In a recent decision at the Ontario Superior Court, a condominium corporation was held vicariously liable for conduct of its employee, a security guard at a condominium which was managed by Del.  In the decision, JIA v. TORONTO STANDARD CONDOMINIUM CORPORATION NO. 1479 2010 ONSC 3433, the Court found that the conduct of the security guard, a former police officer, and the use of force employed to deal with a person he considered a trespasser (the court did not feel the person was there unlawfully) was excessive. A link to the decisions here:http://canlii.org/en/on/onsc/doc/2010/2010onsc3433/2010onsc3433.html" In a well-written decision, the Court ordered general, aggravated and ...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 3 Sep 2010 | 8:46 am

I’ve often told landlords where the utilities remain in their names but are to be paid by tenants upon demand is stupid. I tell landlords when they first set the rent that the tenants sign on for the utilities, or if that’s not practical as in the case of more than one tenant on a meter for instance, that they estimate the utility costs and include the estimated costs in the rent amount.I have to admit that when arrears of rent and arrears of utility costs, both due the landlord, occurred at the same time, I may have advised landlords in error because of a decision of the Tribunal recently that nixed my recommendations in these situations.After I had served notices for rent arrears and ...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 31 Aug 2010 | 9:48 am

On page 3 of this week's Saturday Sun is an article by Sun columnist Michele Mandel, who broke the story on the so-called Persian Princess about 8 months ago, renting from a landlord named Jane Randall. That story was about the victimization of a condo owner in the Yonge and Sheppard area. Now the Bentley Driving, true tenant from hell has resurfaced, playing the system for the third time that I know of, and for the second time victimizing a client of mine. These three horror stories have occurred within blocks of each other as she slithers from place to place using different names. Read the story here:http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/michele_mandel/2010/08/20/15092061.html...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 22 Aug 2010 | 9:27 am

It's been a while since my last post. Too busy with too many clients. Too many victims. Too many professional tenants who are predators. I'd be lying if I didn't admit that most small landlords are the authors of their own misfortune...no credit or tenancy checks, not checking to see if the employment info they provided is legitimate. I would venture to say that in most small-landlord tenancies, the tenants know the ropes far better than the landlords. My clients say "it's not fair, they know all the tricks" as if it's an indictment of the tenant. I say "good for the tenant, and why don't you know the ropes"?I've never seen a business like this. If a person was considering going into...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 17 Aug 2010 | 9:30 pm

A Landlord started a simple L&T action for arrears of rent late in the year 2009 against a Tenant who had occupied her apartment since September 2007. She had a simple residential rental agreement with her Landlord.Apparently there was no problem with the process when the matter went before the Board for a hearing.In February of 2009 the Tenant approached the Landlord about moving her paralegal business into the apartment. The Landlord agreed and allowed the Tenant to effectively convert the apartment into a manner that would accommodate her business. The “apartment” had a main floor and a basement. The main floor became a reception area and an office area for her business and her bedroo...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 5 Aug 2010 | 8:56 pm

A tenant applied for compensation in St. Catherines last July claiming she had been given notice to terminate for her landlord's own use in bad faith. She sought a small fortune for having vacated, storage fees, extra rent and for a dead cat. She claimed the landlady never occupied after she vacated, and she was right. She wanted the landlord fined $10,000.00 for having lied. She wanted $3500.00 for rent she paid to another landlord after being evicted and she wanted money for her dead pussy.The landlady was probably shitting bricks. I often have to calm down landlords in these circumstances. I tell them despite atrocious tenants’ claims they probably won’t have to declare bankruptcy to ...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 15 Jul 2010 | 9:18 am

...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 13 Jul 2010 | 5:28 pm

The Premier has betrayed both landlords and tenants withthe announcement yesterday that the 2011 annual rent guideline will be just.7%.  That's the lowest percentage sincethe guideline was introduced, in a year that is expected to see landlords'costs increase by about 7% with the impact of inflation and the HST, ten timesthe allowable increase.It was the Liberals who changed the rent guidelinecalculation methodology in 2007 when they implemented the Residential TenanciesAct.  Those changes are resulting in thisrecord-low number. Picking on landlords is such an easy game, but thepractice ignores the ultimate victim, the tenant.  With basically no ability to keep up withinflatio...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 23 Jun 2010 | 11:30 am

The Guideline Rent Increase for 2011 will be 0.7%. You know what that figure really is, besides a disgrace? It’s less than three quarter of 1%. On a monthly rent of $600.00 the increase is not even 1%, or $6.00, but only $4.20. To add insult to injury, even if the increase was $4.51 you cannot round off the amount of increase up to the nearest dollar, you have to round down in every case.Tenants of course are laughing at this minuscule increase, but what they don’t realize is that this paltry increase will only hurt them too. Firstly the increase is not enough to maintain rental units in good condition and some landlords will find ways, or invent new ways to get tenancies terminated to r...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 22 Jun 2010 | 2:01 pm

So after sending my previous blog post (below) to the Star as a letter to the editor, which they published in an abridged format, Joe Fiorito writes a scathing column, an open letter addressed to me.  Here's a link.http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/819789--fiorito-tenant-or-bedbug-which-came-first-and-what-does-it-matterWhat a coward.  Here he is, controlling the content, able to abridge, twist, respond without fear, writing a personal attack against his manipulated summary of my views.  I emailed him the following in reply, which I'm sure he won't print.What I say Joe is that the Provincial Liberals have no interest in forward-looking public policy that stands any chanc...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 7 Jun 2010 | 3:39 pm

Here's what the Toronto Star reported this morning, another wacky idea by the provincial Liberals making landlords into the villains.  Tenants have a right to sleep tight and not let the bedbugs bite, says Liberal MPP Mike Colle.  Inspired by Star columnist Joe Fiorito’s crusade against bedbugs in public housing, low-income rental units, and seniors’ homes, Colle on Thursday will introduce private member’s legislation to protect tenants against the nasty parasites.  The Renters’ Right to Know Act would shield people from having to endure the unpleasantness of bedbug bites in their rented houses and apartments.That would entail a “bedbug information report” to be pr...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 3 Jun 2010 | 6:23 pm

I'm a member of various boards and organizations dealing with L&T law in Ontario, and from time to time I get to meet the Minister or Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister to help them understand stakeholder issues more clearly. Landlord and Tenant law is political, so the political masters need be careful to meet with all sides so that the appearance of fairness is maintained.Now of course there is nothing at all fair about Landlord and Tenant law in Ontario from the perspective of the landlord, but the legislature is supreme and has the right to make un-fair laws. If real estate investors don't do their due diligence, and find out ahead of time that rental housing attracts the same...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 1 Jun 2010 | 4:55 pm

A landlord got contra proferentemed by the Board at a hearing for simple arrears of rent. To be proferentemed is a fancy way to say he got slapped upside the head for screwing up a discount provision in his stupid, ill gotten, tenancy agreement form.His form was probably drafted initially by some egg-head, who liked using big words instead of simple terms which we mere mortals can understand. I’ve taken this reported case in the selected cases portion of the Board website to make my case for simplified rental application and agreement forms. I continue to rail against the proliferation of long, complicated and legalese infested documents that are rarely read in total and most often not com...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 1 Jun 2010 | 3:31 pm

There was an application at the Tribunal in Ottawa to take possession of a unit in an apartment for the “landlord’s” own use. Apparently the application met all the requirements imposed by the Act. The presiding Member ordered the tenant evicted so that the “landlord” could occupy.Sounds like the “landlord” had all his ducks in a row, doesn’t it? Not so fast! The tenant was not going to leave without another kick at the cat. He went to the Registry Office and found out that the “landlord” who appeared at the hearing was not a person, but a numbered company, a corporation. It’s been largely held that a corporation is not a person, at least in L&T law. A corporation...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 8 May 2010 | 6:02 am

Following is a letter from a new landlord to whom I had sent our simplified, generic, rental application and month to month tenancy agreement forms:Hi Russ,Thank you for all the information that you provided. We are currently looking at a potential tenant that would be more comfortable with a 1 year lease because she has kids so it is hard to sell her on a month to month agreement. We did check her references including her current landlord and all the information given is really positive but we are still waiting on doing a credit check. Can you give any advice to make her comfortable with a month to month agreement or should we be more flexible and compromise with a 6 month lease?I appreciat...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 15 Apr 2010 | 9:42 am

A hearing was held in Windsor where a landlord had served notice and ultimately made an application to occupy one of the units in the building for his own use and to terminate the tenancy in that particular unit.Apparently there had been a previous application heard with regard to this tenancy in which not only this applicant before the Tribunal was listed as landlord, but his mother as well. His mother was at this hearing to turf the tenant so that her son could move in.The adjudicator saw to it that Mommy was added to the application and since she was present thought that she should have some input into the process.This is how the adjudicator reasoned how to include Mommy in the process. H...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 9 Apr 2010 | 8:02 pm

Some landlords or their agents, such as superintendents, property managers and even Realtors are asked to prepare and serve notices to their tenants. The reason of course is to save money instead of hiring someone for a fee. Then, after prescribed time periods, they contact me or anyone capable of taking further action by making application to the L&T Board to terminate the tenancy.Often, when I am asked to make an application and upon receiving a copy of the notice together with a signed Certificate Of Service I discover that the notice was either improperly prepared, the appropriate time period was not allowed, or that the notice was improperly served.Landlords think I am just ``fee greed...

Read more: Ontario Landlord & Tenant Law | 9 Mar 2010 | 5:20 pm

I read with terrible sadness today that a client, or more properly an employee of a client had been murdered at work, alone in her office killed by a knife-wielding man.  A 47 year old tenant has been charged with murder.  Larisa Belekova worked as manager of several rooming houses, providing accommodation and support to persons with mental health, addiction and poverty issues.I have a lot of supportive and transitional housing clients who house tenants with mental illness. I'm often afraid for them...most supportive housing workers are young woman, men as well, often under-paid and often working with little support or security. I don't blame my clients, they simply aren't given ...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 4 Feb 2010 | 4:31 pm

Another great example which investors may want to consider before deciding to purchase a rental property.  I was at the LTB this morning at the Central Regional Office, on a tenant-initiated review of an eviction order.  It was actually based on the denial of the tenant's motion to void an eviction order based on an order for arrears that was filed with the Sheriff for enforcement, followed by a payment into the Board by the tenant of all arrears that was due to that date.The amount due to "that date" included July, August and September's rent, as the payment into the Board was made on September 28th, just days before the Sheriff was about to come.  The tenant filed his void m...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 15 Dec 2009 | 3:04 pm

This morning I drafted a letter to Bob Ward, the President and CEO of Legal Aid Ontario, asking him to consider the abuses in the funding of tenant advocacy in the landlord and tenant sphere. Click here to see a copy of the letter to LAO. I hope others take up the cause to achieve fairness and balance. Mr. Ward can be contacted at the address below, or you can fax your concerns or complaints to LAO at 416-979-8669:Mr. Bob Ward, President and CEOLegal Aid OntarioAtrium on Bay, 40 Dundas Street West, Suite 200Toronto, ON M5G 2H1...

Read more: Thoughts on Ontario's Landlord & Tenant Law | 4 Dec 2009 | 11:28 am