First I want to thank Harry Fine for his most excellent and correct advocacy work on behalf of Landlords in Ontario. We have a true champion for Landlords who works hard to educate landlords. Point is yesterday he saved my ass, well not my ass, but rather my clients’ money.
-The trap I want to talk about is one that affects the poor landlord afflicted with a rent thief who goes to the Landlord & Tenant Board. In the past Members would order that rent arrears would be paid into the Board. The law states that a tenant cannot withhold rent for maintenance issues, I’m not sure why it states that… when they book 100 tenants a day for non payment cases, take 3 months for a simple non-payment hearing to book a date for a hearing, and then adjourn every single case where the tenant says they have a maintenance issue because “They Don’t Have Time To Deal With Anything” thereby giving the rent thief more free landlord money to do with what they will.
Yesterday I was at the LTB with a tenant who hasn’t paid rent since July. She claimed maintenance issues… so the Adjudicator ordered her to pay $11,000 in rent arrears into the LTB. That’s insane and for more than one reason.
Rule 20.3
If, after an order is issued but before it becomes enforceable, a tenant
pays the LTB less than the amount required to void the order and the
tenant does not file a motion to set aside the order, the LTB will:
- direct the money be returned to the tenant, once the order has become enforceable, and
- issue a Notice to the parties confirming that the order is not void.
Rule 20.4
If, after an order is issued but before it becomes enforceable, a tenant pays the LTB less than the amount required to void the order and files a motion to set aside the order, the LTB will, when issuing its order, direct payment of the money be returned to the tenant.
So let’s say Deadbeat Dan owes his landlord $10,000 and claims he wasn’t paying his rent because his door bell is broken (Actual claim I heard today) and pays $9000 into the Board while waiting for his maintenance hearing in 2020 or the second coming of Jesus whichever comes first… and the landlord takes on a second job to pay for his mortgage, insurance and taxes and Deadbeat Dan’s Broken Doorbell, and then they have a hearing and Deadbeat Dan is evicted after all, because his abatement isn’t the $25,000 he asked for in his maintenance and tenant’s rights case because of trauma from his broken doorbell… or he just didn’t feel like paying because he’s a rent thief… Deadbeat Dan gets his money back!!!!
Fortunately yesterday I had 2 things going for me… a paralegal who doesn’t mind arguing, and an adjudicator who didn’t fall for the tenant’s garbage excuses so it was the adjudicator who wrote up the interim order, ordering the tenant to pay the monthly rent to the landlord, and pay the arrears into court and it was the paralegal who asked that the landlord be paid directly at least part of the $11,000, at the end only $4,000 was ordered paid into the Board.
According to the interim order if the money is not paid into the Board the Adjudicator may refuse to hear the case. I would like to see that… usually the Member just ignores Fraudulent Fiona’s failure to pay rent and listens to their bullshit excuses for non payment anyways.
Bottom line is… don’t be lulled into complacency with story that the tenant paid the rent into the Board… it doesn’t mean shit and it won’t pay your mortgage, ask for at least part to be paid to you and ask for the first payments to be sent to you. If you’re going to set up an interim order where part of the arrears can be paid into the Board ask for it to be the last portion.
As far as I’m concerned this is a perfect example of the Landlord & Tenant Board being shittier than ever. I wish that Landlord & Tenant Board Adjudicators were paid in LTB Orders, you’d see their level of concern raise drastically.
This is an extremely important rule change that will screw up a ton of small landlords who will be tricked into think they will at least get something. Make no mistake… the Landlord & Tenant Board under Doug Ford is the worst it’s ever been. I’m still waiting for a court date FROM OCTOBER 22ND 2018 to be rescheduled because I need a full day at least for a hearing.
OMG, it’s so retarded, I don’t even. I mean if you had asked me, how can the government screw over small landlords so hard and so thoroughly that they default on their mortgages and end up with tens of thousands in rent arrears? I would not have put a refusal to hire goddamn adjudicators on the list.
Anyways Landlords if you are pissed off, here’s Doug Ford’s published cell phone number, I hear the voicemail is full and no one ever answers the phone, but you can at least text your displeasure.
Doug Ford’s Cell Phone Number 416-805-2156. Forget about it, Doug’s cell no longer accepts text messages.
UPDATE : First payment not paid as ordered…
