The Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario (SOLO) organized two protests at Queen’s Park this week to denounce the injustices experienced by small landlords. Small landlords are urging the government to expedite eviction processes to identify and remove problematic tenants, thereby incentivizing landlords to continue providing housing and bolstering the housing supply.
Both protests were widely covered by the news media. City TV on Saturday, CHCH Hamilton on Wednesday via Zoom and CBC News was onsite to report on a segment of the protest which will be aired at a later date.
The protesters marched from Queen’s Park to the closed LTB offices, holding protest signs and chanting slogans – “No pay! No stay!” “We want justice!,” “Save small landlords!,” and “Stop rent theft!” to express their frustration with the sluggish pace of the Landlord Tenant Board, which they argue enables bad tenants to engage in theft, fraud, and extortion against small landlords. Moreover, they criticized the government’s lack of effective measures to address this issue.
These small landlords are predominantly hardworking individuals, many of whom hold traditional 9-5 jobs and are compelled to support bad tenants who refuse to pay rent. They have stressed that these tenants take advantage of the system, as landlords cannot legally evict them without undergoing a lengthy LTB hearing, which can take up to a year. Consequently, many small landlords have faced financial ruin, bankruptcy, and substantial debt while attempting to save their investments. The accumulated loss revenue from non-payment of rent amounts to approximately $4.6 billion. Small landlords assert that no other industry tolerates non-payment for goods or services, and they demand fairness and reform from the government.
