An Ontario landlord has posted a sign out front her Peterborough property that says her tenant owes her 13 months rent.
Liz Woosey posted a photo of the sign, reportedly printed and installed by a friend, to Facebook this week. Alongside her images, she wrote that her tenant, Sean Heffernan, owes her $16,250.
"Today I put up a sign on my building stating this and asking for Premier Doug Ford's help," Woosey's post reads, tagging the province's Progressive Conservative Party.
She wrote that "within minutes" of the sign being posted, Heffernan vandalized it. In the series of photos, one image shows the sign with both Heffernan's name and the amount of rent allegedly owed covered by what appears to be black paint.
"I am really tired of the lack of support for landlords in Ontario," she wrote.
READ: Why Are Tenant Advocates So Afraid of Ontario’s Bill 184?
Speaking to local publication Peterborough This Week, Woosey said that the tenant moved in on July 1, 2019, paid first and last months' rent, and has not paid since.
“I’ve never seen another dime, not a nickel, nothing,” she told the outlet.
As for reasons for rent not being paid, Woosey said the tenant has given her "the runaround." This led to her serving him an N4, a notice to end tenancy for non-payment of rent, which was reportedly ignored.
Woosey posted photos of the signage on her Facebook profile exactly two weeks following Bill 184 becoming law across Ontario. In its first day since being uploaded, the post has accumulated some 14,000 comments -- many of which are emotionally-charged -- and nearly 900 shares.
The Ford government has said Bill 184 helps both tenants and landlords by making it easier to resolve rent disputes and protect tenants from unlawful evictions. Housing advocates argue that isn’t the case, however, and that the new law actually weakens tenants’ rights, and makes it easier for them to be ejected from their homes.
