ATTENTION :Doug Ford Premier of Ontario

ATTENTION: Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing of Ontario/Officeholder Paul Calandra

The Landlord Tenant Board is BROKEN. Let's work together to at least get ONE part right.

Increased compensation for N12 "No Fault" evictions in Ontario

According to an article published on October 19, 2023 on the CBC news website N12 personal use "no fault" evictions were up 77% in 2023 over 2022. 
Find Article Here.

This author would find it no shock to discover that the numbers are even higher just throughout the first half of 2024.

I belong to a few Landlord/Tenant and Tenant Rights groups on Facebook and literally every 2nd person is requesting more information regarding the N12 process and what their rights are.

1. You DO have the right to wait for a hearing, but continue to pay rent while you do! You are a tenant and as one you are OBLIGATED to pay rent. It is the contract you signed. HONOUR IT!

2. You have the right to ONE MONTH'S rent as compensation and this is in ADDITION to your last month's rent, but what does that get you?

3. NO FAULT means just that. It is not YOUR fault and anyone; landlord or their representatives are not allowed to harass or threaten you during this process.

In most cases those who are facing this type of eviction are being made to feel like they have done something wrong; and in the cases of "Sale of House" N12's they are being SEVERLY inconvenienced having to put up with strangers and realtors marching in and out of their homes while packing up a home and trying to find adequate alternative housing.

One month's compensation IS NOT ENOUGH.

A great many of those in a sale of home or personal use N12 evictions are renting at hundreds of dollars below current market rent and when landlords are either uneducated about the impact to the tenant or down right sketchy; have no intention of repossessing for actual personal use and are using the process to re-rent at higher rents; the onus is placed on the tenant to prove "bad faith" adding even more stress to an already stressful situation.

Add to this pressure the fact that Doug Ford REMOVED rent controls on "new build construction" and then basically backdated that "NEW BUILD" date to November 2018; it leaves little to wonder about causation when it comes to the homelessness crisis in the Province of Ontario.

Given the housing market, inflation and rent control deregulation on new build construction the Rental Tenancies Act N12 compensation requirements needs to be changed.

Remember that N12 evictions are NO FAULT evictions. The tenant has done NOTHING wrong in the situation and should be compensated for such.

I propose the following changes:

1. The N12 "move out" date needs to be revised from 60 days to 120 days

2. MINIMUM compensation should be 6 months current market rent for a unit of similar size in the area where the current unit is located and all moving expenses paid including storage for 6 months if an adequate unit can not be found;
BUT;
Compensation should not be paid automatically to those that elect to wait for a hearing for "bad faith" purposes.  Those electing to wait for a hearing will only be paid 6 months compensation at the hearing date if the N12 has been found to be a "good faith" N12.

3. A reference letter from the current landlord should be MANDATORY in N12 evictions, as a requirement stated on the form itself AND must include adequate contact information including Landlord's current address, email and phone number.

4. BAD FAITH N12's need to be penalized with at minimum a $100,000.00 award to the Tenant AND at minimum a $10,000.00 fine payable to the Landlord/Tenant Board and "Bad Faith" Landlords should have to attend a MANDATORY Info session to help educate them on being a Landlord in Ontario. 

Why this much? 

This will GREATLY REDUCE the amount of N12's being served for those sketchy reasons I discussed earlier. It will REDUCE the amount of people at the Landlord Tenant Board awaiting a hearing and will help foster a SMOOTHER transition for all.
Most tenants actually do not want to have to hold out for a hearing, but the rental climate in Ontario has made it nearly IMPOSSIBLE to secure adequate housing within the 60 day window provided on the N12 form. Since landlords don't even have to inform you of the pending sale of a home until an N12 is served it is putting the tenant at a severe disadvantage.

Landlords knowing that a "no fault eviction" is just that; NO FAULT OF THE TENANT; and having to compensate adequately for displacing a family would serve to act as a deterrent to those who would act in "bad faith."

This will also help eliminate the many Cash for Keys deals that some refer to as "blackmail" happening outside of the governance of the Rental Tenancies Act.

Hey Doug?

While we're at it.
WHY IS THERE NO LICENSING FOR LANDLORDS IN ONTARIO?
Why do landlords not have to carry a license to operate as a landlord?

An every 5 year renewable licensing system at the Provincial level ( like a drivers license,) during which the Landlord MUST show that they have knowledge in regards to the Ontario Rental Tenancies Act would go a LONG way in preventing situations where tenants must take cases to the Landlord Tenant Board over maintenance issues and illegal requirements when applying for or living in a property.

Part of this test should also be what is and is not allowed to be requested from an applicant to a property.
Asking a potential tenant to reveal personal information irrelevant to the tenancy like "Why do the kids have a different last name?" is a breach of the Ontario Human Rights Code and too many Landlords think they are entitled to this information and other information like this from potential tenants.

The use of the OREA 410 form needs to be eliminated in favour of an Ontario Standard Application Form provided to Landlords by the Government of Ontario that is in 100% compliance with the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OREA form asks for bank account information and "monthly expenses" to be listed as well as the names and ages of all occupants. 
Ageism is a direct violation of the Ontario Human Rights Code and therefore any application that asks for such is a VIOLATION on the part of the person requesting the information.

Dear Landlords that may be reading this and thinking tenants have all the power; we do not, but we do have rights under the contract that we entered into with you.
Yes it is YOUR house, but that house? is OUR home.

CREDIT SCORES MEAN NOTHING WHEN IT COMES TO RENTING YOUR PROPERTY!

A Triple A plus tenant can be the single mother on Ontario Works and a CRAPPY tenant can be making $120,000.00 a year.
You do realize that a tenant can pay for all of the things listed on the credit report on time and even early and have a score of 800 and STILL not pay their rent? 

Why? because they are spending most of their income on "status bills" cars, phones, loans etc. leaving them with very little left over with which to pay for the roof over their heads.
It's a shame that so many of you are relying on a number on a page to judge who is worthy of your rental property only to end up at the Landlord Tenant board  for non-payment of rent within 6 months because that triple A plus credit score meant more to you than anything else.
I would dare say that this "credit report" requirement could be challenged as a Human Rights Violation based on "Economic Status" as well. Just because  someone lives "credit free" does not mean they are a rental risk.

YOU CAN'T ASK FOR THAT!
You can't ask me what my expenses are. You can see my credit report ( something I am also not in favour of as stated above) you CAN'T ask me for my social insurance number; you are not employing me. You CAN'T ask my age. My age is irrelevant to my ability to pay rent. (Caveat is if you believe the person may not be 18 you can ask for ID at a viewing of the property)
You have no right to have and keep a copy of my driver's license or other ID. You can ask to see ID at a showing, but you DO NOT have the right to keep that information.

We the tenants understand that you are afraid of being scammed, but WE ARE TOO! Handing over that much personal information is something we are warned against by law enforcement almost weekly in Canada.

Please support this petition by sharing it and forwarding it to everyone you know, especially those being impacted by N12 Evictions in Ontario.