Achi news desk-
A property management company in Fergus is still cleaning up after they say a tenant trashed one of their units and refused to pay rent.
E-Van Management looks after properties for what it calls “mom and pop landlords.” Jennifer Kamphuis with E-Van Management said in this case, it was a tenant who had lived in the building for years.
“They stopped paying rent last summer,” he said.
“We still tried to work with them – to get their rent paid and sort of keep their tenancy. Ultimately, that’s what we want to do, is to save tenancies as much as possible. But the tenant never responded to that.”
The company filed for eviction on August 30, 2023. Ontario legislation forces all disputes to go through the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).
“Our hearing was February 1. We actually got the order on February 29, which is fast considering how things are lately, but we didn’t actually get the sheriff out until April 10,” Kamphuis said.
In total, it took almost eight months from the time the eviction order was filed for the tenant to leave.
E-Van Management says in the case of the tenant who lived in this unit, it took almost eight months to get an eviction order through the Landlord and Tenant Board. (Submitted/Jennifer Kamphuis)
This is not the only case like this that Kamphuis has seen recently.
“We have a young couple who own a house. Their tenant had just been evicted, he owes a lot of money, and they were living with their grandparents. They were powerless,” he explained, adding that they had lost a good tenant in their connected unit due to the actions of the bad tenant.
“It has caused them anxiety, stress and financial hardship beyond belief.”
Since COVID-19, she has noticed an increase in cases and a greater backlog at the LTB.
“This is not something that used to be a big problem,” Kamphuis explained.
“Every now and then you’d have someone who didn’t pay rent, but it would be like – you’d send them a notice and they’d either pay or they’d leave.”
Jennifer Kamphuis with E-Van Management says since COVID-19, she has noticed an increase in tenants refusing to pay rent or leave. (Stefanie Davis/CTV Kitchener)
Puneet Shroff, a real estate lawyer with Sorbara Law, said the firm has also noticed an increase in cases.
“We’re definitely seeing this a lot more these days,” he said.
“Rental prices have increased, living costs have increased and tenants are also more informed about their rights and their ability to stay in the unit until there is an order from the Landlord Tenant Board.”
Shroff said applications from landlords must be filled out perfectly, or it could be back to square one. He said that’s one reason why it’s important to hire a lawyer for this type of dispute.
“Any small flaw can be a reason for the LTB to consider it flawed and they just have to eliminate that moving forward,” said Shroff.
CTV News requested an interview with the LTB, but they declined.
In an emailed statement, a spokesperson said there was a “31 percent increase in the number of applications received in calendar year 2023, to approximately 84,000 new applications.”
The LTB said it had implemented a number of strategies to reduce backlogs, including employing 46 full-time and 29 part-time referees from May 2023.
“The LTB projects that when all the newly authorized and appointed full-time adjudicators hold hearings (expected in June), it will begin to make significant reductions in the backlog,” the LTB said. .
Applications for non-payment of rent, entitled L1 and L9 applications, account for more than half of the LTB’s total applications. The LTB said in early 2023, it takes eight to 10 months to get a hearing. Now, it takes about four months.
Shreef said that even with the reduction in wait times, it still costs landlords money.
“At $2,500 a month, that could be over $10,000,” he said.
Online petition
An online petition launched on February 21 entitled “We Call for Automatic Eviction Orders for Non-Payment of Residential Rent” has gathered more than 37,000 signatures.
One request from the petition is for a policy that would allow eviction of a tenant for non-payment of rent to be ordered automatically without a hearing “subject to proof satisfactory to a court being provided of non-payment of rent from’ such.”
Kamphuis said it was one solution to solving the current backlog at the LTB.
“The tenant can continue to pay rent to the LTB if there is a problem with maintenance or something – if there is a reason why they feel the landlord should not be receiving the rent,” he explained.
“[The LTB] can streamline applications for non-payment of rent and then it would give the LTB time to deal with other issues.”
Kamphuis added that the majority of landlords in the province are willing to work with their tenants to overcome obstacles and come to solutions.
“We really want to help good tenants,” he said.
“When you get a bad tenant, it’s a very difficult situation for the good tenants. They suffer the most apart from the landlords, right? They have to live next to the people who scare them. But the landlords’ hands are tied.”
