There have been many stories from tenants who claim that their landlords terminated their tenancies, claiming personal use, only to turn around and re-rent it for a much higher rate of rent.
In 2017, the rules around a Landlord’s ability to terminate a tenancy based upon personal use changed, making it a little more difficult to do so, and penalizes a landlord who doesn’t act in good faith.
This was done in an attempt to prevent landlords from evicting tenants paying lower rent amounts, then turning around to re-rent for a much higher amount.
A Landlord can only bring an Application to evict a tenant for personal use for themselves, an immediate family member or an individual who is providing personal care services to you or a family member.
An Affidavit must be sworn by the individual who wants to move into the unit, and it must state that they in good faith require the unit for their own use for at least a year.
Additionally, the Landlord must give the tenant one-months’ rent compensation as a result of the eviction or offer the tenant a comparable unit, if available.
So, what happens if a Landlord doesn’t act in good faith, and re-rents that unit within the year? They’re looking at a Bad Faith Tenant Application, and they’re facing a fine of up to $25,000.00.
An Application to evict a tenant for personal use is not meant to be used to get rid of a tenant for another other reason. Act in bad faith, and you can suffer some really stiff penalties.
Lately, I’ve been helping a lot of Residential Landlords properly evict tenants to use the premises for personal use. If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to me.
Murray Brown, Licensed Paralegal