Free Mediation Services in York Region: Worth it for Landlords?
York Region has free mediation services for landlords and tenants to make up for some of the backlog at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). On its face, it looks like a great idea to get fast resolutions to problems.
However, landlords should probably still file the appropriate forms for a hearing with the LTB for major things like non-payment of rent, significant damages, or other items that may ultimately require an LTB ruling to resolve. Let’s have a look at how it works.
Area of Jurisdiction: York Region
The York Region is composed of a variety of cities and townships just north of Toronto, including Vaughan, Aurora, Newmarket, and Richmond Hill. Here is a map of the region. The mediation services are only available to landlords and tenants in York.
Process and Estimated Time
The service is run by York Region Community Mediation Services and is funded by the Government of Canada. The first part is telephone onboarding to determine eligibility and inform you about the process. Confidentiality agreements must be signed to keep mediation sessions private. From there, you will have a case development meeting with mediators, which typically takes an hour to get the background information. The mediation process itself is three hours and is divided into three stages.
How Landlords can Benefit From This Process
As mentioned, the LTB should still be the ruling body for anything that involves serious dollar amounts. There isn’t any information indicating that the results of the mediation process are enforceable through a small claims court order, where they are with the LTB. However, it is good for minor items, such as a tenant constantly asking for non-essential maintenance to be done to the unit, a tenant who is constantly a few days late with rent, and other minor situations where you are dealing with a high-conflict tenant.
The mediation process is faster than the LTB, and can be used to improve the client relationship with the tenant, which ultimately is the most important factor in ensuring that rent is paid on time and your property is maintained in good order.
How a Property Management Company can Help
Most tenant disputes that don’t fall into the category of being serious enough to bring to the LTB start small. A late payment here, a repair forgotten there. With a property management company in your corner, nothing slips through the cracks. We make sure the tenant relationship is well-managed and the rent hits your account on time every month. All it costs is an affordable management fee and a little bit of your time to get the account set up. With your services, you’ll probably never need a mediator, because we are the mediators.
Contact us today to see what we can do for you!
