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The Law Has Changed
Home > Tenant Law > The Law Has Changed
Home > Tenant Law > The Law Has Changed
| WELS is funded by Legal Aid Ontario |
January 31, 2007 marked the beginning of the new landlord and tenant legislation called the
Residential Tenancies Act. Although most of this new law is the same as the old one, there
are some changes. The following are some of the changes we thought you should know
about.
A new government agency has been established to oversee this legislation. This agency is the
Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). The LTB has the same address and telephone number as the
old Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (ORHT). If you search for the ORHT on the Internet you
will get the LTB site.
All eviction applications will go to a hearing. Tenants will no longer be evicted if they do not file
a dispute. In fact there is no process to file a dispute until the scheduled hearing. The dispute
will be made at the hearing.
If the landlord brings an application for rent arrears the tenant can dispute the application on
grounds that the landlord is in breach of his/her obligations. The tenant does NOT have to file a
separate application. The LTB can grant an abatement of rent or damages to the tenant, which
will be applied to any arrears owing. In some cases the landlord may end up owing money to the
tenant.
When hearing eviction applications, an adjudicator of the LTB must consider any circumstances
that would justify not evicting a tenant even if there are grounds for eviction.
There are new reasons to grant faster evictions. These are referred to as Fast Tract Evictions,
(FTE). The FTE can be used used in cases of:
Impaired safety issues.
Substantial interference with the landlord if he resides at the premises. (The building cannot
contain more than 3 units).
Wilful and undue damages (must be more than just usual damages) or use of the unit in a way
that might lead to extreme damages.
Interest on the security deposit, i.e. last month’s rent, is now equal to the annual guideline
increase, which is announced each August. In 2007 the guideline is 2.6%.
The landlord cannot require a tenant to pay rent by post-dated cheque or by automatic
payments. However, rent can be paid by either method if both the landlord and tenant agree to
this.
Although there are other changes, those highlighted n this article are the ones we believe will
have the most impact on our tenants.
Residential Tenancies Act. Although most of this new law is the same as the old one, there
are some changes. The following are some of the changes we thought you should know
about.
A new government agency has been established to oversee this legislation. This agency is the
Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). The LTB has the same address and telephone number as the
old Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (ORHT). If you search for the ORHT on the Internet you
will get the LTB site.
All eviction applications will go to a hearing. Tenants will no longer be evicted if they do not file
a dispute. In fact there is no process to file a dispute until the scheduled hearing. The dispute
will be made at the hearing.
If the landlord brings an application for rent arrears the tenant can dispute the application on
grounds that the landlord is in breach of his/her obligations. The tenant does NOT have to file a
separate application. The LTB can grant an abatement of rent or damages to the tenant, which
will be applied to any arrears owing. In some cases the landlord may end up owing money to the
tenant.
When hearing eviction applications, an adjudicator of the LTB must consider any circumstances
that would justify not evicting a tenant even if there are grounds for eviction.
There are new reasons to grant faster evictions. These are referred to as Fast Tract Evictions,
(FTE). The FTE can be used used in cases of:
Impaired safety issues.
Substantial interference with the landlord if he resides at the premises. (The building cannot
contain more than 3 units).
Wilful and undue damages (must be more than just usual damages) or use of the unit in a way
that might lead to extreme damages.
Interest on the security deposit, i.e. last month’s rent, is now equal to the annual guideline
increase, which is announced each August. In 2007 the guideline is 2.6%.
The landlord cannot require a tenant to pay rent by post-dated cheque or by automatic
payments. However, rent can be paid by either method if both the landlord and tenant agree to
this.
Although there are other changes, those highlighted n this article are the ones we believe will
have the most impact on our tenants.
| The Landlord and Tenant Law Has Changed by Mary Garrett, Community Legal Worker |
