Think you’re being evicted in bad faith?
Gather all your receipts and documents, prepare to meet Landlord and Tenant Board
As part of a new series, the Star will be answering common questions about renting in Toronto. First up: what can you do if you think you’ve been evicted in bad faith?
The question:
Here’s a scenario for Toronto tenants to ponder:
You’re enjoying life in your downtown condo when, unexpectedly, you receive an eviction notice from your landlord telling you to leave within 60 days.
The landlord uses a Form N12 notice, legally allowing them to evict any tenant by stating that the owner, their immediate family member or a purchaser intends to move in.
So you pack your bags and find a new place. But then, not long after relocating, you notice a new rental listing for a condo online.
It’s the same condo you just vacated — but listed at a higher price. This is called a “bad-faith” eviction. The practice is not unfamiliar to some Toronto renters. Earlier this year, a Toronto landlord was fined $75,000 for evicting downtown tenants in bad faith, according to a Landlord and Tenant Board ruling.
So, what can you do?
The answer:
Kenn Hale, director of advocacy and legal services at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, says most tenants take eviction notices at face value.
“Many people just get a notice and think that the landlord’s word is the law,” he told the Star. “They don’t immediately question whether it’s true or not.”
The primary option for tenants is to take their landlord to the Landlord and Tenant Board, an adjudicative tribunal operated by the province, if they believe they were evicted in bad faith, Hale explains.
Tenants will need to submit a T5 form
describing the situation in detail, and Hale says tenants may want to consider seeking legal aid beforehand.
The board will ask the tenant to demonstrate why they believe they were evicted in bad faith. If the tenant has seen their condo listed online, for instance, they should be able to provide documentation of the listing, such as a URL link or a screenshot.
In turn, the board will ask that the landlord either prove the eviction was made in good faith or explain how circumstances may have changed since the eviction notice (for example, why the landlord may have decided not to move into the unit that they evicted their tenants from, if that was their initial justification for the eviction).
Caryma Sa’d, a landlord and tenant lawyer in Toronto, says tenants should keep records while they’re living in the unit in case they find themselves before the board later on.
“Tenants should be documenting any conversations they have with the landlord,” she says. “Other things, like the expenses you incurred as a result of the move due to your eviction, are also worth keeping track of.”
Hale adds, “The board really likes to see receipts and documentation of expenses ... So if you pay somebody to help you move, even if it’s an informal arrangement, get a receipt from them.”
Sa’d says landlords may be required to compensate tenants for these costs if the board finds they’ve been evicted in bad faith.
Most importantly, Sa’d says, is that tenants have one year to bring a T5 complaint to the board.