On April 10, 2024 I attended an L1 Application at the Landlord and Tenant Board (the “LTB”) on behalf of our client to obtain an Order for Eviction of a tenant who owed over $45,000.00 in rent.
The Tenant previously alleged maintenance issues with the Unit, which resulted in him withholding rent. This was a luxury condo in an in-demand neighbourhood.
The Tenant only alleged maintenance issues after the Landlord demanded payment of the already significant rent arrears. The landlord made several requests from the tenant for evidence of his allegations, but instead, he ignored the landlord and continued to not pay rent while living in the luxury condo.
At the Hearing, the Tenant would have ordered to vacate within 10 days of the Hearing, however, he advised he could move by June 30, 2024, which our client graciously agreed to. The catch? Since the arrears were already out of the monetary jurisdiction of the LTB, the Tenant was ordered to pay rent to the Landlord for April, May and June, which he agreed to.
The Tenant failed to pay the full amount of rent for April and May and June. Instead, he applied (without notice to us) for a Review of the Order, which the LTB dismissed. He was ordered to vacate by June 30, 2024.
Shocking no one, he failed to vacate by June 30, 2024 and we instructed the Sheriff to carry out the eviction, which was to take place on September 4, 2024. The Tenant instead appealed the LTB Order after the time to appeal had already expired.
After several hearings before the Divisional Court, and multiple failures of the Tenant to comply with the Orders made by the Divisional Court, he finally withdrew his Appeal and was ordered to be evicted. You can read that decision here 2024 ONSC 6611 (CanLII) | Greenwood v. Amexon | CanLII.
We are happy to report that he finally vacated on January 20, 2025, almost 7 months after he was originally ordered to vacate.
A Tenant cannot withhold rent due to maintenance issues with a rental unit. It is simply against the law, period.
Tenants tend to use rent withholding as leverage to get the Landlord to carry out maintenance issues; however, this can end up terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant.
If a Tenant has an issue with maintenance, the proper procedure is to bring a Tenant Application about Maintenance before the LTB and pay the outstanding rent and continue to do so into the LTB pending resolution of the Application. A tenant does not get to reside in a unit without paying for same.
In our case, the allegations of maintenance issues were unsubstantiated, and simply a ruse to avoid paying rent. The Tenant never brought his own Application before the LTB and therefore any allegations of maintenance issues were not considered, because they were not properly before the LTB.
Failing to pay rent due to maintenance issues can result in the termination of the Tenancy Agreement and lead to eviction. Maintenance issues are not a way to avoid paying rent. Rent is non-negotiable.