Lgl 252: Residential Landlord and Tenant Law for Paralegals

LGL 252: RESIDENTIAL LANDLORD AND TENANT LAW FOR PARALEGALS 

BOARD REPORT ASSIGNMENT

December 21, 2017

Arlene Blatt

LINDSAY ABBOTT

116973165

        On December 15, 2017, I attended the Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario. I elected to observe at the Toronto South Office, which is located at 79 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 212, Toronto, Ontario  M4T 1M6. I arrived at the Board at approximately 9:00 am and left at approximately 11:45 am. I spent the morning session in Room D, wherein Mr. Jean-Paul Pilon was the Board Member conducting the proceedings of the hearings that I observed; when I first arrived, there was a bit of a confusion for the locations as any claims that were supposed to be in Room A were switched to Room D, and vice versa. This did cause a bit of a delay for Mr. Jean-Paul Pilon, and he did not begin to conduct the hearing until approximately 9:45 am.

        Once the Board Member opened the session for the day, he made a number of announcements regarding cell phones and talking in the courtroom, as well as options available for both tenants and landlords. Mr. Jean-Paul Pilon explained the process of mediation and asked that, if a tenant and landlord were both interested, to try that process (located in the same office), prior to having him hear their file. He also mentioned that Legal Aid Ontario would provide free legal advice for tenants prior to hearing their case, and assist them with their understanding of these proceedings.

        One of the hearings that I observed was for a unit located at 255 Borden Street, Toronto, Ontario  M5S 2N5. The applicant of the hearing was the landlord of the home, and the applicable case number was TSL-88949-17. Unfortunately, I did not hear the Board Member state his name for the record. The respondent to the hearing was one of the tenants of the rental unit, named Marcus Eddy. The main legal issue for the hearing was the landlord’s application to terminate the tenancy on the basis of persistent late rental payments, for committing an illegal act and carrying on an illegal business, and for behaviours impairing the safety of another individual in the rental complex.

        The landlord filed a Form N8 for the persistent late payment of rent, identifying that the tenant was persistently late for payments made from September to April of 2017, and that since May 2017, the respondent has not made any rent payments for the unit. The respondent did not contest the rent arrears, and has also not made any efforts to pay these arrears since the notice was filed.

        Further, from what I understood from the applicant, he had also filed a Form N6 for the carrying on of an illegal business. The applicant claims the respondent had been using the rental unit as a “speak-easy” or unlicensed bar in the area. However, as the application was filed more than 30 days after the termination date as provided in the Form N6, that notice was now void and not considered by the Board Member within his decision.