Front page news about the Ontario Landlord and Tenant board rarely occurs in an Ontario newspaper. For that reason, today’s Toronto Star headline just below the fold is momentous. “Ford lets tribunal backlogs grow” is as direct in its approach as it is succinct. The Star exclusive by Martin Regg Cohn says that the Doug Ford government has bungled most of Ontario’s tribunals, not just the LTB. That the Ford Government has appointed though “patronage” people without the necessary skills and left the tribunals to decay over time by not appointing new people. It’s a much-needed bombshell article that many of us who face this day-to-day are well aware of.
The LTB said in its most recent update Zoom call that they are a “digital-first, but not digital only organization,” yet Cohn makes it clear: “Legal clinics say they know of only a single in-person hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board since the policy came into place.” So we wonder, what is it? If they’re so far behind, why can’t the LTB simply hear cases online and in-person? Base on The Star article, it doesn’t see like they have any interest in reducing backlogs.
Don’t think this pain is reserved only for landlords, tenants are paying the price too: “Tenants who can’t connect are left flying blind at the end of a phone line, while their opponents have the benefit of watching the full proceedings on their computer screens with speedy broadband links.” Tenants deserved fair and swift access to justice just like landlords. These moves by the LTB also hurt them.
“Ford’s government has systematically undermined, understaffed and politicized a pillar of the legal system.” and as George Thomson says, “It’s hard to overstate the damage.”
The disappointing thing is that Cohn may be right when he says, “The pandemonium of the pandemic may be largely in the past, but access to justice may never fully recover.” How many front page articles is it going to take before the Ontario Government understands this is a life-or-death issue?
This discontinuity and disorganization are on par with what we’ve seen at the LTB. For beleaguered landlords facing belligerent and abusive tenants, they also have to face a minefield of “independent” adjudicators that interpret the RTA in murky and inconsistent ways at best. At SOLO we’ve chronicled examples of unprofessional approaches, inconsistent decisions, incompetent approaches and unknowledgeable adjudicators. As we approach the end of a very difficult year, this is not the kind of list any organization wants to keep. As small landlords, we need the LTB on our side.
There is my story, wherein my tenant physically and verbally threatens my life, on tape. Its evidentiary value is immense. Upon filing with the LTB, this file was granted an expedited hearing. Now, after transposing two numbers in the address, the LTB forced me to re-file with the exact same evidence but a corrected address. Upon a second request for expedited hearing, this was denied. The only difference in these two requests was time, time delays created by the LTB, yet the inconstancy from one adjudicator to the next all but guarantees a landlord a “roll the dice” outcome. It purports to be independent, it must be consistent.
There is the case of Elsie Kalu. You’ve heard about her struggles with tenants that refused to leave and refused to pay, employing a lawyer who’s had a very loose relationship with he truth. Elise’s English-speaking tenant then needed language accommodation by a French speaking adjudicator. On December 12th, 2022 Elsie was at her hearing with a French-Speaking adjudicator who could have heard the case then and there with an empty docket, but decided to adjourn.
Then there are the outcomes themselves. We at SOLO have many small landlords that come to us that have been waiting 30 days, 60 days or even since August 2022 for an order from an adjudicator. There are landlords that, with an expedited hearing that was delayed, must face waiting for an order for months. The truth is that because a hearing is expedited does not mean the order will be. We even hear from landlords who have a hearing, but the adjudicator left, retired or quit, leaving the order on a pile never to be seen again. The landlord never learns of this because they’re never notified and the closed operating nature of the LTB means they can avoid scrutiny.
There are far too many of these stories we face every day as the LTB continues to make no progress on a massive backlog and struggles to maintain consistency when a hearing does happen. Landlords and tenants deserve a better tribunal and they deserve a Government willing to do what it takes to make this process work fairly and consistently and on-time. Therefore, we need reforms the Residential Tenancies Act that overcome the failures of the LTB. This is why the LTB needs to be either disbanded completely or perhaps a special adjudication body created to get through the many thousands of hearings the LTB has show it can’t handle. The Doug Ford government needs to do more than just throw money at the LTB so they can hire a few more assistants.
