Ontario landlords have had enough of painfully long delays at Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), spurring plans to protest outside Queen's Park early next month.
The LTB, Ontario's adjudicative tribunal that resolves disputes between landlords and tenants, has seen its application backlog grow to a staggering 38,000, per a recent report from Ombudsman Paul Dubé. Processing delays have been described as "excruciatingly long," with some parties waiting up to two years for a resolution.
The Toronto protest, organized by the Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario (SOLO), will take place on June 5 beginning at 11 am outside the Ontario legislature. SOLO Board of Directors Member Varun Sriskanda said that although the backlog is their primary concern, and "one of the biggest roadblocks in accessing justice," it's not the only issue landlords are facing as they prepare to make their voices heard.
"The Ombudsman report released recently highlighted countless other problems including lost files, applications being dismissed for minor clerical errors, and adjudicators suddenly leaving their positions without completing their work," Sriskanda said. "The system is broken and we need an immediate overhaul."
The delays and bureaucracy have caused headaches and financial hardship not only for landlords but for tenants as well, and they're invited to come to the protest too.
"Anyone who wants a balanced playing field and a fair tribunal is welcome to attend," Sriskanda said.
SOLO was formed in the spring of 2020 with the intention of helping small landlords support each other while dealing with LTB issues. It has since seen thousands of landlords join their online groups. Sriskanda says he's heard countless stories of landlords being left in the lurch with problem tenants that they're unable to evict in a timely manner.
"One that really stands out for me is a young couple that purchased a condominium as an investment and a way to save for the future. They started screening tenants and eventually met a young man who had a fantastic job and a great credit score. They leased the unit to him and he stopped paying rent almost immediately," Sriskanda said. "The documents he provided them turned out to be fake."
More than two years later, he says that couple is still waiting for a decision from the LTB thanks to a series of roadblocks. Their first application was tossed out for a small error, then the tenant claimed to not understand english, then the tenant applied for a hearing to review the decision. Trying to pay the mortgage with no rental income has left the landlords "close to financial ruin," Sriskanda explains.
"It's not just dealing with things in a timely manner. The board completely lacks a common sense approach," he says. "For example, a landlord can make an application to the board for an urgent hearing because of dangerous behavior, harassment, and acts of violence by a tenant, however, in my experience, the board finds reasons to cite it as 'not urgent enough.' Landlords that are close to losing their properties are told that it isn't urgent enough of a reason because the lender hasn't taken them to court yet."
Ontario has tried to make improvements to the LTB over the past several months, announcing various financial investments totalling nearly $8M to hire new staff and adjudicators to help clear the backlog. But new adjudicators won't fix the LTB, Sriskanda says, "it needs a complete overhaul."
"Forty new adjudicators and five back office staff for the entire province is not going to help the LTB meet its own service standards that they have set," he said.
The LTB tells STOREYS that as of May 25, there are currently 44 full-time and 49 part-time adjudicators, and that the board is currently interviewing applicants to fill 40 vacant positions.
"As with anyone joining a new organization, on average it takes about six months from the time an adjudicator is appointed for them to go through their training period before they are able to take on a full schedule of hearings and other adjudicative matters," the LTB said.
In the meantime, the LTB has taken steps to modernize its operations, including implementing a new case management system that "streamlines the dispute resolution process by allowing applications to be filed, processed, and scheduled online."
"The new system encourages greater resolution of disputes before the hearing, with new features that give parties the ability to connect directly with each other, as well as with mediation services," the LTB says.
Admittedly, Sriskanda says there has been a slight improvement in processing times, but it's nowhere near an acceptable timeframe. Applications that were taking eight to 10 months previously are now, in some cases, being processed in six to eight months, Sriskanda explains. The LTB says that L1 and L9 applications -- applications to evict a non-paying tenant and to recover unpaid rent -- are now being scheduled within five months, on average.
"While this is an improvement, we have a long way to go. It's still taking two months or even longer in some cases to send out written decisions and small landlords are still leaving the province to invest in more landlord friendly jurisdictions," Sriskanda says.
Alberta is one of those jurisdictions, where Sriskanda says landlords are given hearings for non-payment of rent within five weeks of filing an application.
Sriskanda says he'd liked to see changes made to the way the LTB prioritizes its caseload. Smaller landlords should be placed closer to the front of the line, arguing that "a small landlord cannot handle one year of non payment of rent the way a corporate landlord can." The tenant's history should also be taken into consideration.
"If a tenant is a 'repeat offender,' we shouldn't allow them to benefit from the backlog. Their hearings should be scheduled immediately as a way to disincentivize the stealing of housing," he said. "If a tenant knows they can be given a hearing and evicted in 30 days, they will not secure a rental with the intention of never paying rent."
Although the LTB says it is continuing to process applications in the order in which they are filed, it acknowledged there is still room for improvement.
"While there remains more work to do, we remain committed to providing access to justice for all Ontarians and to making significant inroads into the backlog this fiscal year."
