Windsor Landlord Is Out $28K in Rent: Does the RTA Need to be Overhauled?
Recently, a Windsor landlord was left holding the bag for over $28,000 in rent arrears. He applied for an eviction with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) and it was granted. Then, at the last minute, the tenants won an appeal for a stay.
This is a common tactic used by professional tenants. While an eviction stay typically does not last as long as the wait for the initial eviction hearing, the landlord has to suffer yet another delay and the tenants get more “free” time in the unit (technically not free, added to the arrears, but they will try to find a way to dodge those.)
And it’s not over once the stay is lifted. The landlord then must try to collect the arrears, which involves going to small claims court to have the order enforced against the former renter. Then, they have to hire a collections agency to finally collect. Often, the landlord has to wait a significant amount of time as the former renter works out a payment plan with the agency, if they even do that at all.
How the Residential Tenancies Act has to change
Once every few months, a case like this surfaces in the media where a small landlord has to deal with issues arising from tenants not paying rent and using the system to delay eviction. So what has to change?
Firstly, if an LTB case has progressed to the point where the tenant is being evicted and owes a massive amount of arrears in rent, it stands to reason that the landlord no longer wants to rent to them. The tenant should not be allowed to remain if they pay back rent if a case has dragged on for a certain amount of time and high arrears have accrued. This just allows the cycle to start anew.
Obviously, this law exists for cases where the tenant owes a few months of back rent and has presumably fallen on a temporary set of bad circumstances. Even in that instance, many landlords would want to get new tenants in, but the law is somewhat reasonable if the setback is temporary.
In cases like the one that recently occurred in Windsor, that’s not what happened – the tenants owe a significant amount of back rent. The current LTB regulations were drafted in a time where everyone was assuming fair dealing; we don’t live in that world anymore.
There are too many tenants out there who game the system for the current Residential Tenancies Act to stay in place as-is. Luckily, Doug Ford has signaled that he wants to overhaul the LTB, maybe there’s a hope that his government will take a look at the RTA too during that exercise. It’s not unreasonable to allow landlords to permanently evict tenants without potential eviction stays once arrears have reached a certain financial threshold. Five-figure debts like the one the Windsor landlord faces would be a good start.
Secondly, the order from the LTB should be good enough for the landlord to collect arrears. They shouldn’t have to face the extra step of going to small claims.
Property management is a must in this climate
Now, more than ever, it makes good financial sense to have a property management firm manage your rental property. With Highgate Property Investments, you won’t have to deal with fake identification and employment documentation and similar headaches. We handle all of the tenant screening and we know all of the tricks.
We also won’t let a situation escalate to the level of a five-figure debt; we file with the LTB immediately (with your permission) if a rent payment is missed. The worst case scenario is that we rescind the order if the tenant makes the payment, so it isn’t as bad as it sounds.
If we were going to debrief, the only thing the Windsor landlord did wrong was to not file with the LTB at the first missed payment. This is a mistake many small landlords make since “professional” tenants are very good at sob stories and delays. We’re all human, and we like to think that people will do what they say they will. The rest of the story is a failure of the government to protect small landlords from professional tenants.
If you want to take away the stress of being a landlord but still enjoy the profits, get in touch with us today. Our rates are affordable and we’ve been managing properties in Toronto, the GTA, and the Barrie area for a number of years.
