Posts Tagged ‘tenant from hell’

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!

Tenant Ordered To Pay Her Former Ontario Landlord For Locking Him Out

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

March 24th, 2013

Tenant from hell ordered to pay Ontario Landlord

With So Many Great Tenants Out There, Make Sure You Learn The Skills Needed To Find Them (and help them find you!)

The Toronto Star has continued to report on the saga of aTenant From Hell which began in 2011. At long last it looks like the saga has finally ended for the landlords involved.

You might remember this, as the Ontario Landlords Association has followed this story closely.

We were there from the very beginning when a small landlord reached out for help all the way to the “Tenant From Hell” finally being evicted from the house of her last landlord and then moving out.

According to the Star story in February Nina Willis was found guilty of changing the locks on a house she rented and blocking her landlord from entering the home.

The Crown Prosecutor noted Willis didn’t even show up and a message was needed to be sent to discourage the types of things Willis had done.

She was convicted of:

1. 2 counts of of obstructing the landlord’s right to enter the rental unit

2. 1 count of changing the lock without her landlord’s consent.

At the conclusion of the trial the Justice of the Peace, Rhonda Roffey, ordered Nina Willis to pay $2,750. This amount must be paid within the next 6 months.

Don’t Let This Happen To You

Several of the landlord victims who suffered through this ordeal wanted to protect themselves (and never have this happen again) and became Ontario Landlord Association members.

Proper tenant screening is a must for Ontario landlords. There are lots of great tenants out there and you need to help them find you.

How Do You Find Them?

Learn how to attract the best tenants to your rental property.

Ontario landlords attract great tenants

How Do I Make Sure I Rent to Great Tenants?

Tenant screening is key. Learn the questions must ask and the things you must do to find your perfect tenant.

How to screen tenants

 

Knowledge is the key to avoid bad tenants and find great ones. Learn what questions you need to ask and things you need to do to find great tenants.

It’s up to you. The Ontario Landlords Association offers you the tools you need to succeed.

To discuss this and other issues facing Ontario landlords go to the largest landlord forum in Canada.

What’s Happening in July 2012 with the Toronto ‘Tenant from Hell’ ?

Saturday, June 30th, 2012

July 1st, 2012

 

What’s the Latest on Nina Willis, the Ontario “Tenant from Hell”?

Our 2012 “Tenant from Hell” Nina wills was told by judge Thea Herman  in June to pay her landlord the rent owed.  Read more here.

How Much Was the Rent Owed?

Willis was ordered to pay her current landlord a sum of $8,250 by money order or by certified cheque.

That’s A Lot of Money!  Did She Finally Pay?

Despite her history of evictions and long list of bounced checks, Willis followed the Superior Court judge’s order and actually paid almost all of the owed money to avoid an eviction.

That’s Surprising!

Well, where else would she move to?  Her face was on the Toronto Star and landlords all over Toronto have come to know her, and to avoid her.

What Would Have Happened if Willis Didn’t Pay?

There was some real motivation for Willis.  If she didn’t meet the judge’s ordered deadline her appeal of an order by the Landlord and Tenant Board to evict her would be void.

The board ruled that Willis must leave because she failed to pay rent. Willis, 48, alleges in court documents she was ordered out because of a “factual error” at the hearing and because she didn’t have an “opportunity to participate.”

Herman had said there was “no dispute” that Willis hadn’t paid rent, but it wasn’t clear if her appeal was “utterly devoid of merit.” In addition to paying the $8,250,

What About Future Rent? (Today is the First of the Month!)

Willis was told she must pay $1,650 to her landlord at the first of each month.

If she doesn’t pay the rest of what she owes on Monday, or pay her rent on time each month, the landlord’s lawyer could take action to have her appeal defeated, lifting the stay on her eviction.

Did Willis Say Anything?

In front of the just Willis promised to follow the order.

Willis said “I do want to pay. I have to pay because that has nothing to do with my case.”

What Happens Now?

Willis has been fighting off various eviction orders for seven months now.  Her usual excuse is claiming the rental property is is deficient for health and even safety standards.

For the landlord, this is another defeat.  He states that he originally planned to present the property to his daughter.  Now that Willis has paid up to this point, he can’t do it.

What’s the Lesson From All This?

The lesson is being a landlord in Ontario is a dangerous game.  It can end up costing you thousands of dollars and months of stress.

Any Advice for Landlords to Avoid Hellish Tenants like Willis?

Yes.  Tenant Screening.  OLA members are offered credit checks for only $10.  Become an OLA member, read posts in the private members forum, use property documents, screen carefully, and do credit checks!

As a member of the Ontario Landlords Association you can avoid these Tenants from Hell and rent to good tenants!

OLA members can do credit checks for only $10.  Isn’t that worth saving yourself from a Tenant from Hell costing you thousands?

 

 

Tenant from Hell Launches Appeal to Stop Eviction

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

May 23, 2012

A True “Tenant from Hell”

A couple of weeks ago Star reporter Emily Mathieu wrote an article about a “Tenant from Hell” named Nina Willis.

It really was one of the best mainstream media stories about the rental industry published in years.   Thanks Emily!  You have lots of fans across Ontario!

One of the landlords in the story who had been victimized by Nina Willis  joined the Ontario Landlords Association to receive help.  Virginia received the help she needed and managed to get Willis to move! 

Here’s the scam.  Nina Willis passes herself off as a wonderful tenant, friendly, well-spoken, clean as hell and comes with glowing references, according to her many previous landlords.

Once inside the games begin.  She starts by failing  to pay rent, or pays only portions, and uses board rules that allow her to raise maintenance issues with absolutely no warning to delay the process and appeals her eviction orders.

Nina has duped landlord after landlord into renting to her. The Star found that provincial privacy legislation stopped small landlords from learning that she had a crazy record before at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

It’s Great That Nina is Finally Evicted and Her Last Landlord Can Try to Recover and Re-coup His Losses

Who said she’s been evicted? 

Many small landlords  praise Vincent Ching as one of the most professional and fair adjudicators at the Landlord and Tenant Board.  Last month board adjudicator Ching said he failed to find Willis “credible in any way” and said that if she didn’t pay what she owed by the she would be evicted.

The problem is Mr. Ching’s word is not the final verdict.

You Mean Nina Willis Still Hasn’t Been Evicted?!

She’s still in the rental property of her current landlord.  Can you imagine the stress the landlord feels?

How Did She Manage to Stay?

A tenant from hell (Nina Willis) with a track record of bounced cheques and eviction notices has done it again.  She staved off eviction with an appeal to Divisional Court.  Court records and interviews with past landlords, lawyers and paralegals confirm tenant Nina Willis, 48, has been ordered out of at least six homes since 2005. However, the Landlord and Tenant Board says it cannot release her record of many appearances before the board.

Last week Willis filed a notice of appeal to Divisional Court, announcing she intended to fight the most recent eviction ruling, this one from Landlord and Tenant Board adjudicator Vincent Ching.

By submitting the paperwork Willis’s eviction from a Don Mills home — scheduled for the end of the month — was (Get This!) automatically put on hold.

Willis has been living inside a home in Don Mills since August 2011, failing to pay rent to landlord Darius Vakili for many of those months.

In her court pleadings, Willis is asking for a new hearing, alleging the board ordered her out because of a factual “error” and she didn’t have an “opportunity to participate” in her hearing.

Willis has asked for an opportunity to present “oral evidence” heard at the board. She will have to order a CD of the hearing, which will need to be transcribed by a court reporter.

Once the transcript is ready she will have two months to assemble and file her documents before a date will be set, according to appeal guidelines from Divisional Court.

What Does the Landlord and Tenant Board and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing Have to Say About This?

The Landlord and Tenant Board has declined to comment further on Willis’s case or board procedures.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing has defined the board as an “independent, quasi-judicial, arm’s-length body that sets its own procedures” and said questions about practices should be directed to it.

Ministry spokesperson Richard Stromberg said in an email that because the appeal was before the courts it would be “inappropriate” to comment.

Is the Ontario System Really This Out of Touch With Reality?  How Can the Landlord Survive Financially?

Sadly, yes.  The entire system governing the Ontario rental industry is broken.  Nina Willis is just one of many tenants who use the current system to punish landlords.

Things Need to Change.  And Fast!

Landlords need access to any previous cases involving tenants.   The Landlord and Tenant Board must become more efficient.  The Residential Tenancy Act needs to change.

It’s very risky to become a landlord in Ontario in 2012.  If you decide to do so, screening is key.  Or invest elsewhere where you you and your investment is appreciated.

Discuss this on the Ontario Landlords Advice forums here.

So Called Millionaire Tenant From Hell

Monday, April 18th, 2011

‘Millionaire’ tenant leaves trails of angry landlords

April 15, 2011

The Toronto Star has published a fascinating report on a tenant who claims to be a millionaire.  So why doesn’t he pay the rent?

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