ONTARIOS LANDLORD AND TENANT BOARD ‘FUNDAMENTALLY FAILING’, OMBUDSMAN FINDS
A “perfect storm” of factors including the 2018 election, inefficient practices and the COVID pandemic has left Ontario’s trouble-plagued Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) “fundamentally failing” to provide swift justice, the province’s ombudsman says. In a lengthy report published Thursday, Paul Dubé made 61 recommendations to address a backlog at the tribunal that has ballooned to more than 38,000 applications. “Where once it took the Board a matter of...
read moreONTARIO RENTAL PROPERTY OWNERS SEEK GOVERNMENT COMPENSATION FOR ‘PROFESSIONAL TENANTS’
Members of an advocacy group for rental property owners say they’re frustrated with a provincial system that limits their rights and forces them to house “professional tenants” who take advantage of Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) hearing delays. Sherry Halsted, a Stoney Creek resident with six rental properties, is a member of Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario (SOLO), a group planning an April 29 protest at Mississauga’s Celebration Square from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Halsted and partner...
read moreNOVA SCOTIA STUDYING CREATION OF ENFORCEMENT UNIT FOR TENANT-LANDLORD DISPUTES
The Nova Scotia government has hired a consultant to examine whether the province should create an Ontario-style enforcement system for landlords and tenants, in which trained officers would advise parties on disputes and have the power to lay charges. Halifax-based Davis Pier Consulting won the contract to study Ontario’s system and come up with a comprehensive program design detailing the scope, structure and costs of implementing something similar in Nova Scotia, said Blaise...
read moreMAN SLEEPING IN HIS CAR SAYS TENANTS OWE MORE THAN $31K, WON’T LEAVE HIS RENTAL PROPERTY
Just last year, Marco had two houses to his name, but for months has been sleeping in his car — all because his tenants, whom he’s been unable to evict, haven’t paid their rent. Marco, 33, lost his marital home in a separation agreement in January. He still owns an income property — a two-suite house in Collingwood, Ont. — but says his upstairs tenant hasn’t paid up since June; the one downstairs hasn’t since February. “I’m covering all housing expenses,...
read moreLANDLORDS OUT THOUSANDS IN RENT URGING ACTION FROM MPPS
Thousands of small ‘mom and pop’ landlords – some out tens of thousands of dollars in rent – hope a meeting Friday with MPPs leads to swift action with a swamped and bogged-down provincial dispute tribunal. “For the meeting we are just getting a bit more awareness,” said paralegal Charlene Lewin. She is helping members of Small Ownership Landlords Ontario (SOLO) who she said face ‘disastrous’ delays in scheduling hearings with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). “The truth is – it was a...
read moreONTARIO’S LANDLORD AND TENANT BOARD HAS COLLAPSED, LANDLORD SAYS
A backlog of cases at the province’s Landlord and Tenant Board is creating hardship for tens of thousands of Ontarians who are having to wait more than half a year to settle a dispute. During the pandemic, the province paused evictions and hearings for months at a time, causing stoppages in the board’s work that many now see as the origins of the current delays. The board says it strives to give a hearing within 25 days, but the latest update from the summer indicates the average...
read moreLANDLORD SLEEPING ON REALTOR’S COUCH AS HE AWAITS HEARING TO EVICT TROUBLESOME TENANTS
A man in southwestern Ontario said he’s sleeping on a couch in his Realtor’s basement, hoping tenants will vacate his home ahead of a hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board. Kelvin Edmondson first rented out his Tillsonburg home in August last year before heading off to work on a cruise ship in the Caribbean. While he was away, he said the tenants neglected to pay rent, including heat and hydro, and substantially damaged his property by housing a number of pets against their...
read moreLANDLORDS STRUGGLE TO EVICT TENANTS WHO TURNED TORONTO HOMES INTO ROOMING HOUSES, OWE RENT
Marissa Andersson and Oksana Kravchuk both own properties on the same Toronto street but didn’t know one another until they say they discovered a troubling connection. Their tenants, who told the landlords they were in a relationship, built extra bedrooms in their homes without their knowledge, leased them out to other occupants and haven’t paid rent in several months, according to allegations filed with Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). The two landlords say Saeed...
read moreWINDSOR MOVES AHEAD WITH 2-YEAR RENTAL UNIT LICENSING PILOT PROJECT
Windsor city council is moving ahead with a pilot project that will see rental homes licensed in some parts of the city in the hopes of protecting tenants from unsafe conditions. Under the project, rental properties with up to four units must be inspected to ensure they meet standards like the ones set out in the building and fire codes. The pilot will last two years and will only be taking place in Ward 1 and 2, where there is a high concentration of student housing. A motion giving the green...
read moreONTARIO EARMARKS $19M FOR LANDLORD TENANT BOARD IN EFFORT TO REDUCE LONG-STANDING BACKLOG
The Ontario government announced Friday it will allocate $19 million over three years to help reduce long-standing backlogs at the provincial Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). The investment is intended to assist the LTB resolve disputes between tenants and landlords faster, the province says. In spring 2020, the LTB shut down for five months due to the pandemic — since then, they’ve been unable to clear a backlog that has seen some cases drawn out for months. “We recognize the important role...
read more