Another landlord/tenant question

Cartman86 wrote: ↑ I know there are tons of landlord tenant questions that get asked, but here is another one.

I rented out my condo for a 7 month lease because that's when my mortgage was ending. The tenant has paid every month but late. The lease is now up and I gave him notice that I'm not renewing. He now refused to leave citing financial trouble. I sent an N8 to get the eviction process going (though have yet to apply for the actual eviction but will soon). He has now stopped paying rent. I realize I will have to suck it up for 6-8 months or whatever unless someone has other advice?. Also the original lease was for an additional sum to take care of utilities. Since he has stopped paying rent (including the additional sum for utilities) am I allowed to cancel my hydro bill? Am I really expected to continue paying for his hydro?

Any help is appreciated. The unit is in North York FYI.

Cartman86 wrote: ↑ I know there are tons of landlord tenant questions that get asked, but here is another one.

I rented out my condo for a 7 month lease because that's when my mortgage was ending. The tenant has paid every month but late. The lease is now up and I gave him notice that I'm not renewing. He now refused to leave citing financial trouble. I sent an N8 to get the eviction process going (though have yet to apply for the actual eviction but will soon). He has now stopped paying rent. I realize I will have to suck it up for 6-8 months or whatever unless someone has other advice?. Also the original lease was for an additional sum to take care of utilities. Since he has stopped paying rent (including the additional sum for utilities) am I allowed to cancel my hydro bill? Am I really expected to continue paying for his hydro?

Any help is appreciated. The unit is in North York FYI.

rob444 wrote: ↑ Lease ending is not a legal reason to evict, as the rental would automatically go month-to-month with tenant retaining all their rights. The only legal reason you would have to evict is if you needed the unit for personal use. Your mortgage ending is irrelevant.

Using an N8 (and L2 to LTB) is risky as it's at the discretion of the LTB to accept it or not. On each month they paid late, you should have been issuing N4 forms day after rent was due to properly document the late payment.

If he has now stopped paying rent alltogether, at least LTB should side in your favor when the hearing date eventually comes, unless he can come up with all the money owed by that time which is doubtful. You should submit the L1 form asap to get a place in line for your hearing.

CNeufeld wrote: ↑ No offence, but you screwed up right from the start. There’s a small list of reasons for you to “not renew” a lease, and your mortgage coming up for renewal isn’t on that list.

You can either sell the unit with the tenant, or you can evict for personal use. If you sell with the tenant, the new owner can either take on the tenant, or THEY can evict for personal use. You can get the ball rolling if the new owner is willing to sign an affidavit that they need the unit for personal use, but the tenant can still drag things on if they chose. Personally, I’d say that given your current state, any buyer would be crazy to take on the unit with this tenant, if they get a sniff of what’s going on.

If you evict for your personal use, the big risk is that the tenant finds out you sold after evicting them and files for a bad faith eviction. Your tenant seems to know their rights, unfortunately, which increases your risk. They can file for you to be penalized for a bad faith eviction, as well as their costs, including increased rent.

And no, you can’t turn off the power. That will get you hauled in front of the LTB pretty darn quick, and they’ll slap you down. No matter if the tenant has paid their rent or not.

My advice…. File for non-payment of rent. Let it go through its process. Sign a variable rate and/or open mortgage, to minimize your penalties for closing the mortgage when this is settled.

Your other option is “cash for keys”. It’s perfectly legal to pay the tenant to sign a mutual lease termination. Don’t give him money until they have signed the agreement AND handed over their keys. It might be cheaper to do this than keep up with a mortgage and utility payments. And you’ll be able to sell the property for more than if you sell with a problem tenant. Keep in mind that the tenant doesn’t have to leave the property when showings are going on, if they’re still living there…

C

Cartman86 wrote: ↑ Thanks. I did not file the N4. I only filed the N8. I can still file a n4 for this last month though. So I should file both an L1 and L2?

rob444 wrote: ↑ I'm not sure if you can file both an L1 (eviction for non payment of rent) and an L2 (eviction for consistently late rent) simultaneously. Better check with the LTB first.

If you had to choose one, I assume it's better to go for the L1 since non-payment of rent is a guaranteed eviction unless he comes up with all the money owed.
With the L2 for late rent, it's at discretion of LTB.

BrokeMillennial wrote: ↑ Please keep us updated on how long it takes from when you submitted to when you get notices of a hearing. I'm going through a similar situation myself and it's quite nerve wrecking....

How did you serve him the forms by the way? Is there need for proof of receipt or can the tenant just claim ignorance and say he never got them...?

Thank you

Cartman86 wrote: ↑ Thanks a lot. The thing with L1, all he has to do is pay the rent in the 6-8 months before the hearing and then I'm stuck with him further if I'm not mistaken.

Cartman86 wrote: ↑ Thanks a lot. The thing with L1, all he has to do is pay the rent in the 6-8 months before the hearing and then I'm stuck with him further if I'm not mistaken.

rob444 wrote: ↑ Do you really think he is going to pay you multiple months of missed rent before the hearing date? I would guess the goal of most deadbeat tenants is to live for free as long as possible, never pay anything back, and move on to the next place to scam a new unsuspecting landlord.

It would be great if you could schedule a hearing based on multiple reasons for eviction under multiple "L" forms, but again not sure if this is possible.

Talking to a lawyer/paralegal woudl probably be beneficial. They could also give you some advice on how you can sue the tenant after all this is done to try and get some money back since 5+ months of missed rent will add up to quite a bit.