What's Happening At the Landlord and Tenant Board?
Disclaimer: The situation with Covid-19 is constantly changing so get in touch with us and we will refer you to an expert to help your specific situation.
The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) exercises jurisdiction under the Residential Tenancies Act to hear and decide applications respecting residential tenancies; essentially this is where all landlord/tenant matters are heard.
Currently the board has suspended almost all eviction hearings for:
Non-payment of Rent & Arrears (N4)
Owner/Family Occupation of a Unit (N12)
Renovations/Demolitions/Conversions (N12)
Vacancy clauses included in Purchase & Sale agreements
Very limited hearings are still going forward via phone hearings for:
Tenant applications related to serious health/safety issues "
Emergency applications related to criminal activity
Adjudicators at the LTB hold hearings, make rulings, review and analyze evidence and make decisions as a neutral party. It is up to you to present evidence that supports your position. Adjudicators have great discretion in giving eviction orders being sought by a landlord and if they feel that as a landlord, you have acted inappropriately or have been particularly difficult in this situation, they may not give the eviction order you are requesting. You will be require to demonstrate that you have worked hard with the tenant to resolve the situation before going to the board and the "bar" that will be used to judge how you acted during this time will be higher than usual for the foreseeable future.
The LTB should always be used as a last-resort situation. The LTB was already overburdened before the crisis and there is expected to be a significant backlog of cases once it does fully reopen which is not expected to happen until the Covid-19 pandemic has been resolved.