BROKEN SYSTEM AFFECTS LANDLORDS AND TENANTS
We all know that there is a housing crisis in Peterborough, and that the main issue is that there is not enough housing, plus rents have become unaffordable.
There is another factor, however, which almost no one is talking about, which is that the Landlord/Tenant Act which gives a framework of law around landlord/tenant contracts is broken. Landlords and tenants are discovering that the basic contracts we thought we were working within, around payment of rent in return for maintenance of one’s living space, are no longer being enforced. In the absence of a rule of law, some tenants and landlords take matters into their own hands. A tenant can choose to live rent-free when there are no consequences for nonpayment. I heard of one landlord who was attempting to force a tenant to leave by going in and removing sinks and the toilet!
I have been a landlord here since December 2002, and before that I was a tenant. As a landlord, I have been caring and responsible; rents have remained low, and the rent money clearly goes to maintenance and to the paying of utilities, heat, wi-fi and taxes. I am not making money, but I am able to maintain a place to live in as I age, with others around to keep an eye on one another.
For reasons I do not understand, as soon as it came into office, the Ford government began cutting back funding of adjudicators to the tribunal system (the legal recourse in landlord or tenant disputes).
Sadly, in late September of this year I had to apply to the Tribunal system for a hearing to resolve a situation where an employable tenant has chosen to play fast and loose with the payment of rent. Nine weeks later, and with the legal eviction date tomorrow, all I have so far from this broken system is a case number. Why would anybody want to provide housing now that the basic legal framework has been allowed to collapse?
Story by: The Peterborough Examiner
