How Landlords Want to Improve Rental Tribunals: Feedback from Openroom's Community

Author
Weiting Bollu
| Published at
November 2, 2024
| Updated on
November 2, 2024
Author
Weiting Bollu
Published at
November 2, 2024
Updated on
November 2, 2024
Openroom readers weigh in on improvements to Landlord and Tenant Tribunals.

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In October’s newsletter, I asked readers, “Is there anything that needs to be changed at the Tribunals in your Province?”

landlord-feedback-rental-tribunal-reforms

I received a ton of feedback! 

I'm excited to compile it all and share it with the relevant government officials. My goal is to empower us as landlords, ensuring that our voices play a role in shaping the policies that directly affect us.

Straight from Openroom’s subscribers

Here’s what our readers had to say, verbatim!

is_there_anything_that_needs_to_be_changed_at_the_tribunals_in_your_province

Shorter time for hearings, shorter time for eviction unbiased adjudicators. Tenants have been given all possible options to play the system at the landlord expense.

Tenants get free legal advice at tribunal and landlords don't. That's just one obvious starting point. No damage deposit allowed on a rental!!! Anyone else who is letting you use their items or property would want a damage deposit. Car rentals, hotels, etc. it goes on and on in favour of tenants.

Policies of the tribunal need to be in line with owners right to own private property, you need to start lobbying province for the changes.

Tenant owes $25k, he assaulted my wife and I, me with a crowbar. The had the LTB hearing adjourned for what they owe and with new evidence and did not show up. 18 months no rent with constant harassment.

I have a hearing on October 8, 2024 to evict the tenants from my Unit located at [redacted]. I am a 75-year-old widower who was injured in my current house that has three sets of stairs 18, 12 and 10 steps, and I tumbled.

The tenants who are doctors, one is a cardiologist at [redacted] and his name is [redacted] does not want to give me back the unit unless I give him $24,000. He is coming from America and knows our legislation. He has to be exposed.

Immediate eviction for non payment of rent. Required security deposits. Expedited eviction for uncleanliness, abusive behaviour.

If the property is in the York region. Markham just north of Steeles, you have to travel to 50 eagle st SUPERIOR COURT to book the sheriff. 8 to 10 weeks wait. Please shorten wait times.

Make evictions automatic within 30 days for non payment of rent.

Rights for landlords.

Eviction moratorium cost me $16k.

Doug Ford owes me this amount, I’ll forgo the $30k in damages and become a landlord again.

Remove delays.

The wait is too long for non payment and serious issues. I would like to see a scheduled case meeting as a preliminary with both sides presenting their evidence to try to come to an agreement. If they can agree it would go before an adjudicator for approval and an order. If no agreement then a hearing should be scheduled within 30 days. Tenants are able to use the wait time to get away with not paying rent or not moving out when a landlord needs to move back in or sells and the new owners are moving in. Why should a landlord or homeowner have to be homeless or support a tenant for 8 to 24 months because of the Ontario government decisions.

The fact that tenants knowingly breach lease contracts and that they can stay rent free for many months or even years without much consequence. Except now there is Openroom and hopefully with time they will know that there is consequence to unlawful conduct.

Sue the province.

LTB wait times are too long and unscrupulous tenants are taking advantage of this.

There needs to be a better balance and quicker review and enforcement in the LTB. Tenants are getting away with murder basically his landlord and specifically small landlords have minimal rights. This is completely unacceptable and will only drive less product on the market for people to rent. Small landlords will simply not make the investment or risk because of how broken the system is.

Trying to protect tenants against big guys, the system hurts small ones.

There has to be an automatic eviction rule and this rule must be enough to involve the sheriff.

The backlog of LTB cases has given all of the power to tenants. Despite damaging my unit in a 2-unit home, tenant refused to negotiate an N11 so I could sell. I had to pay him $20K to leave AFTER I finally got an offer, had fewer showings and offers because of the absolutely incredible filth. He said sorry you won’t sell before the new capital gains law kicks in! He’s out now. Not $22K value, and new capital gains owing for a total pre-tax cost of an additional $65K. So sad the government thinks we are going to save their @&ss on lacking housing!!

The Ontario government should be sued for lack of delivery of services to landlords.

LTB allows tenants who don’t pay rent to continue to live in a rental property and it’s the landlord's responsibility to continue to cover the costs. A tenant should be evicted in 30 days if they don’t pay rent/utilities.

Some tenants are not paying rent and get evicted, owing thousands of dollars in unpaid rent, only to do it again to another landlord. This causes major financial hardship, causing people to lose their homes and retirement funds. It is unfair that tenants get legal aid paid by taxpayers and small landlords are not allowed the same legal aid.

A tenant shouldn't be allowed to threaten a landlord, destroy the house and not pay rent for 1.5 years. The police won't help when a landlord is threatened because they say it's an LTB problem but the LTB did nothing to help me. In fact, when I told the adjudicator I was afraid of the tenant and didn't want to pick the rent up anymore (the tenant lied in the hearing and said he would pay the rent but he never did) the adjudicator asked if my mother could pick up the rent. I was afraid of the tenant and this was a simple question to me.

Evictions take too long. The LTB needs to consider a timely resolution. There are too many delays in the process.

Put penalties on tenants who do not pay rent after 3 days.

These tenants don't want to pay rent or take responsibility.

The LTB does not care about landlords' rights and they don’t help landlords.

No accountability from tenants is unacceptable.

Tenants should be more responsible to their landlords. They need to follow the rules.

There has to be accountability for tenants. They should not be allowed to be uncooperative.

If landlords were held accountable to the public, however they are not accountable.

It is illegal to rent a unit for less than 12 months. If the tenant has the money and refuses to pay the landlord that is illegal as well. The LTB must have the power to grant immediate eviction when rent is not paid after the grace period (3 days). The system is NOT working.

The wait time is ludicrous, no landlord should have to wait for non-payment. Especially in today's economy.

The system in Ontario is failing landlords. We need quicker hearings and immediate evictions.

Strengthen the laws for landlords to protect our interests.

Make the LTB decision more expedient for cases that are non-complicated, for example, non-payment of rent.

Review applications within a few days of submission.

Provide landlords with the opportunity to easily obtain information on their tenants before entering into a rental agreement.

Be more mindful of landlords who rent their properties. Tenants should have to pay rent on time or be evicted. No lengthy delays to evict tenants.

Eviction must happen immediately and court ordered fines paid by tenants must be collected immediately too.

LTB needs to be held accountable for what they are doing and how it affects the landlords of Ontario.

The LTB is archaic. Immediate changes are required!

Reduce wait times for hearings. Increase support for landlords.

Tenants are not being held accountable for their actions and the LTB does not seem to care about the landlords.

We need a faster process. One month to process an application is not acceptable. Many landlords are small landlords and we can't wait to receive rent.

Consider the impact on small landlords when making changes to rental laws.

The LTB must have the power to grant immediate evictions for non-payment of rent after the grace period.

Don’t forget about the small landlords.

The system is failing landlords and there needs to be a fair process.

Support local landlords, we need it!

There should be a time limit for tenants to pay or vacate.

Landlords need help!

Get rid of all delay tactics for tenants who refuse to pay rent.

Realistically, we need support from the government as landlords to protect our rights.

Tenants who are abusive or uncooperative should be evicted immediately.

Address bad tenants and remove loopholes that help them avoid paying rent.

Landlords are hurting because of LTB’s shortcomings.

Eviction laws must change. It should not take months to evict a tenant.

Make sure that tenants understand that if they don't pay rent, there will be consequences.

Small landlords should have as much protection as tenants.

The LTB does not seem to take the rights of landlords seriously.

Consider the impact of long wait times on landlords who rely on rental income.

Change the rental laws to protect landlords from non-paying tenants.

Provide a fair process for evicting tenants who don't pay rent.

It’s not just about the tenants; landlords have rights too.

Support a better process for evictions that doesn't take months.

Tenants must be responsible for paying their rent on time.

Make the eviction process smoother and more efficient.

Landlords deserve a timely response from the LTB.

Provide assistance to landlords facing issues with their tenants.

More accountability is needed for tenants who fail to pay rent.

Consider the financial impact on landlords when tenants refuse to pay.

Tenants should be held accountable for their actions and decisions.

Have Your Say

We invite readers to share their own opinions and join the conversation. If you'd like to contribute, feel free to email us at hello@openroom.ca or follow us on our social media channels to stay engaged. Your voice matters in shaping the ongoing dialogue about landlord and tenant rights.

Disclaimer

This article reflects the personal opinions of the public and does not necessarily represent the views of Openroom or any organizations mentioned. All comments included in this post are anonymized and fully sourced from the general public. Each individual expresses their own perspective on the complex issues surrounding landlord and tenant rights.

We provide a platform for editorial opinions to highlight the feelings and concerns of the broader community. Our goal is to foster open discussion and report on real issues. We encourage readers to consider multiple viewpoints and seek further information on this topic.

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Weiting Bollu
Co-Founder & CEO, Openroom

About the Author

Weiting's entrepreneurial journey began with a costly lesson in rental property management, where she experienced losses exceeding $35,000 due to non-paying tenants. Determined to prevent others from facing similar challenges, she built Openroom to pave a future towards a transparent and connected rental ecosystem.

Drawing from her extensive background in software product management spanning education, telecommunications, insurance, and artificial intelligence, Weiting has become a trusted advisor to founders of venture-backed companies. Beyond the tech sphere, Weiting managed properties for over a decade and made significant contributions to community leadership. She’s served on the Board of Rotary District 7070 and chaired various organizational committees.

Weiting balances her professional endeavours with being a parent of two kids under two. Alongside thousands of other parents, she was awarded participation trophies in innovative improvisation, ever-changing expectations management, daily roadmap planning, and hardcore patience!

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