The 411 on residential tenancies and evictions in Ontario

BY NANA ADJIE-POKU

With the current Covid-19 pandemic, the financial impact this has had on the community is unprecedented. With a huge amount of the population renting, many are living paycheque to paycheque. It should come as no surprise that many tenants are unable to make their rent payments. This is very unfortunate as landlords also have mortgages to pay on some of these same rental properties as well.

In the media, many tenants took their frustrations to social media as they felt their landlords were disobeying Premier Doug Ford’s Order staying all evictions and were still sending out N4 notices. There is a difference between an N4 notice and an eviction order.

When a tenant has failed to make his/her rent according to the tenancy agreement he/she has with his/her landlord, the landlord will be able to serve them personally with an N4: Notice to End Your Tenancy for Non-Payment of Rent. The Notice is served on the tenant as early as the day after the rent was due. This notice gives the tenant the option of one of the following:

1. Pay the full amount outstanding which voids the notice;
2. Move out of the unit by the termination date listed on the notice; or
3. Do nothing and in doing so you are giving your landlord the right to file an L1 Application to Evict for Non-Payment of Rent after the termination date listed in the notice.

The termination date for a monthly or yearly tenancy is fourteen days after the date you are served with the N4. If you have a daily or weekly tenancy, then that termination date will be seven days after being served with the N4.

If you decide to go with Option 3 above, after the landlord has filed the L1 Application, you will receive a Notice of Hearing from the Landlord and Tenant Board. Ideally, the hearing is scheduled 2-3 months after the application has been filed, but with the backlog, prior to the pandemic, this may further delay the hearing dates beyond three months.

If you attend the hearing and the landlord is successful in obtaining an Order for Eviction, this is the Order that, when given to the Sheriff of the Small Claims Court, it can be enforced, and you will have to vacate the unit. It is the enforcement of this Eviction Order that has been stayed by the Province during the Covid-19 Pandemic. As of today’s date, there have been no orders for landlords or their representatives to cease serving N4s on tenants. So, when you receive the N4, it is not the order that you are required to vacate, even though some landlords are advising that it is.

It is suggested that tenants who can honestly pay the rent, pay it or if you can pay some, then that is preferable. If you cannot pay the full amount, talk to your landlord and advise him/her of your personal circumstance as to why you cannot pay all or any of your rent. Keep a paper trail of all communications in case your matter ends up at the Landlord and Tenant Board Tribunal so you can show that you attempted to remedy the situation to the best of your ability.