Owning a rental property has become more and more popular over the past few years. Having Tenants rent your property has its benefits…extra income being one of them. However, sometimes situations arise where it is no longer suitable for you to continue to rent your property. A few examples of these situations include: you want to take back possession of your property; the Tenant has stopped paying rent or the Tenant has intentionally caused damage to your property. Luckily, there are remedies at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for Landlords who find themselves needing to evict their Tenants.
Often, Landlords attempt to take on evicting their tenants themselves instead of hiring an experienced legal representative. Although this might seem like a good idea, it is not recommended. The LTB has a set rules and procedures that Adjudicators are required to follow when rendering a decision, and there are strict rules that the Landlord needs to follow when commencing a proceeding at the LTB.
Two examples are listed below:
EXAMPLE 1
You are a Landlord and you wish to move back into your property; however, you have a Tenant living there who is refusing to leave. Good news is that there is a remedy available to move back into your property. However, there are rules and guidelines that need to be followed such as: service in accordance with the rules; providing an accurate details; possible compensation owed to the tenant, and proper drafting of the application. These are just a few examples of what rules need to be followed in order for this application to be successful.
What happens if the notice/application contains an error?
If there is any error in any part of your application, you are risking have your application dismissed, or in other words, having to start all over again. The smallest mistake can be enough to have your application dismissed.
EXAMPLE 2
You are a Landlord and your Tenant has stopped paying rent. Remedies are available for Landlords who find themselves in this situation. Just like any other proceeding at the LTB, there are strict rules that need to be followed in order for this application to be successful. Similar to the above example, you need to ensure service of the right notice, the correct termination date (depending on method of service), the correct amount the Tenant owes and waiting the correct amount of days before filing the application, and more.
What happens if you make an error on the notice/application?
Let’s assume on notice you accidentally wrote the incorrect rental period for which you are owed money for. You wait the appropriate amount of days to file the application, and ensure the amounts are correct. You get to the hearing only to be told there was as fatal error on the notice that was issued and your application is therefore dismissed. You will need to re-start the process and continue losing money every month as the Tenants continue to not pay the lawful rent.
The two above examples discuss only a few reasons why your applications can be dismissed. This is why it is important to hire Balatidis Legal Services, a Mississauga paralegal, to assist you from beginning to end and ensure the application is drafted and filed correctly the first time. When an application gets dismissed, there may be more consequences than just having to wait months for another hearing date after re-starting the process. Potential consequences can include; further damage to your property, loss of income, not being able to close on a sale of your property, not being able to repossess your property etc. As legal representatives, we have extensive knowledge of the rules, and are able to fill out the forms in a clear and concise manner ensuring no fatal errors.
We believe affordable justice matters and should be accessible to everyone. Trust the professional advice of
Balatidis Legal Services; landlord and tenant board paralegals servicing Mississauga, Brampton, Toronto, Oakville, Burlington and Hamilton.
