Introduction: The Residential Landlord Problem
Small property owners who rent out one to ten properties for residential purposes are facing unfathomable physical, mental and financial stress by tenants who intentionally abuse their lease agreement. During the Covid19 pandemic, rogue tenants have grown in numbers. A Landlord’s effort to work cooperatively with flexible payment plans are met with hostility and unethical behavior. These rogue tenants are riding the imbalanced scale of justice in favor of the most victimized and protected party – the tenant. This imbalance is wreaking havoc on the Landlord’s health and well-being without timely recourse.
The need for balanced resolution is our primary purpose. While there has been emergency measures to respond to the tenant’s plight during Covid19, there is a lack of support to the residential Landlord’s predicament. Tenants are protected with no eviction restrictions during this time, as well as access to emergency response benefit funds to assist them with living expenses, including rent. The residential Landlord has had no such support and has been further disadvantaged by the closure of the Landlord and Tenant Board during Covid19. As tenants live rent-free knowing the system favors them, the Landlord must fend for themselves. Residential Landlords feel they have become a non-governmental agent supporting the housing of individuals and families; at a time when supporting their own cost of living is a challenge. This is the Landlord’s current plight.
Impact on Landlords Health and Well-being
There is a detrimental impact on a Landlord’s health and well-being because of the absence of support and timely recourse to handle tenant abuse. When a tenant blatantly and purposely harasses, destroys and willfully takes advantage of Covid19 crisis to live rent-free, a Landlord is left to handle this crisis with little empathy and response by the government and law enforcement. The negative impact on a Landlord’s health and well-being is as follows:
- Physical stress –heart palpitations, teeth grinding, sleeplessness, irritability, inability to concentrate, panic attacks and anxiety.
- Financial stress – financial burden negatively effects personal and family circumstances.
- Mental stress -shocked, hopeless, anguish, confused, depressed and suicidal
- Anger and Rage – resentment of paying their own living costs and that of a total stranger is damaging. Rage leads to actions to take matters into their own hands. This dangerous state of mind needs to be acknowledge and addressed by increased response time.
- Big Bad Wolf Syndrome
The name Landlord is causing havoc and plays into the drama triangle of Perpetrator, Victim and Rescuer. The Landlord in most cases being the ‘Lord’ connotes a person of power and in extreme cases the perpetrator. The tenant is the viewed as the victim ruthlessly evicted without reason. The Landlord and Tenant Board the rescuer. This triangle leaves all parties in a state of denial over the actual situation. This silences the Landlord’s plight placing stressors on their physical and mental health.
In addition, the Landlord’s plight is misunderstood due to a fictional narrative. The Landlord is viewed as a powerful, entitled and privileged ‘big bad wolf’. This greedy perpetrator hunts and victimizes tenants to feed their insatiable appetite for wealth and greed. They eat and spit out innocent tenants and hunt for the next prey. This fictional narrative has harmed the Landlords protection against rogue tenants. When the Landlord cries out for help, the system is slow to respond. The Landlord’s health and well-being is negatively impacted by the lack of solutions to address the abusive situation. There is currently a denial over the impact of the psychological, financial and emotional abuse that occurs by a rogue tenant. Recourse for Landlords to handle blatant abuse and aggression needs to be implemented.
A Community Response
Residential Landlords have had to organize themselves through volunteer engagement. A group of small-ownership residential Landlords in Ontario (SOLO) is one of several independent Landlord groups that have formed to provide support and advocacy. This group collects and shares statistical trends and activities that are affecting residential Landlords.
Small business owners are sharing similar experiences of tenants who have intentionally withheld rent, refuse to cooperate and have damaged properties. The number of rogue and lawless tenants are increasing. Landlords face a backlogged system that impedes rapid response. SOLO members note that rogue tenants never intend to work cooperatively with Landlords. Residential Landlords are left to carry costs of tenants who have chosen to live rent-free. One such tenant who has not paid rent for 12 months in 2019 yelled at the Landlord, “Take me to court! Now get the hell out of my house!”
Individual Landlords acting alone to seek help and justice are unsuccessful. Members of SOLO share similar actions of writing letters to MPPs, Law enforcement, Ministers, Ombudsman, and media outlets too little avail. Either their letters are unanswered and unacknowledged or they receive the similar responses to take the matter to the Landlord and Tenant Board. Therefore, residential Landlords are building alliances to engage government and the Landlord and Tenant Board to be jointly develop recommendations and to provide solutions for this dilemma.
Recommendations to address the Landlord’s Dilemma
- Flexible and responsive solutions to the address the Landlord’s challenges are necessary. The following recommendations range from short to long-term solutions. Recommendations 1 to 4 are focused on
- Landlord and Tenant Board processes and criteria; and recommendations 5 to 8 are focused on engagement, financial restitution and rebranding of the name Landlord.
- Landlord and Tenant Board process and criteria recommendations from 1 to 4:
- Develop screening criteria to prioritize cases vs current ‘first come first serve model’
- Robust screening criteria to prioritize urgent issues that affect the Landlord’s financial, physical and mental health and situations such as loss of business and death in family and age. Humanitarian and compassionate needs of the Landlord and Tenant need to be considered when setting a hearing date.
Expand exceptions to Covid19 No Eviction Policy
There is no consideration of the negative impact on the Landlord’s health, well-being and financial hardship. Exceptions for eviction based on illegal activity and safety issues do not address the Landlord who is suffering from the negative impact of tenant abuse.
Landlord Ownership Categories
Develop review panels based on levels of ownership of Landlords i.e. Residential Landlords who own 1 – 10 units, to expedite hearing dates. Similar categories will be impacted differently by financial and socio-economic issues, similar to matters heard in small claims court rather than higher courts.
Develop pre-assessment Interviews
Prior to hearing date, there is an opportunity for a volunteer panel to conduct phone interviews with the Landlords and Tenant. The current process lacks a comprehensive view of the entire dynamic situation that cannot be captured in forms. This pre-assessment interview moves the stagnant waiting time into productive and prompt engagement and action. Inaction and delays incite increased tension, desperation that breeds contempt and deteriorating health.
Townhall Meeting for Landlords
Focused dialogue and constructive exchange with decision makers from Government, Public and Private Sector is necessary. A townhall meeting (electronic zoom) is an effective forum to discuss cross-sectoral emerging issues and trends faced by Landlords in this current environment. There is a high need for the diverse volunteer groups to air their grievances with decision makers and move into joint action. This will prevent negative long-term domino effects on homebuilders, investments and economic growth.
Ad-hoc Joint Government and Community Committee
The formation of an Ad-hoc Joint Government and volunteer community groups with representation from cross section Ministries such as Finance and Housing and Law Enforcement, together with groups such as SOLO and other volunteer civic society groups is necessary to inform policies and procedures for Landlords and Tenant. There are larger political, equity and economic issues at play that are beyond the scope of the Landlord and Tenant Board and its limited capacity to address systemic gaps.
Financial Emergency Support for Non-Commercial Small Property Owners
Financial emergency support for non-commercial small property owners is necessary to aid Landlords who are struggling with Tenants who refuse to pay rent and costs associated with negligence and property damage. Lack of fiscal support is affecting the small-ownership Landlord’s ability to carry their own homes, in addition to carrying the rental costs of their tenant.
Rebranding name from Landlord to Property Owner
The name Landlord and its power connotations and fictional narrative blurs the reality that Landlords also experience abuse and harassment. The recommendation is simple. Change the name to reflect the actual legal position that the Landlord is a Property Owner. A Property owner rents their property to a tenant. Simple and without power and control implications.
Overview and Recommendations to address the Residential Landlord Dilemma
Prepared by John Persaud and Kamla Sharma, members of SOLO – January 5, 2021
John the Landlord
