July 23, 2020

Jamie West, MPP

555 Barrydowne Rd. Suite 4
Sudbury, Ontario
P3A 3T4

            RE:  Please advocate to open the Landlord Tenant Board

Dear Jamie:

 My name is Sherry Jordan and I have been a licensed property manager for 30 years.  I manage over 135 doors in the City of Greater Sudbury and represent many owners of rental properties.  This letter today is to help educate the Ontario government to understand how many people are suffering to no end in sight due to the Landlord Tenant Board being closed.

Unethical tenants are a problem for everyone, not just landlords.  Unethical tenants disrupt neighbourhoods, force landlords into foreclosure, disturb other tenants and much more.  Without the LTB governing these situations, everyone around them has to deal with their issues.  At times this may force good tenants out of their homes since there is no one to adjudge the situation.

Local police have contacted me on more than one occasion asking me about rules and laws so they can conduct themselves accordingly with the increase in calls to deal with unethical tenants.  No one has anywhere to go with these matters.  Here is an example below.

The tenant called to advise me that he had to call the police on his ex-girlfriend who is in possession of his unit, locked him out and will not leave.   Police contact me to ask if she lives in this unit. I advise the constable that she is not on the lease and I had no knowledge of her living there.  The constable believed that her belongings were in the unit and therefore she was a tenant. After a discussion with the constable he agreed that due to the fighting between the tenants and in order to avoid a domestic with someone being arrested, he would ask her nicely to leave. We were grateful that she packed up her overnight bag and left without any further argument.  If she did not leave someone would have probably ended up in jail.  Here is an idea scenario below.

The female tenant refuses to leave.  The male tenant begins to reside elsewhere.  Rent is due and not paid.  Female tenant is served with only male name on notice since no one was advised of the female’s occupancy.  The N4 expires and is filed with the LTB (if it’s open).   The female appears at the hearing date to have it adjourned and 99% of the time it will be adjourned.  The next hearing date is a month later (due to COVID perhaps 3 months later).  In the meantime, the landlord is struggling to keep utilities on and taxes paid.  The next hearing date the tenant appears and requests a payment plan.  Payment plan 99% of the time is granted.  The tenant then defaults on the payment plan and a new hearing date has to be set.  Perhaps 3 months later due to COVID delays.  The landlord is in a default situation and is being foreclosed on.  Utilities could be turned off due to a lack of funds. The original male tenant has moved on to rent a new place and the landlord is left with female tenant who the landlord never rented to. Please keep in mind this is not a small number of tenants who behave this way.  There are many who are repeat this scenario across Ontario.

How is this situation helping anyone?  If the female tenant cannot prove she lives there by way of a lease, utility bill or some kind of proof other than her word over her boyfriend’s word then the situation is a loss for everyone except for the unethical tenant. 

So many tenants are defaulting and taking advantage of the LTB being closed.  It has to stop. 

Yours truly,

Sherry Jordan, Sales Rep.

Property Manager

Coldwell Banker Charles Marsh Real Estate

Brokerage

1090 Lasalle Blvd.

Sudbury, Ontario P3A 1X9

705-923-1723 – Mobile

705-566-6111 – Office

705-566-9438 – Fax

[email protected]

www.sudburypropertymanagement.ca

Vice-President – Greater Sudbury Landlord Association