This tenant won $16k from her landlord. She worries she may never get it

When Windsor, Ont., renter Lisa Lum found out that Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) sided in her favour and ordered her former landlord to pay her more than $16,000, she thought she could finally move on. 

But as it turns out, the case is far from over. 

According to a decision from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), Lum was evicted twice in bad faith by her landlord. As a result, the LTB said that the landlord owes a $5,000 administrative fee to the LTB and another $16,680 to Lum. 

The case took about two years to be heard. The order, issued on Feb. 7, says that the landlord had until Feb. 18 to pay, otherwise the fees would gain interest. 

But Lum told CBC news that she has yet to receive any money. 

And she's not the only one. Between Jan. 1 2020 to Sept. 30, 2023, the LTB issued 13 fines to landlords for bad faith evictions and as of November 2023 only a handful of landlords had paid.

Lum says when she reached out to the LTB about the late payment, they told her that they don't enforce their orders. If she wants to collect, Lum needs to file with a small claims court. And to serve her landlord, Lum needs their address — which she doesn't have. 

"I didn't expect this at all," said Lum, adding that she didn't think it would be this challenging to collect the money she was awarded. Lum added that the process has left her feeling "defeated," "let down" and "angry." 

"It's roadblocks, roadblocks everywhere." 

Lum said that she feels that the process is unfair, because if the roles were reversed, the landlord would easily be able to find her based on all the information she had to give as a renter. She says to have a lengthy LTB process end and require further court action is unfair. 

CBC News reached out to the landlord via email, but did not hear back. 

The Attorney General's office told CBC News that they are working on a response to a request for comment. 

Lum had been renting the main floor of a house on Lincoln Road for about eight years when her landlord sold the property in 2021. 

Shortly after the sale, Lum says the new landlord notified her that he would need to move into the main floor unit. Lum was offered the upper floor and moved there.