Archive for the ‘landlord advocacy’ Category

Landlord & Tenant Board News For Small Landlords

Thursday, April 7th, 2022

TO:                  Ontario Landlord Association Stakeholders

SUBJECT:   Scheduling Update

 We are writing to provide you with an update on scheduling at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

We continue to hear all types of applications. In addition to scheduling previously adjourned matters and tenant merit applications, we are also scheduling merits hearings for newly filed landlord applications. We’d like to advise you of the following details:

  • Urgent matters will continue to be scheduled on a priority basis. If you believe your matter warrants an earlier hearing date, you can file a Request to Extend/Shorten Time.
  • Tenant merits hearings will continue to be scheduled in smaller blocks.

One adjudicator will be assigned to each block. One moderator and one dispute resolution officer will support each tenant merits block, allowing for same-day mediation.

  • L1s and L2s will also be scheduled in smaller blocks to ensure all matters get heard in the allotted time. The size of the blocks will increase incrementally over the summer and leading into the fall, and we will continue to monitor them to ensure that the appropriate number of matters are being scheduled for the allotted time.

One adjudicator will be assigned to each block. One moderator and one dispute resolution officer will support each block, allowing for same-day mediation.

  • Approximately 9-10 blocks will be scheduled each day, Monday to Thursday. L1s, and L2s and tenant merits, will be scheduled on alternating weeks (for example, week 1 will consist of L1 blocks, and week 2 will consist of L2 and tenant merit blocks).
  • Case management hearings and merits hearings for Above Guideline Increase applications continue to be scheduled.
  • Motions, reviews, and co-operative housing hearings also continue to be part of the schedule as required, as well as weekly French/bilingual hearings.
  • Online dispute resolution continues to be available for all applications filed in the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Routine mediation also continues to be available upon request for all application types. If you filed your application in the Tribunals Ontario Portal, you can make a request for routine mediation through the portal. For all other applications, you can email or mail your request to the applicable regional office.

Thank you for your continued patience as we work on service improvements. We are in the process of refining our scheduling model, and the updates provided above are part of that process.

In the coming weeks, we will be holding a stakeholder meeting where we will discuss our future scheduling plans and our work to improve service standards. As always, you’ll have an opportunity to provide feedback and ask questions at that meeting.

Join Our Community Team For 2023-2024

Sunday, April 3rd, 2022

The Ontario Landlords Association is a community association of small landlords across the province that started over a decade ago.

Our goal since Day 1 have been to raise the level of professionalism in the Ontario rental industry. Before we started there were few places to find help or advice and the concerns of small landlords were rarely mentioned in the media.

We came together as a community to make sure small landlords were aware of the rules according to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) and followed these rules. Before we came along many small landlords had little understanding of the RTA or the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

Furthermore, we made it clear that landlords needed to learn the rules of the Human Rights Commission and follow them. Many small landlords were totally unaware of these important rules before we educated them.

Are you interested in joining our Volunteer Team for 2023-2024

You can help by volunteering in the following ways.

1 Sharing your experiences/advice as a small landlord in Ontario with blog posts.

2 Helping us find new great services to introduce to our community.

3 Moderating our forums.

4 Helping process new memberships.

5 Organizing meetings across the province.

6 Speaking to media to provide a fair and sophisticated view on landlord-tenant issues.

We Are All About Raising The Bar For Small Landlords To Achieve Win-Win Business Relationships With Our Tenants

For our members only, please send us your information and status as a landlord, how many volunteer hours you have available and specifically how you can help in one of the above categories.

Join Our Team! 


Thank you for the overwhelming response from small working class landlords from across the province! Submissions are now closed. We have our new team helping out in every aspect of our growing community organization. Great work everyone!

Ontario Landlord Eviction Orders Can Now Be Enforced

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2021

June 3, 2021

TO:                 Ontario Landlord Association Stakeholders

 FROM:           Karen Restoule, Associate Chair

                        Lynn Dicaire, Registrar

 RE:                 Eviction Enforcement Resumes on June 3

The provincial Stay-At-Home order was lifted on June 2, 2021, meaning that Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff) can enforce Landlord and Tenant Board eviction orders everywhere in Ontario.

Sincerely,

Karen Restoule                    Lynn Dicaire

Associate Chair                    Registrar

——————————————————————————————

The ban on residential eviction enforcement was not extended and has ended today.  Evictions have resumed and landlords can now get eviction orders enforced. Forum members can get more information here.

Eviction Enforcement Resumes Across Ontario

Monday, March 8th, 2021

TO:                Ontario Landlord Association Stakeholders

FROM:          Karen Restoule, Associate Chair

                       Lynn Dicaire, Registrar

RE:                 Eviction Enforcement Resumes Across Ontario

Today, the Stay-At-Home order was lifted in Toronto, Peel and North Bay public health regions, meaning that the Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff) may now enforce Landlord and Tenant Board eviction orders everywhere in Ontario.

The government may make further changes to the list of public health unit regions subject to these restrictions in the weeks to come.

Please continue to refer to our website for operational updates. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.

Sincerely,

[original signed by]               [original signed by]                          

Karen Restoule                    Lynn Dicaire

Associate Chair                    Registrar

Updated Ontario Standard Lease Must Be Used For Tenancies Beginning March 1st

Friday, March 5th, 2021

Reminder to landlords in Ontario on March 1st, 2021 we must use the new version of the government lease 

Ontario landlords know that we need to use the Ontario Standard Form Of Lease. Previously, residential landlords were allowed to create their own leases customized for their tenants.

Fortunately, with the government lease landlords can still add important clauses to protect our rental properties.

What’s Different About The Updated Lease?

OLA members have been discussing this on our forum. Some of the changes include things like allowing for the use of electronic signatures and clarifying the penalties for not following the rules and for “bad faith” evictions.

Where Can I Download The New Updated Lease?

Please click this LINK to download the updated lease.

Where Can I Discuss The Updated Lease And How To Add Lease Clauses?

Join our busy Members forum to discuss this and all other questions you have.

The key to being a successful Ontario landlord to to be proactive and solve issues before they become larger problems.