5 Steps the Landlord Must Take to Evict a Tenant?

by | Aug 13, 2020 | Blog

To resolve a conflict between a landlord and tenant, there are four steps that must be followed pursuant to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 S.O. 2006 and with the Landlord and Tenant Board (“the Board”). This section tells you what to do before you file an application with the Board, what happens at a hearing, and what happens after a hearing.

In a majority of conflicts between a landlord or a tenant, the first step is the party that is making an allegation must provide a notice to the other party outlining the dispute and/or make a request. The notice has the power to solve a conflict, where the other party can fulfill the request or end the behaviour outlined in the notice. There are various notices on the Board pertaining to different conflicts between a landlord and tenant.

If the party does not respond to the notice by not fulfilling the request or ending the behaviour referred in the notice, the party making an allegation must then file an application with the Board. There are various applications available on the Board, with different limitation periods, pertaining to different conflicts that exist between a landlord and tenant.

Once an application has been made successfully, the Board will schedule a hearing to decide the application. All parties will be notified about the hearing through a Notice of Hearing, which outlines all the information pertaining to a hearing. It is very important for all parties involved in a matter to participate in a hearing to ensure they have an opportunity to explain their concerns to the adjudicator.  A Board member, specifically an Adjudicator, will hear an application at the hearing and write their decision. The final decision is called an order, in which the Board will always provide a copy to all parties involved.

If a party does not comply with an order, the other party cannot personally enforce the order. An order can only be enforced by the Court Enforcement Office, also referred to as the Sheriff’s Office. The party that is seeking to enforce the order must file a copy of the order with the Sheriff’s Office to have the order enforced.

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Bill -184 changes that the landlord should know?

by | Aug 13, 2020 | Blog

Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing introduced Bill 184 that proposed the new Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act (the ‘”Act'”). The purpose of this Act is to resolve disputes between a landlord and tenant efficiently. 

There are significant changes that are vital for a landlord and tenant to understand to ensure their rights are protected. In effect of the Act’s changes, Bill 184 now permits landlords to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (“the LTB”) to seek compensation to a tenant interfering with another enjoyment of the unit and a tenant’s failure to pay any utility costs. This is permitted as long as it is one year from the date the former tenant has vacated the unit. The landlord must compensate their tenant with one’s month rent for no-fault evictions. As a result of the amendments introduced in Bill 184, landlords require affidavits connected with Applications to the Board to terminate a tenancy. A landlord must comply with this amendment when filling an application to terminate a tenancy according to any one of the sections 48, 49, or 50 of the Residential Tenancies Act. The affidavit must outline the particular of the termination and explaining why the landlord would like to terminate the tenancy. The landlord also must indicate in the affidavit whether or not within two years of the application, if they have given any other notice of termination under the same sections with the same rental unit. The landlord must also compensate their tenant with one’s month rent or offer another rental unit if the tenant receives notice of termination of the tenancy for demolition or conversion to non-residential use. Further, the LTB may order up to 12-month rent in compensation for eviction notices issued in bad faith or where the landlord does not allow the tenant to move back after renovations or repairs. Bill 184 has also changed its’ penalties by increasing it. 

Specifically, fines are doubled to $50,000 for individuals and $250,000 for corporations. Additionally, the LTB may order a former or current Tenant to compensate the landlord for the unit’s use and occupation after the tenancy has been terminated. The LTB may order a former or current tenant to compensate the landlord for unpaid utilities required to pay under the tenancy agreement when they had the unit. Notably, the LTB may order the former or current tenant to compensate the landlord for reasonable costs or repair costs incurred, or where repairing is not fair the replacement of damaged property while the previous or current tenant is or had the unit. Lastly, any rent increase is valid if the tenant has agreed to pay and paid for 12 consecutive months.

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SMALL CLAIMS LIMIT AMOUNT INCREASED TO $35,000

by | Nov 3, 2019 | Blog

Effective January 1, 2020 the Ontario government raised the small claims limit amount from $25,000 to $35,000.  This increase will reduce wait times so that there is no longer a need to go through the Superior Court of Justice.  It will also allow individuals to file and respond to a claim using less costly legal services by using a law student or paralegal representation.  Civil cases that would have been dealt with in Superior Court can now go to Small Claims Court allowing more resources being applied to criminal and family matters.

 

Source: https://news.ontario.ca/mag/en/2019/10/ontario-making-it-faster-easier-more-affordable-to-settle-small-claims.html

Can the Landlord raise the rent if you want to have a roommate move into your apartment?

by | Aug 23, 2019 | Blog

The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) says that raising the rent when a new roommate moves in or barring a tenant from getting a roommate is against the law.

However, there are exceptions:

  • if the tenant shared a bathroom or kitchen with the landlord or a member of the landlord’s family, the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) would not apply and the tenant would have to seek permission from the landlord to add a roommate.
  • if it caused overcrowding, the tenant could face eviction.
  • if the roommate was a drug dealer or party animal and it interfered with the reasonable enjoyment of the premises for other tenants or the landlord.
  • Condos have declarations that allow only single families to live in the unit and the condo corporation needs to know who’s moving in, in order to remain compliant with their condo policies.

In most cases tenants are within their rights to bring in roommates, with or without the permission of the landlord.

Since there is not much affordable housing or vacancies available, tenants usually just pay the increase as they do not want to fight with the landlord.

 

Source:
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/08/23/a-roommate-moves-into-your-apartment-can-the-landlord-raise-the-rent.html

NEW DISTRACTED DRIVING LAWS STARTING 2019 IN FULL EFFECT

by | Jul 10, 2019 | Blog

Any time a driver’s attention is taken away from looking at the road or focusing on where they are going is considered a distraction.  Some examples include: texting, eating or drinking, putting on make-up, talking on a cell phone or to passengers and/or using any entertainment/navigation system.  There are no reasons why a driver needs to be distracted.

Any warning and/or grace period by police has ended.

Penalties in Ontario are among the harshest.  They are as follows:

First offence:  3-day suspension, $3,000 fine
Second offence:  7-day suspension, $5,000 fine
Third offence:  30-day suspension, $10,000 fine, six demerit points

Distracting driving has contributed to an estimated 21% of fatal collisions and 27% of serious injury collisions in 2016.  This is an upward trend from a decade earlier when statistics were 16% fatal collisions and 22% of serious injury collisions.

Source:
https://www.fleetbusiness.com/news/new-distracted-driving-laws-in-effect-aug-1st

LANDLORD AND TENANT BOARD BLOCKS RENOVATION EVICTION

by | Jun 20, 2019 | Blog

Tenants residing at 394 Dovercourt Road get a reprieve, for now, as the Landlord and Tenant Board ruled that they cannot be forced out of their apartments.

They have been fighting this eviction for fear that if they moved, regardless what the law states, the landlord would replace them with new tenants paying higher rents.

The landlord told them the units had to be empty in order to replace the knob-and-tube writing in the building.  A decision was made that a building permit was not required in order to do this type of electrical repair. However, the tenants need to be forced to leave the units when the law governs that any renovations are extensive and require building permits.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/06/19/landlord-and-tenant-board-blocks-renovation-evictions-at-394-dovercourt-rd.html