCE permit covers City land, which includes the road, boulevard, sidewalk and public laneways. The end of a driveway near the street can fall on City land; check geoOttawa or ask the City's ROW Permit Office where the property line sits. If the bin goes on the street, agree in writing with the company who applies for the City's TCE permit, because the permit is in the holder's name and is not transferable.

One practical step before the drop-off date: confirm in writing the exact spot where the bin will land, so that both you and the company agree on the surface, the overhead clearance, and whose land it is.