Landlords have been fined 11 times in 4 years for bad faith evictions. That's far too low, say experts

Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board issued 11 fines in nearly four years for bad faith evictions — but tenants' lawyers say that number is staggeringly low and reflects a failure by the province to protect tenants.

CBC Toronto obtained the number of fines from the Landlord and Tenant Board. Nearly all of the 11 fines issued from January 2020 to the end of September 2023 amounted to less than $3,000 per landlord with two exceptions.

One fine was issued for $5,000 and another was fined $10,000. 

Those fines fall far below the maximum of $50,000 for bad faith evictions under the Residential Tenancies Act, the provincial legislation that outlines tenants' and landlords' rights and responsibilities. 

"I'm not surprised that the number is so low," said Samuel Mason, a lawyer at Parkdale Community Legal Services.

"This very much hits home how fines against landlords are issued very conservatively...and very rarely," said Mason.

Mason told CBC Toronto the handful of low-cost fines is symptom of the lack of vacancy control in Ontario that they say is exacerbating the housing crisis and pushing renters into more expensive accommodations or leaving the city. 

Landlords in Ontario can issue notices to legally end tenancies which are called the N12 and the N13 forms. The first is used if the landlord needs to take the unit back for their own use if they or a close family member are moving in. The latter is used if the landlord wants to demolish, repair or convert the unit.

A bad faith eviction occurs when a landlord has issued either of these notices to evict a tenant but does not actually plan to take the unit back for their own use or follow guidelines around demolishing the space. Advocates say such evictions are an easy to get rid of a tenant and then bring a new one in that will pay more.

For units built before November 2018, there is a 2.5 per cent cap on rent increases per year. But a landlord can raise the rent to whatever they want for a new tenant. 

The onus is often on tenants to gather the evidence to prove they've been evicted in bad faith and notify the province or the Landlord and Tenant Board that the law may have been broken, said Mason. That can involve monitoring the unit after moving out to see if the landlord or their family actually moves in, he said. 

A renter who suspects an eviction notice was issued in bad faith can file what's called a T5 form to the Landlord and Tenant Board. If the form is accepted, it compels the board to probe if it was a bad faith eviction.

But Mason said the T5 is not a valuable tool and what tenants truly need is the ability to stay in their units in the first place.

"This system does not make tenants whole, it does not put them back into a secure rental unit that they can afford," he said.