The ‘Renoviction’ Rhetoric: How Language Distorts Ontario’s Real Rental Problem
Small landlord
Unpacking the overblown “renoviction” rhetoric in Ontario and exploring the real issues with N13 evictions and rental market dynamics.
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Backlog at the LTB: The significant backlog at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) has caused financial and emotional distress for small landlords who are not receiving rental income.
Automatic Evictions Debate: While tenants face challenges, small landlords also endure substantial financial strain.
Mischaracterization of Landlords: Small landlords are often mischaracterized as villains; many are community members facing their own financial struggles.
Collaborative Solutions: There is a need for collaboration between tenant advocacy organizations and landlords to advocate for meaningful reforms that address both tenant rights and landlord concerns.
The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is, to borrow a phrase from my children, a hot mess.
With over 50,000 cases in limbo, landlords and tenants alike are stuck waiting on hearing dates that feel as mythical as unicorns. For small landlords, this backlog means years of not seeing a dime in rent while our bills keep piling up.
Yet, every time we start talking about the devastating financial and emotional toll this is taking on small landlords, groups like the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) insist that automatic evictions for non-payment of rent would be akin to unleashing the Kraken on unsuspecting tenants.
Read their article “Fairness Should Not Be Sacrificed for Speed at the Landlord and Tenant Board”.
Let’s crunch some numbers, shall we? ACTO points out that back in the days of automatic evictions, roughly 10% of tenants didn’t owe any rent at the time of eviction. That sounds bad until you realize that means that in the other 90% of cases, rent arrears were owed. If you had a 90% chance of winning the lottery, you'd buy a thousand dollars worth of tickets in a heartbeat, so let's not pretend that this statistic is anything but a red herring.
Now, if the argument is that housing is a fundamental right and shouldn’t be commodified, I’m happy to have that conversation anytime. But a fundamental right to housing shouldn’t mean small landlords have to shoulder the burden of social welfare without any support. The Ontario government, with its wealth of resources, is far better suited to handle that than small landlords working side hustles to stay afloat.
ACTO’s article also says automatic evictions would have “disproportionate and oppressive consequences” for vulnerable tenants, without consideration for small landlords who are facing crippling emotional and financial devastation.
Like tenants, small landlords also have children, unexpected expenses, and an overwhelming amount of emotional stress. But here’s the difference - we’re the ones covering mortgages, insurance, maintenance, and utilities on properties in which people feel entitled to live rent-free.
Imagine you worked for a company that just stopped paying you indefinitely. After a year or two, would you keep showing up? The only thing landlords get from showing up to the LTB is constant adjournments, adjudicators who would bend over backwards to keep tenants housed at all costs, and an even larger pile of unpaid rent.
ACTO, if you’re so concerned about the financial struggles of tenants, why not push for a robust government rent program? If Ontario provided substantial subsidies or rent relief, I'd stand alongside you. But as things stand, what we have is a system that makes small landlords responsible for providing no-cost housing, with no recourse to recover lost income when tenants decide not to pay.
And the sad truth? There’s no deterrent for tenants to exploit this loophole. Tenants can do what they want, when they want with absolutely no consequences, and they know it!
ACTO dismisses automatic evictions as “extreme” and cruel. But cruel to whom, exactly? The small landlord who hasn’t seen rent in years and risks losing their property? The mom-and-pop investor who drained their savings for a second property as retirement income, now drowning in debt?
The current system assumes landlords can endlessly absorb the blows without consequence, when in fact, it’s pushing us to the brink.
“But sometimes landlords lie!” ACTO cries. Yes, some do. And guess what? So do a lot of tenants. Spend a day in any LTB hearing room, and you’ll quickly see a parade of familiar excuses: “I’m just about to start a new job,” “I have medical issues,” “I have family support now,” or, my personal favourite, “…but the bathroom has mould!”
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve heard these same lines, always from tenants who are thousands of dollars in arrears with no intention of paying a single penny of what they owe. Why doesn’t ACTO acknowledge that tenants’ narratives can be just as flawed?
ACTO, let's consider another angle: food is also a human right. And yet, we don’t walk into farmers' markets and help ourselves to thousands of dollars worth of free groceries, do we? Small farmers, much like small landlords, put everything they have into their work. They nurture their product and invest their savings, sweat, and sometimes their whole lives into providing something society needs.
If someone went to a farmer’s stand and helped themselves to a couple of months’ worth of free groceries, we’d call it theft.
So why has ACTO normalized the idea that it’s okay for tenants to stop paying rent for years on end, effectively robbing small landlords of their livelihood?
And here’s the final, burning question I have: What is it about landlords that ACTO finds so offensive? Landlords are almost always painted as villains - the heartless capitalists supposedly hell-bent on profit at any cost.
But in reality, small landlords are often community members, teachers, nurses, and retirees who saw an opportunity to secure a little extra financial stability, worked hard, scrimped and saved, and took it.
Most small landlords aren’t renting out dozens of units at luxury prices. Many of us rent out modest homes or basement apartments that, yes, cover our costs but don’t bring in “untold profits.” We’re not living lavishly off rent cheques; we’re just trying to make ends meet while providing a safe place for people to live.
So, can we please stop painting small landlords as some kind of enemy? A small landlord’s life savings are just as valuable, and our anxieties about paying bills are just as real.
So, here’s my proposal, ACTO: If you want to fight for tenant rights, let’s do it together. I’ll happily stand beside you to lobby the government for real, lasting change to make housing affordable and accessible. But as long as you continue to treat small landlords like free housing providers who should just suck it up when they lose their entire life savings because tenants won’t pay rent, those “solutions” are no solutions at all.
Disclaimer: This article reflects the personal opinions of the author and does not necessarily represent the views of Openroom or any organizations mentioned. Each author is independent and expresses their own perspective on the complex issues surrounding landlord and tenant rights. We allow editorial opinions to highlight the feelings and concerns of the general public. Our aim is to foster discussion and report on genuine issues affecting our communities. Readers are encouraged to consider multiple viewpoints and seek additional information on this topic.
Lorinda Seward has an Masters Degree in Cultural Studies with a specialization in Gender and Social Justice Studies from Trent University.
As a Research Assistant at Trent University, her approach is guided through a feminist lens as she conducts literature reviews and synthesizes complex research data. Guided by the feminist research principle of connecting personal experiences to broader social and political frameworks, Lorinda's research is largely centered around gender-based violence.
As a Small Landlord, she went through the experience of a tenancy dispute and now shares her experience with others.
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