Tenant Withholding Rent Due To Notice That He Filed (ON)

Tenant Withholding Rent Due To Notice That He Filed (ON)

Investor · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 4 posts · 0 votes

Hi Bigger Pockets community! I live in Ontario, Canada and my basement tenant is trying his hardest to make my life miserable. Any help and perspective would be greatly appreciated!

This tenant moved into my basement about a year ago. Initially he had many complaints about the unit and I sent him an email asking if he would like to reconsider renting the unit, given his obvious displeasure (thus giving him an out before officially signing the lease). He backpedalled and affirmed that the unit would be satisfactory. It's quite cheap for the Toronto market, where I am located.

My parents also live in this house. Over the past couple months, I suspect my tenant has quit or lost his job. He is now parking his motorbike in front of his entrance, creating a fire code violation for the sole egress that he has. When my mother tried to move it away, he yelled abusively at her. He smokes weed outside his unit on a weekly basis (currently this is illegal in ontario unless he can prove it is for medical purposes). And to top it off, last week he told me that he will not be paying rent for the month because he has filed a notice of violation to the city. Apparently the ceilings are too low in the unit. This is something he verbally acknowledged when he first accepted the lease. But now he has said that I should expect inspectors from the city in the near term, and that he will not be paying a cent of rent. 

I am at a loss, and wondering how long he will be able to go without paying. I have heard that tenants in Ontario are not allowed to withhold rent under any circumstances, and I have heard the opposite. I have heard that I can evict him under certain circumstances as well. Any tips from the community from a legal/experience perspective would be greatly appreciated!

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Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 564 posts · 425 votes
10y

Is the basement unit legal?

No matter what, the first day that the tenant is late on rent, serve him with an N4 notice for non-payment of rent. The LTB does not allow tenants not to pay, even if they have a dispute with the landlord. If tenants really don't want to pay the landlord, they can pay into the LTB until a decision is made by the LTB, but they can't not pay.

The city inspectors are a different story. Either way, start the eviction process. The sooner you get this tenant out, the better.

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  • ., OH · Member since 2015 · 361 posts · 127 votes
    10y

    Cash for keys and kick him to the curb..  plus, he's ruining your investment property and probably annoying your folks.. 

    Check the local laws (I'd find out about that city inspector), but start the eviction process if you can..

  • Buy and Hold Investor · Knoxville, TN · Member since 2013 · 450 posts · 270 votes
    10y

    @Jonathan Li

    Start eviction today. Do not wait until tomorrow. The longer you prolong this the worse it will be for you.

  • Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 564 posts · 425 votes
    10y

    Is the basement unit legal?

    No matter what, the first day that the tenant is late on rent, serve him with an N4 notice for non-payment of rent. The LTB does not allow tenants not to pay, even if they have a dispute with the landlord. If tenants really don't want to pay the landlord, they can pay into the LTB until a decision is made by the LTB, but they can't not pay.

    The city inspectors are a different story. Either way, start the eviction process. The sooner you get this tenant out, the better.

  • Rental Property Investor · La Plata, MD · Member since 2011 · 216 posts · 117 votes
    10y

    I don't know the tenant/landlord laws of Ontario Canada but in my state a tenant cannot withhold the rent due to issues with the property. He has to deposit the money into an escrow account at the courthouse. Once the dispute is settled the judge appropriates the funds. Plus I hope your lease has something along the lines of lawful use of the property. Smoking weed definitely breaks this clause so you do have a reason to evict him, especially if he is living in your personal residence. Everything comes back to how you train your tenants. I usually have a come to Jesus meeting in the beginning so there are no misunderstanding and this is strictly business nothing personal. Sounds like he is taking advantage of you. Tell him if he does not pay the rent he will be evicted... period... Next time he smokes you will call the cops. If he parks his bike other than the designated parking area you will park it where the sun don't shine.

    Think back to your screening process of this tenant. Did you skip a few steps?

  • Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    10y

    Based on my experience in Ontario logic does not apply. Language in the lease other than that which is in the RTA is not enforceable. The police will not assist in any way as they consider landlord/tenant issues a civil matter. The police and the LTB do not care that tenants smoke pot.

    Tenants may not withhold rent, this is illegal

    You have no grounds to successfully evict. The board will never grant an eviction for smoking grass.

    The motor cycle issue will not achieve an eviction he will simply be ordered to move it.

    Yelling at your mother is simply a reaction to her touching his personal property. In Ontario she is in the wrong.

    Cash for keys is a waste of time since he now believes he is living for free he will draw it out as long as he can. He has made a decision to permanently stop paying rent, for whatever reason, and will probably stay till removed by the sheriff.

    The board does not allow a tenant to not pay. If you serve the N4 he will not pay, you will then in 14 days file a L1. At the hearing he will be instructed to pay, he will agree to pay, your application will be denied and you will lose the $170 filing fee. You will then face him appealing, drawing out the process, not paying etc. etc. and it could take 3-6 months to get rid of him. In the interim you will receive no rent.

    Don't waste the time filing a N4 it is nothing more than a get out of jail free card for tenants. You will never have it upheld at this stage of your fight. N4s are useless. In addition if he does leave you are excusing him from owing any back rent.

    There is a better way.

    My advice is to immediately file a L9 with the board. Request for money owed. You will have this upheld and he will be ordered to pay rent and your $170 filing fee.

    When he does not pay you will be able to apply to evict and if he has filed for a building violation you can use that to add to your argument to evict.

    The L9 will be the shortest route to eviction and is the only application that is guaranteed to be upheld and your filing fee will be charged to the tenant.

    Once you have the ruling and he does not pay you automatically convert it to a Small claims court order and when he does get a job you can garnish his wages.

    It is going to be a long road unless you have some friends willing to persuade him to voluntarily leave. (that would be my first option)

  • Investor · Brampton, Ontario · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 4 votes
    10y

    Yes, as the person above mentioned, start the eviction process right away, it may be faster for you to try to evict him for illegal drug use instead of non-payment of rent.

    I had to evict a tenant through the LTB, if you have any questions PM me.

    http://ontariolandlordandtenantlaw.blogspot.ca/ - Good blog for free info


    I disagree with the above mentioned post on "persuading him" with friends to move. 

  • Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    10y

    The Ontario LTB will not evict for drug use. Been there done that.

    The only case where they would even consider evicting would be where the drug use seriously impacted other tenants. Not relevant in this case.

    I strongly advise you not waste time at this point trying to directly evict. It will not work, you first need to set him up with the L9 application.

    When I started in the business I went through the N4/L1 process in similar situations many many time and never successfully evicted. The board will continually give him chance after chance if you start with a N4. The Ontario LTB has a unwritten no eviction policy. 

  • Investor · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2015 · 2 posts · 1 vote
    10y

    I have been through the Land Lord and Tenant Board process.  Firstly, I strongly suggest you get yourself educated with the process http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/forms/  Secondly, if your in the City, take a trip down to the Land Lord and Tenant Board in your area the house is situated in.  I have found that the people there are very helpful and they will explain the process you need to take.  I have evicted a tenant before and although it is very long and stressful journey, I do believe you need to start something.  The day he is late with payment  you serve him, for late payment and also try for the other avenues too.  

    The easiest way to evict the tenant, if someone in your family were in need of the place.  Is it possible that someone could move into the location even for a short time?  Read through this site and look at your options.

    Good Luck make sure you always keep a paper trail of all encounters, notices, discussions, etc.  You need everything when you appear infront of the tribunal.

    Glenda

  • St Thomas, Ontario · Member since 2013 · 575 posts · 408 votes
    10y

    @Jonathan Li The short answer is you need to get a lawyer. I don't know about some of the advice you have received here but you have to provide the proper notice to the tenant that you are going to make an application to the board for eviction. Then 14 days later you file your application to the board. But none of this is something you should be getting into on your own. I had to evict a tenant for illegal acts and I decided early on that this was not the time for Amateur Hour, so I found a lawyer and paid them. It involved a more complicated hearing with subpoena to a police officer who had conducted the raid on my drug dealing tenant, and I had a fully qualified lawyer and not a paralegal so the cost was $1,500. But I got my eviction order with no trouble and in one hearing. I was told at the time that the going rate for a paralegal handling a routine eviction in this part of Ontario was around $650.

    It is said that the LTB is biased against landlords and there is sufficient smoke that there may be fire. But none of this matters - what matters is getting this professional tenant out of your property ASAP. The question then is what is the most effective approach to doing so. You will be taken more seriously if you have legal representation. I once discussed this with an old landlord and he was clearly on side with hiring a lawyer for evictions. The real cost of not hiring a lawyer is the months that the nonpaying tenant might potentially stay if you are not successful in getting him out. Having a lawyer to get everything right and avoid mistakes that might get you back where you started is cheap compared to the alternative.

    Good luck with this. You can evict your tenant. Tenants are evicted every day in Ontario. But I don't think you are in a position to see this through the process on your own.

  • Investor · Maryville, IL · Member since 2016 · 129 posts · 81 votes
    10y

    @Jonathan Li - I had to evict once.

    It was painful.  Looking back, I did the best I could and I have since taken steps to minimize future pain.  One thing that is moderately helpful is we only rent month to month now instead of a yearly lease.

    I also paid a lawyer who specializes in the process.  I advise you do the same.  It is money well spent so you do not make a mistake or have the burden of filing and appearing at every instance in court.

    You pay for insurance in case the place burns down, you pay for a lawyer in case they won't get out.  Take your medicine, learn your lesson, and get a better tenant (perhaps improve your screening process as was suggested in an earlier post - we use a third party verifier and the prospective tenant pays for the application - that alone screens a bunch of riff-raff from ever applying).

    Blessings!

  • Real estate investor · Las Vegas · Member since 2013 · 798 posts · 171 votes
    10y

    I would not advise a lawyer, if you are already familiar with the laws.

  • Member since 2016 · 13k+ posts · 12k+ votes
    10y

    You need to educate your self on the process. I have been to the board more times than I can count over the years and know the system inside and out. The first time I had an eviction I hired a lawyer that specialised in representing landlords, I lost. Since then I have never needed a lawyer and like Small claims court in Ontario you do not need a lawyer. You need to be educated on the process, know and understand your chances before you ever file and be thoroughly prepared. Know ever detail by heart without hesitation. Most new landlords do not have a clue, are ill prepared and never get their application upheld because they did not do their homework.

    If you want a good laugh go to a few hearings to observe. The tenants low life welfare lawyers chew up the ill informed mom and pop landlords while benefiting from the good old boys club between themselves and the judicators.

    To survive you need to know what you can and can not win before you file anything. In your case a N4 is a waste of time, you will not evict your tenant at this point in time so the best you can do is not waste your $170 fling fee.

    What you are doing is building a case against this tenant. Do not simply throw away money trying to evict. Start with the L9 because right now you will never get an eviction.

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