Your first stop for self-help is a review of our FAQs. Take a look at the ever increasing collection of questions asked by Ontario’s small-scale landlords as well as the actual answers provided by Landlord’s Self-Help Centre.
Bad faith means that the landlord has given the Form N12 as a way to evict the tenant based on the issues going on or just a bad relationship with the tenant. It means that the landlord does not have a genuine intention to move in to the unit for the purposes of living there themselves.
When an application is filed, it is up to the applicant to ask the Board to withdraw their application if they do not wish to proceed. The request to withdraw should be done in writing. If the application is not withdrawn, the hearing will still be held. You should contact your tenant to ask that she notify the Board to withdraw her application. Otherwise, you would have to attend the hearing and if the tenant does not show up for the hearing then the Board will dismiss the application.
The Board may consider this arrangement, but generally, you should first get a sense of how your situation is being viewed by the Member during the hearing before you even think about the possibility of paying the tenant anything. The tenant may not be able to prove his or her case.
It seems that the former tenant may have filed a T5 application claiming that you had given her a notice that you required the unit she occupied to live in for your own use in bad faith. For this to succeed, she would have to prove that you did not truly intend to occupy her rental unit as promised in the notice.
The test to be met in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 is in Section 57 (1) (a)
“57 (1) The Board may make an order described in subsection (3) if, on application by a former tenant of a rental unit, the Board determines that,
(a) the landlord gave a notice of termination under section 48 in bad faith, the former tenant vacated the rental unit as a result of the notice or as a result of an application to or order made by the Board based on the notice, and no person referred to in clause 48 (1) (a), (b), (c) or (d) occupied the rental unit within a reasonable time after the former tenant vacated the rental unit;…”
This particular situation (involving bad faith application to the Board) is fairly common, especially where the tenant was not happy to move. If your tenant wins their case, as of September 1, 2021 you could be ordered to pay,
- an amount of increased rent for up to 1 year,
- an amount of up to 12 months’ rent charged to the former tenant,
- an amount for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses,
- an administrative fine not exceeding the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court, and
- other penalties as deemed appropriate by the adjudicator.
You have to show your situation in context. This means explaining your timeline of when you moved in, and if the move in was delayed, what the reason was for the delay. If you rented one room for financial reasons, then you can show this and your expenses during the hearing (the tenant would also have to be given a copy of anything you introduce as evidence).
It is best to do this through the Landlord and Tenant Board by asking to speak to a mediator at the beginning of your hearing block. If the tenant wishes to try mediation, then you can be ready to give her a money order. If she does not want to mediate, then it will proceed to the hearing, at which point you can explain that the tenant refused to give you her evidence in advance, so you may need to ask for an adjournment and see if you need to get representation.
A tenant can file an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board after they have moved out provided that it is done within one year from the date the alleged conduct took place.
However, the tenant has two years to file an application against the landlord if the landlord served an N13 and failed to provide right of first refusal.
These provisions the adjudicator was referring to are found under the Residential Tenancies Act. Here is the link to the Regulations, where you’ll find this specific issue under Part II- Matters Relating to Rent- S.8, http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_060516_e.htm
When an application is filed with the Board, it is up to the applicants to ask the Board to withdraw their application if they don’t want to proceed. I believe the Board requires this to be done in writing. If it’s not withdrawn, the hearing will still be held. I suggest trying to contact your former tenant, if possible, to ask that they withdraw their application with the Board. Otherwise, you would have to attend the hearing. If they do not show up for the hearing then the Board will dismiss their application.