Ontario landlord says he's drained his savings after tenants stopped paying rent last year
An Ontario landlord who says he's exhausted his savings and credit after his tenants allegedly stopped paying rent six months ago is frustrated he has no power to evict them.
Manmohan Arora, who owns and rents the property alleges the family currently living in one of his properties stopped paying their rent in November 2021, after beginning the tenancy in August.
“They only paid two months – September and October – and then, in November, they stopped,” he said, adding that they allegedly also stopped paying utilities. He says the total amount is close to $18,000.
By December, Arora said he still had not received a rental payment, so he recruited the services of paralegal Dionne Samuels-Dussie.
Samuels-Dussie said she made attempts to facilitate payments, but wasn’t successful.
“I reached out to them and they kept saying they were going to pay, but they didn’t,” Samuels-Dussie told CTV News Toronto.
CTV News Toronto has reached out to the tenants to give them the opportunity to include a statement but they didn't respond in time for publication.
The two filed an application to evict the tenants for non-payment of rent with the Ontario Landlord-Tenant Board (LTB) on Dec. 20.
Nearly five months later, Arora’s case has still not been heard by the LTB, and he says he’s exhausted all his financial options trying to make his mortgage payments without receiving rental payments.
“I've used my savings. I’ve used my line of credit. I’ve used my credit card,” he said.
Delays in LTB hearings, like the one Arora is experiencing, are common right now in Ontario. In spring 2020, the pandemic shuttered LTB operations for five months — since then, they’ve been unable to clear a backlog that has seen some cases drawn out for months.
In April, the government earmarked $19-million to the tribunal in an effort to “schedule hearing events and issue decisions quicker and more efficiently than before.”
When reached for comment on Arora’s case, the LTB confirmed they’d received Arora’s application and said they expect to schedule a hearing for him in June.
“The LTB recognizes the impact that delays have on those who access its services and is taking steps to address the backlog, including modernizing our organization and adapting many of our core services,” a spokesperson for the tribunal said.
“Depending on the application type, new matters are scheduled to be heard within three to seven months, on average.”
Meanwhile, Arora says doesn’t know if he can afford to wait much longer and has exhausted his financial options. With the tenants still occupying the home, he says he can’t even sell the property, something he said he’s considered.
“I don’t know what to do and I'm scared” he said. “I don't know what's next."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Attack on prison van in France kills 2 officers, inmate escapes
Armed assailants killed two French prison officers and seriously wounded three others in an attack on a convoy in Normandy on Tuesday and an inmate escaped, officials said.
Steal a car, lose your driver's licence for 10 years under new Ontario proposal
Repeat car thieves may face lengthy licence bans under proposed changes to Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act.
$1.6B parts plant for Honda electric vehicle batteries coming to Niagara Region
A Japanese company has announced it will build an approximately $1.6-billion plant in Ontario's Niagara Region that will make a key electric vehicle battery component as part of Honda's supply chain in the province.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Manitoba premier to visit areas impacted by wildfire
Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew will get a close-up look at the devastation from a large wildfire burning in northern Manitoba Tuesday.
1 killed, 3 injured in head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.