If we consider ourselves to have a housing crisis and a homelessness crisis now — I think the level of destitution and homelessness that’s going to be unleashed by mass evictions is going to be like nothing we’ve seen before.
Despite the premier’s assurances, advocates say there is no protection
Cole Webber, who works at a legal clinic in Parkdale, on fears that more than 6,000 Ontario tenants could face eviction for non-payment of rent during COVID-19.
More than 6,000 tenants across Ontario could face eviction over rent that wasn’t paid during the pandemic, despite Premier Doug Ford promising that no one would be kicked out for nonpayment during COVID-19.
Between March 17 and July 19, Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) processed 6,083 applications to evict tenants for not paying their rent and to collect any money that’s owed — an application known as an L1, according to Tribunals Ontario. Another 481 of what are known as L9s, which solely aim to enforce missed payments, were processed in the same period.
More tenants may have been given a notice of eviction, but the LTB says it’s unable to track those cases unless the homeowner follows up with an L1 application.
Eviction hearings have been halted for the past few months in Ontario, unless the case was deemed urgent. But the province is lifting its moratorium at the end of July, as the state of emergency has come to an end. That decision means the LTB can resume its operations whenever it’s ready.
In a typical year, the 6,083 applications wouldn’t be shocking: the board reported receiving 46,043 L1applications in the 2018-19 year. But in a period where evictions were deliberately stopped, the figures alarm Geordie Dent, the executive director of Toronto’s Federation of Metro Tenants Associations.
“You’re talking about 6,000 landlords that are trying to evict people as fast as possible coming out of a pandemic, which is absurd,” Dent said.
Renters, advocates and legal experts have warned about a mass of evictions following the end of the moratorium — particularly in light of a change to Ontario’s housing rules.
Bill184, which became law this week, was presented by the Ford government as an effort to protect tenants. But advocates have warned about changes in the legislation around rent repayment plans that now allow landlords to apply for eviction orders without a hearing if the tenant doesn’t meet the terms of a repayment agreement. The changes apply retroactively, to the start of Ontario’s state of emergency in March.
Cole Webber, who works at a legal clinic in Parkdale, believes politicians like Mayor John Tory must now act to halt what Webber fears will be a mass of tenants being turfed.
Webber was among protesters who disrupted a groundbreaking ceremony attended by Tory on Thursday.
The protesters said they wanted Tory to halt evictions in the city using his emergency powers, if the province wouldn’t extend its own suspension.
“If we consider ourselves to have a housing crisis and a homelessness crisis now — I think the level of destitution and homelessness that’s going to be unleashed by mass evictions is going to be like nothing we’ve seen before,” said Webber. “And those costs are borne by the city.”
Tory said Thursday that legal staff had advised him the city didn’t have the authority to impose an eviction ban of its own. When asked about the LTB figures on Friday, Tory’s spokesperson, Lawvin Hadisi said the mayor had publicly expressed concern with Bill 184 “numerous times” — and pledged that he would continue to bring those concerns to the Ford government’s attention.
Ford spokesperson Ivana Yelich responded to the mass of applications by pointing to Bill 184, which she said means the LTB must now consider whether landlords tried to negotiate repayment plans. “This reinforces to landlords the necessity of exploring repayment agreements and maintaining tenancies — rather than resorting to evictions,” she said.
“We also want to underline the fact that no tenant can be evicted on the grounds of refusing a repayment agreement. We continue to urge tenants and landlords to work together to maintain tenancies.”
Vinson Salim, who rents a two-bedroom unit in a Parkdale building with his roommate, is among tenants in Toronto who have been threatened with eviction for withholding their rent since the pandemic started.
Salim told the Star he’d been working at a hotel, but was laid off in March, and hasn’t made rent payments since April 1.
He has been receiving the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but said that it was unreasonable for him to redirect a significant portion of the emergency payout to his landlord. Rent was $1,600 per month between the two tenants.
Salim shared several letters with the Star, which he said he’d received from his building’s management, including a note that they were proceeding with an application for eviction, as well as later letters that stated a preference to “settle this amicably” and urging Salim to pitch a repayment agreement.
But some tenants have hesitated to sign repayment plans, in light of Bill 184 and fears that Ottawa might terminate the CERB after its latest extension into October.
With files from Jennifer Pagliaro
Victoria Gibson is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering affordable housing. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.
“Landlords are trying to evict people as fast as possible coming out of a pandemic, which is absurd.”
GEORDIE DENT FEDERATION OF METRO TENANTS ASSOCIATIONS