Posts Tagged ‘Landlord Legal’

It’s Important To Pay Your Rent To Your Small Landlord

Friday, September 11th, 2020

My name is Laura and I post under my name on the Ontario Landlords Forum. I’ve been active there for years to try to help other tenants and give some of my advice to help small landlords too.

These are crazy times for everyone.

And while tenants are suffering it’s also important to know your landlord might be suffering too. This pandemic is hurting everyone.

We Need To Stick Together

I used to own a house and we rented our basement out years ago and it really helped us cover our mortgage. When my husband died my children were grown so I decided to sell the house and rent.

Renting has a lot of advantages.

I don’t have to worry about any maintenance issues and my landlady has a service to cut the lawn and plow the snow.  My landlord cover my utilities so she can get just one payment each month to keep things uncomplicated.

My landlady is a teacher and her husband has his own contracting company and they are terrific.

“Are You Going To Pay The Rent?”

When all this chaos started in March and the government said “tenants don’t have to pay rent” my landlady called me and asked me if I was going to pay the rent.

I told her “of course I will”. She was thankful and said if I needed a break just call her.

My Landlady Is Professional and Kind, And I Make Paying Rent A Priority

I’m in a pretty good situation where I don’t need to worry about buying food and my children are adults now.  I know others might not be as safe as I am.

I’m going to pay the rent not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because I want to keep my excellent relationship with my landlady and know that if I don’t pay rent it could hurt her financially (and even lead to her selling this place).

Pay You Rent And If You Can’t Call Your Landlord

My landlady isn’t some big global corporation. She and her family invested and thanks to them I have a great place to stay at a great price.

Rent Strike Hits Small Landlords, Not The Corporate Landlords

-Not paying rent will just get rid of the small nice landlords who care about you.

-Not paying rent will not impact the big heartless corporations.

-The whole “rent strike” people are likely corporate landlords who want to get rid of small landlords who are their competition.  At least that’s what I think.

Stay Home and Stay Safe!

I’m so happy to have a great rental with a great landlady. I feel safe and don’t ever want to move.

With Love And Wishing Everyone Stays Safe,

Laura

 

Bill 184 – The “Tenant Slaughter And Un-Protection Act”

Tuesday, July 21st, 2020

Disclaimer: “This isn’t an attack on landlords. This is an attack on the system that got us here.”

“Let’s make a payment plan. Let’s avoid the LTB, work together (tenant signs)….GOT YOU… Hahaha I can now evict you fast, you have no legal rights now! SUCKER! The Sheriff is coming now to kick you out!”

Tenants need to be aware of the huge challenges we are soon going to face!

While the Premier has acted all kind and cuddly (like that fat drunk uncle we all see during the holidays who laughs as he passes gas and then beats your aunt to bloody pulp when they get home) it’s only an act.

The reality is those of us who rightfully didn’t pay rent (or full rent) are being prepared for the slaughterhouse (legally)!

It’s called Bill 184 and you can bet it will soon be the law and the slaughter of tenants will begin.

The government will not forgive tenants not paying and instead are going to demand tenants agree to “payment plans” that bypass the legal process of going to the Landlord and Tenant Board for a legal Hearing (where tenants have rights and free legal help)

The NDP came up with a plan to help tenants cover rent by using government funds to help during the horrible pandemic.

Even some landlord groups such as the Ontario Landlords Association proposed this as a way for tenants and their landlords to avoid conflict and avoid evictions.

Lots of other industries have received government support, so why not residential tenants and their landlords?

No, that would have been too easy and too nice. Why be nice when they want a slaughter and I think they enjoy seeing us suffer!

Suze Morrison is an NDP MPP who wants to protect tenants. Morrison is very aware of the reality and the coming avalanche of mass evictions based on landlords legally being able to trick tenants into forfeiting our legal rights.

Thousands of tenants in Ontario are lying awake at night, worrying about losing the roof over their head when the province’s weak pause on the enforcement of evictions ends.

They wouldn’t be this position if Doug Ford had answered the NDP’s call to provide a rent subsidy to tenants who have lost income or their job due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but here we are.

As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Ford government has found a way to make things even worse.

Now, in the middle of the pandemic, the Conservatives are attempting to quietly ram through legislation that will make it easier for landlords to evict tenants.

Don’t be fooled by the name of the legislation. Bill 184, the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, is bad for tenants.

Tenants already faced an uphill battle at the Landlord and Tenant Board, squaring off against often deep-pocketed landlords and their high-priced lawyers. If passed, Ford’s eviction bill will leave tenants with fewer defences to avail themselves of and fewer opportunities to plead their case.

Consider the case of a landlord who refuses to fix a malfunctioning radiator in a tenant’s unit. If the tenant withholds their rent, the landlord can haul them in front of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Under Bill 184, the tenant may be prevented from pointing out other issues, like the landlord’s failure to maintain the unit in a good state of repair, at the hearing on non-payment of rent.

Bill 184 also takes away a tenant’s right to return to the Landlord and Tenant Board if they miss a payment after coming up with a repayment plan to catch up on back rent. This is especially concerning in the context of the pandemic.

Thousands of tenants in Ontario will be trying to catch up on back rent after losing their income or job. What if they feel pressured to accept a repayment plan and fall behind on payments despite their best efforts? What if their financial circumstances change because there’s a second wave of COVID-19?

Under Bill 184, there’s no opportunity to revisit the repayment plan at the Landlord and Tenant Board. Tenants could find a sheriff knocking on their door, ready to enforce their eviction, the second they miss a payment.

The Ford government can claim that its eviction bill is about “protecting tenants” all it wants. But even Steve Clark, the minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, admits that the legislation is about moving things along at the Landlord and Tenant Board when the government switches the lights back on.

In this very paper, he wrote: “We know that when regular hearings resume at the LTB, there will be a backlog of cases requiring resolution. That’s why this legislation is important today — in light of COVID-19.”

Yes, there will be a backlog of cases. The enforcement of evictions may be on hold for now, but that hasn’t stopped landlords from threatening tenants with eviction — even for partial rent payments.

And what is the Ford government doing with thousands of evictions on the horizon in Ontario? Instead of helping tenants keep up with rent, and in turn ensuring landlords get paid, the government is greasing the gears of the Landlord and Tenant Board to speed up evictions.

Tenants deserve better than a government that claims it’s protecting them when it’s really making them more vulnerable to losing the roof over their heads.

It’s time for the Ford government to scrap its plan to make evictions easier and step up with rent relief to help see tenants through the economic pain of COVID-19.

Contact Your Local Legal Aid Clinic For Help Against Your Bad Landlord

Saturday, September 21st, 2019

Thanks To Justin Trudeau You Can Get Free Legal Help To Fight Your Bad Landlord!

You Can Use This Free Service To Intimidate & Even BANKRUPT Bad Landlords!

You NEED To Get Free Legal Help! (Yes, Free!)

Often tenants think we are alone and feel helpless.  After all, many of us work long hours or rely on diminishing government assistance to keep food on the table.

Life for us hard-working honest tenants is a constant struggle just to survive!

Many tenants also have young kids and anyone who has brought up children knows how stressful this is. Unlike the rich landlords, we can’t use the rent money to hire nannies, cooks, cleaners and buy the most expensive toys.

So when you have a bully landlord causing you trouble many tenants feel like we are in a “black hole”.

We get depressed, we feel ill and it’s all about a sense of powerlessness.

While your Ferrari owning or $100,000 SUV driving landlord can use our rent to hire lawyers, we feel we are on our own. And life is tough enough without dealing with some rich bully landlord.

While landlords are enjoying our rent money, many tenants are struggling to survive.

Cheer Up and Be Energized! There Is Help Out There For You!

The pro-landlord right wing conservative media such as the CBC and Toronto Star will never write about ways tenants can get help and justice.

Why?

Because they rely on the revenue of advertisements to the “landlord class” to make money.

This is why you see so many ads for expensive vacations to Europe or the Caribbean, ads for expensive cars, and ads for expensive law firms…all directed to the rich “landlord class”.

These landlords are the people who really run our country.  And their source of money is the working class like us paying them rent!

But There Is Help…(and it’s free!)

Fortunately there is help out there. Only most tenants don’t even know about it!

We are too over-worked, too stressed, too tired, and too indoctrinated to even believe such help exists.

But Help Does Exist Thanks to Legal Aid Clinics Across Ontario!

The evil Ford government cut funding to legal aid centers.  These are centers that provide free legal help to people who need protection.

For example, new refugees, women who have been victims of domestic abuse, and most important is tenants.

Ford is controlled by the landlords. So he wanted to shut down the ways poor tenants trying to survive can fight back. The landlords like the OLA pushed Ford to do this!

Justin Trudeau Came To Our Rescue!

The devious Ford gov’t cut legal aid as the Corporate landlords and Ontario Landlords Association told them to do!

This would have stopped refugees and tenants from being able to get help. The was the plan by the OLA and the huge globalist corporate landlords. Without legal aid, tenants could easily be bullied and intimidated.

Thanks to Justin Trudeau our amazing Prime Minister (great hair!) the federal government gave full funding to the legal aid clinics in Ontario!

Contact Your Local Legal Aid Clinic For Free Legal Help

They have amazing trained professionals lawyers and paralegals who will help you. They are very experienced and on your side!

Find your local legal clinic here.

Tenant Duty Counsel Program

This is free legal help specifically for landlord/Tenant matters.

The government provides free legal help to ALL tenants (rich or poor) at the Landlord and Tenant Board Tribunals.

Even if you make $1,000,000/year and drive a Ferrari you get free legal help…but you need to come to your Landlord and Tenant Board Hearing early and get the free help you are entitled to.

This is great because it means the program is non-discriminatory and not based on income. It’s really fair.

Tenant Duty Counsel

The Tenant Duty Counsel Program (TDCP) is a program of ACTO, funded by Legal Aid Ontario.  ACTO funds 30 legal clinics across the province to provide TDCP services. The TDCP is a walk-in service available at locations across Ontario where the Landlord and Tenant Board hold their hearings.

TDCP staff provide advice, legal assistance, resources and referrals to unrepresented tenants on the day of their hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board. Priority is given to tenants facing eviction.

TDCP staff also provide advice to tenants who have been illegally locked out or who have sheriff notices or eviction orders.

If you have a problem with your landlord, you may need legal help before there is a Landlord and Tenant Board hearing. For low-income tenants, this help is provided by community legal clinics, located in each major town or city. Find your legal clinic.

You Can Bankrupt Your Bad Landlord And Make Them Back Down (and even beg for mercy)

We Tenants can get free legal help but the landlords can’t!

They have to pay huge money to “defend” against our “free” legal aid help.

Many times the landlord is  paying thousands of dollars to a paralegal or lawyer and will just back down and give you what we want to avoid paying even more thousands of dollars to lawyers and paralegals who will take their money (guaranteed) but won’t refund them if they don’t win and don’t “terminate” the tenants. 

The legal reps for landlords love getting paid from landlords in trouble. So use this against them. You get free legal help, and every day the legal battle goes on your landlord loses money.

LOL!

It’s Time For Tenants To Get Aggressive And Fight Back

Let’s make this clear: Good landlords have have nothing to worry about.

But tenants dealing with bad landlords need to keep in regular contact with your local legal aid clinic. They are there to help you…and you will win!

Tenants Need To Fight Back And You Will Win!

Many tenants get depressed and feel everything is hopeless as your landlord doesn’t fix things and takes your rent money to buy drugs and fancy new cars and Bahama vacations.

Thank You Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Who Feels Our Pain. As Someone Who Worked As A Teacher & Bouncer He Is Working Class Like Us! PM Trudeau Believes We Are All Equal And Deserve Fairness!

Justin fights for people in need.  And Justin has just made sure Tenants can continue to get free legal help to fight bad landlords. Good landlords have nothing to worry about, just treat us like 5 star clients.

Ontario Landlords – Nightmare tenant Nina Willis battling with new landlord over 7th eviction

Monday, June 2nd, 2014

 Ontario Landlords – Make Sure You Rent To Great Tenants (And Avoid Nightmare Tenants) With Good Tenant Screening, Including a Credit Check!

Ontario Landlords – Make Sure You Rent To Great Tenants (And Avoid Nightmare Tenants) With Good Tenant Screening, Including a Credit Check!

The story in the Toronto Star last Friday was shocking for many residential landlords across Ontario.

It was about a person the Toronto Star calls a “Tenant from Hell” who is facing being evicted from her Scarborough rental property.

It’s brought a lot of discussion at the Ontario Landlords forum.

Nina Willis is in the process of appealing a Landlord and Tenant Board decision ordering her to either pay rent on time or move out of the rental property she is staying in

The original Landlord and Tenant Board Order told her she had to move by March 2014.

However, she is “appealing” the Order which means she can delay the eviction (and avoid paying rent) for more months until she gets her say in the next court.

She has done this is each of her previous cases. It’s an easy way for tenants to continue to stay in a rental property and live “rent free” for months.

This isn’t the first time the Toronto Star has reported on this tenant and her tactics to rip off small landlords.

The Star says this is the 7th case of Nina Willis being evicted since 2005.

The Ontario Landlords association has also written about this “Tenant From Hell” in the past to warn landlords.

At least seven different landlords who have been cheated out of rent and dragged through the tribunal system. A system that can be expensive, time-consuming and extremely stressful.

Nina’s current Scarborough landlord won’t even talk to the media as they try to evict Nina from their rental property.

Why Do Landlords Rent To Bad Tenants?

No landlord wants to rent to bad tenants.

The worst tenants (meaning tenants who have a plan to rip off small landlords from Day 1 are often very crafty.

For example, Willis will do an Academy Award worthy performance when she first meets a potential landlord.

Bad tenants will be exceptionally friendly when they first meet you.

They will appear to be really “decent people” who will convince you they will pay rent on time and take care of your rental property like it is their own home.

It’s only when you rent to them that you begin to see their true face.

You won’t believe how they change as they accuse you of neglecting maintenance issues and even harassing them.

How Can I Find Good Tenants and Avoid the Bad Ones?

One of Nina’s former landlords is now an OLA member and is very careful to screen her tenants to avoid “tenants from hell.”

One of the best tenant screening tools is a credit check.

Check out the Ontario Landlord Credit Check site for more information on the importance of doing credit checks on tenants. This site was created to help Ontario landlords learn how to find good tenants and avoid tenants from Hell.

How Can a Tenant Credit Check Help Landlords?

Conducting a tenant credit check will give you the essential information you need to know about a potential renter before you rent to them.

This isn’t only important for Ontario landlords, but also key for Alberta landlords and British Columbia landlords who are also facing challenges.

How Can Tenant Credit Checks Help Me Avoid Tenants From Hell?

That’s an excellent question. After all, small landlords are often on tight budgets and conducting a credit check is an extra expense.

Let’s take a closer look at how a tenant credit check can help Ontario landlords find good tenants and avoid tenants from hell.

#1 Current and Past Addresses

A credit check from the Ontario Landlords Association will show you the current and past addresses of your potential tenant.

You don’t have to ‘trust’ what the tenant tells you. You can see the FACTS on the credit report.

You can then make sure you talk to the REAL current and previous landlords and learn the TRUTH about the tenant who wants to rent your rental property.

#2 Current and Past Employment

It’s very common for bad tenants to lie about their employment history.

They lie because they know landlords want to rent to tenants with stable jobs that provide enough income to cover the rent.

A tenant credit check from the Ontario Landlords Association will show you the REAL employment situation of the potential renter.

#3 Financial Responsibility

Bad tenants will smile and tell you they always pay their bills on time.

A tenant credit check will show you the TRUTH.

Do they pay their bills on time? Do they owe anyone money? Are there judgements against them? Are there any collection agencies after them?

Even British Columbia landlords are now recognizing the importance of credit checks as they face some serial bad tenants ripping off landlords in BC.

We often think of Alberta as the best place to own rental properties in Canada. Yet even Alberta landlords are conducting tenant credit checks to make sure they avoid pro tenants who can end up costing landlords tens of thousands of dollars.

How Can I Run a Credit Check On My Prospective Tenants?

In the past running a credit check was complicated and expensive.

Some of the landlord credit check companies out there add on all sorts of extra fees on you and have a complicated start up process.

As a small landlord, you want everything open and up-front.

You also want low fees and a fast and efficient system.

Join the Ontario Landlords Association

For only a one-time registration fee , Ontario landlords can get access to premium credit checks for only $10/check!

That’s right. No annual fee. Just a one-time registration fee.

You can then access premium credit checks foronly $10/check for credit checks that give you a credit score, addresses, employment and all the information you need to make a smart, informed decision on whether or not you will rent to a tenant.

You will even get a recommendation from the credit report.

Ontario Landlords – Bad Tenants Are Out There But You Can Protect Yourself!\

Become a Member of the Ontario Landlords Association and Get Premium Credit Checks For Only $10/check from your Home or Office Computer.

It Really Is the Landlord Deal of a Life Time!

If you could change 3 things about the current laws for Ontario Landlords…

Saturday, February 12th, 2011

The Ontario Landlords Association for small business landlords has received a request to create a list (with follow-up explanations) of what changes should be made to the Residential Tenancy Act and to the Landlord  Tenant Board.

Here’s a chance to get your views to those who make the decisions. Please keep it to 3 main points, and if you can add an explanation or personal experience regarding the matter, please do so.

Please post in the HELP FORUM and get YOUR VIEWS HEARD!!