Special Rules Apply to Notices Given by Tenants in January and February

A tenancy agreement does not automatically end when the lease runs out. It is also simply not enough for a tenant to tell the landlord they will be moving. Unless proper notice is given terminating the tenancy, or the parties agree to terminate the tenancy, it becomes a month-to-month tenancy on the same terms and conditions.

To be proper, the notice must:

Tenants May Not Be Limited to Seeking Relief for Only One Year Prior to Application

Traditionally, the Landlord and Tenant Board (and before the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal) has ruled that any remedies available to a tenant are limited to a period of one year prior to the application being brought by the Tenant.  This was based on section 32(2) of the Tenant Protection Act [now section 29(2) of the Residential Tenancies Act].  Section 29(2) states “No application may be made under subsection (1) more than one year after the day the alleged conduct giving rise to the application occurred.”

All this appears to have changed with the Divisional Court’s decision in Goodman v. Menyhart, [2009] O.J. No. 1602 (Div. Ct.).  

Using the Indutsry Standard Notice to Enter a Rental Unit May be Costly to Landlords

In Wrona v. Toronto Community Housing Corporation, the landlord gave written notice it would be conducting annual smoke alarm checks in the tenant’s unit between 8:00 AM and 5 PM. It appears the notice was the industry standard notice. Mr. Wrona had permitted the agents to enter his apartment to carry out an annual inspection of smoke detector equipment.  The tenant filed an abatement application on the basis that the landlord’s entry to the unit was illegal because the notice gave too large a “window” for entry and should have been more specific as to time.

Who won? 

Snow Removal - who is responsible

I have just returned from Christmas holidays in Florida...before the cold weather arrived there.  Like almost everywhere else, it is starting to snow in Essex County, also known as the “Banana Belt”.  The label is probably an attempt to convince ourselves (and other Canadians) Essex County does not have winter. Weather reports show however, that in an average year Windsor has 28 hours of blowing snow. Surprisingly, this is 13 hours more than Edmonton. So Essex County does have its winter, but overall it is shorter and milder than in most other areas of Canada. This has brought to mind the old question of who is responsible for the removal of snow.

Reminder of Changes in Procedure at the Landlord and Tenant Board

As of December 15, 2009, the grace period for those Landlords using the old Notice of Termination for Non-Payment of Rent (N4) has expired.  Landlords who give a notice for non-payment of rent after this date must use the revised N4 notice.  The new notice was prompted by a minor change made to the wording on the Notice (the explanation as to the amount the tenant must pay to avoid termination has been reworded).  The revised notice is available here on the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website.  Failure to use the revised

My First Blog Post

Thanks for reading my first blog post.  I struggled with what would be my first post.  I guess it’s like meeting a bunch of people you never met.  The first step is that you introduce yourself.  After that I thought I’d explain why I decided to create this Blog. 

First the introduction.  I’m a lawyer currently carrying on a sole practice in Essex County.  In 1998 I was privileged to be appointed by the Province of Ontario to the newly created Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal in the government’s attempt to make residential landlord tenant matters more accessible.  I served as an adjudicator, and later a Vice Chair of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (now the Landlord and Tenant Board) for more than 9 years before returning to private practice.