Recently, in the US, two Senators introduced the Residential Rent-to-Own Protection Act, legislation they said would create a safe, viable pathway to home ownership by reforming traditionally predatory rent-to-own housing contracts. You can read more here and here
Currently, in Canada, legislation in the rent-to-own space does not exist, beyond normal laws and by-laws governing finance and fraud. Unfortunately, that does mean there are operators who will take advantage of this and those that want to use rent-to-own.
This is why it is critical to work with a rent-to-own operation that is affiliated with CAROP (Canadian Association of Rent to Own Professionals) who are the collective voice of rent-to-own professionals across Canada who operate ethically and strive to create successful outcomes for their clients, their investors, and their programs.