SOLO Landlords are continuing to explore legal action. On November 18, 2022, at 5:30 PM a group of 100 SOLO Members met with the Marshall Law Group about the possibility of taking legal action against regarding Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) delays. While this is no guarantee applications will be started, it’s a positive step for small “mom and pop” landlords who represent more than 518,000 households in Ontario (StatsCan, 2020). Small landlords are the foundation of the rental housing economy and are being directly harmed by fixable delays.
The great part is that The Marshall Law Group is results-oriented and intend to take on these cases for no cost (or low cost). For a group who have had to rent in a market with unlimited risk, this approach by Marshall eases some of the risk inherent in any litigation.
As David Marshall said in the event that they “Are not proposing to charge for [our] time. [Filing an application] would be, in that regard, risk-free. It doesn’t mean that there wouldn’t be a potential cost if there was a loss. To give you some comfort, most of these matters are either resolved by agreement with the defendant or some other resolution is made.”
He goes on to say, “Part of what this process is about is getting results. If we can get those results by getting the Government to act properly and to do what’s required by the law, then there won’t be any need to go the full distance, and that will reduce that risk.”
SOLO is not a party in these legal proceedings; however, we are working to make the right connections between our members and those that can help them gain justice. We have been working tirelessly to explore all avenues.
Marshall Law Group is looking of candidates that meet the following criteria:
1. Are a landlord in Southern Ontario (ideally) so they can travel to the law offices in Caledonia for face-to-face meetings
2. Must be suffering an inordinate delay caused solely by the Tribunal
3. Must have suffered significant prejudice from the delay (financial loss, safety issues, etc.)
4. Must have filed a request to have their hearing moved up / expedited
If you are a landlord and feel you meet these requirements, Marshall Law Group has created an intake form that you can fill out to directly communicate with them.
The Marshall Group will consider all applications and reach out to landlords when further communications are required.
During the meeting, David and Matthew fielded several questions. Here are some notable answers:
Hasn’t the government made it difficult to prosecute them?
David Marshall: “I think what you’re talking about is potential criminal action against the Government. Anybody in Canada can start a criminal prosecution against any other person, but the Government…can intervene and stay the prosecution. I’m not suggesting a criminal action against the Government. This would be a civil action.”
What will the cost structure look like?
David: “Cost consequences are principally lawyer fees. Lawyers are expensive. Going to court is expensive… if you are the plaintiff and you are unsuccessful you can expect to receive a cost award against you.”
David: “We’re going to explore all avenues. The costs that we would be looking at for our purposes are photocopies and some other sundry costs that are in the low-hundreds of dollars. It’s the risk that we’re taking that it’s unsuccessful if we don’t get paid.”
What will be the estimated timeframe for the legal action?
David: “Applications are meant to be short. In my experience, sometimes they go a little longer. It’s meant to be a process of getting things in front of the court very quickly through truncated presentation of evidence. There sometimes is an examination/ cross-examination on affidavits… it could be in the range of – between two and six months to get it in front of the court.”
Is there a deadline for applications?
Matt Marshall: “We’re going to start reaching out people next week, but we don’t have a specific end date. If people want to contact us the next week, or the week after, that’s perfectly fine.”
What about landlords who have already gotten a judgment from the LTB?
David: “If we can show that those types of delays people are suffering or have suffered, and they’re within the two-year limitation for bringing a claim – they may well be able to bring a claim… against the Government,”
Further rounds of questions and answers will likely follow as we continue this journey. As we learn more, we’ll relay new details to SOLO members.
The video of this full Zoom-based event is available online with much more; you can watch it here:
For more details or to contact The Marshall Law Group, please see them on the web here.
SOLO Landlords advocates for small landlords and does so at no cost to them. Solo is a federally registered nonprofit organization that receive no public funds. Solo activities are funded by voluntary contributions from small landlords. If you want to contribute please check here.
