Surprising information which a Landlord can find on CanLII
Maria Watson
A person cannot use a general internet search of a landlord or tenant name to access a Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) case file. One must use the search engine provided by the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) website. It is not a very user friendly search engine, but by providing a name in the “docket” search field you can find if the LTB has provided to CanLII related cases. If you know what to look for, it can also reveal some other fascinating information.
I typed “$35,000” into the “document text” search field; this is the maximum monetary judgment the LTB legally can award. If the tenant’s arrears exceed the $35,000 cap , the landlord cannot recoup the entire amount at a tribunal hearing. To get a judgement of over $35,000, a landlord must take the case to a higher court. Significantly, once the case is decided at tribunal, it cannot be retried in another court.
Why would a landlord not take a case that exceeded $35,000 to a higher court? Well, if you read through the numerous cases that come up in this particular search, you will find that when the landlords filed their applications with the LTB, the arrears were below the $35,000 limit. Most were far below, but LTB delays caused the amounts to climb. In one egregious case, decided by Member Richard Ferris on February 16, 2021, the original arrears at the time of filing were $2,413. By the time the case was decided over a year later, additional arrears (referred to as “compensation” in the order) accumulated to over $58,000.The landlords were awarded only $35,000.
What is also interesting about the order is that it is an amended order. The original order erroneously awarded the landlord the full amount owing even though the amount was over the $35,000 cap. What this means is the Member did not apply the law of the Residential Tenancies Act correctly. No wonder landlords have lost confidence in the LTB.
From this serie of articles follow the links
- CanLII, the media and the Ontario Landlord
- How the LTB is making a mockery of Canada’s Open Court system
- CanLII: a valuable, yet imperfect tool for Ontario Landlords
The opinion expressed does not reflect the official position of Small Ownership Landlords Ontario Inc. They are to be construed as the opinion of the author only.
