Faced with lengthy delays and with no end to the nightmare in sight, a Guelph property manager believes a system designed to help people during the pandemic is “broken” and potentially puts the lives of others at risk.
It’s been about nine weeks since Ann Vandergust started the process of trying to evict two tenants who rent rooms in a condominium townhouse near the U of G owned by her mother-in-law that Vandergust looks after.
She says in that time there has been no word from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) about when her applications will be heard.
Though the income issue is certainly a concern, as she said the problem tenants haven’t paid rent in many months, the biggest problem in Vandergust’s eyes is a potential public health one.
Several other tenants have moved out of the house in recent months, citing concerns about the quantity of visitors and parties being thrown at the home, pointing to potential COVID-19 exposure as a result.
The townhouse currently has two empty rooms, with two more occupied by tenants who aren’t paying rent, Vandergust said, noting one tenant hasn’t paid since November and the other stopped after January.
“Not only are these tenants not paying rent, but they’ve driven out every other rent-paying tenant,” Vandergast said. “Ethically and legally, I don’t feel comfortable trying to find new tenants to share the house with them anyway.
“There is a wider public health concern there.”
The property manager first asked one of the tenants to leave in January, following several warnings and later encouraged a second to follow suit. She formally launched the LTB eviction process in March, personally slipping notices under the two tenants’ doors.
That first round of eviction notices centred around lack of payment for rent, Vandergust said, explaining she thought that would be a cut-and-dry approach. However, following continued complaints, she decided to file another round of eviction applications in April regarding “health and safety concerns” at the property – specifically, concerns about the spread of COVID.
“We have multiple problems here that are parallel and solutions to one problem do not necessarily solve another,” Vandergast said, noting police and bylaw officers have been called to the property several times regarding alleged violations of the provincial lockdown and limits on gathering.
“That LTB process is slow … another mechanism we have to go this police and bylaw route to perhaps deter the behaviour,” she added. “It’s not going to solve the problem, but it’s the best I have right now.”
Speaking generally, city spokesperson Stacey Hare explained that lockdown violation fines are set at $750, though repeat offenders can be issued a court summons that could result in a judge-imposed fine of up to $10,000.
Though the province paused eviction enforcement in April, LTB hearings are still going ahead.
“There will be delays in application processing for evictions,” states the LTB website, which doesn’t specify how much of a delay there is.
Attempts to reach LTB representatives for comment were not immediately successful.
There is a LTB process to expedite eviction hearings in light of safety concerns, among others, which Vandergast said she’s looking into.
