Ontario Bill 60: Tenants Accused of Unpaid Rent Must Pay Half Before Hearing

Ontario Bill 60: Tenants Accused of Unpaid Rent Must Pay Half Before Hearing

Tenants in Ontario accused of falling behind on rent may soon be required to pay half of what their landlord claims they owe before they can raise other issues about their rental unit at a tribunal hearing.

The change is part of the provincial government’s Bill 60, which received royal assent in November last year as the final stage of legislative approval. However, the province has not specified when the new payment rules will come into force.

Lawyers and advocates say it makes life harder for tenants

Dania Majid, a lawyer with the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, emphasized that tenants’ ability to raise health and safety issues about their unit is crucial because it can sometimes demonstrate a landlord’s violation of the Residential Tenancies Act, potentially entitling the tenant to compensation.

“Nowhere else in our judicial system do we require someone to put down cash on the table before they raise legal arguments, especially before they’re even proven to owe this amount,” Majid said.

She noted that prior to the amendments, the act already required tenants to give seven days’ advance notice to the board if they intended to raise other issues about their rental unit at a Landlord and Tenant Board hearing.

The legislation states the money would be paid to either the landlord or the board. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing did not respond when asked whether there are any avenues for tenants to recover that money if it is determined they were not actually in arrears.

Other changes include shortening the rent payment period

Other changes coming into effect will shorten the period tenants have to pay their rent from 14 days down to seven days before a landlord can file for an eviction hearing. This change takes effect in September.

Province says bill restores fairness; advocates disagree

Bill 60 is a sweeping omnibus document that has drawn criticism from environmentalists, tenant advocates, planning experts and others. Toronto city council voted to formally oppose the bill, with councillors raising concerns it could increase homelessness in the city.

Michael Minzak, spokesperson for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said the province is supporting Ontario tenants by doubling fines under the Residential Tenancies Act.

“Bill 60 restores balance and rebuilds confidence in Ontario’s rental housing market by protecting responsible tenants that fulfill their responsibilities in their lease agreement while ensuring accountability for those who repeatedly abuse the system and create backlogs at the Landlord Tenant Board,” Minzak said in a statement.

Chiara Padovani, an organizer with the Toronto Tenant Union, said a rental agreement is a two-way contract where landlords are responsible for maintaining a unit and providing decent living conditions, while tenants pay in return.

“One of the things tenants often rely on when they’re getting evicted is: ‘OK, yeah, I’m short on rent, but there’s massive mould in my bedroom causing my kids asthma and the landlord is refusing to address it.’ And that is grounds for relief of eviction,” Padovani said.

Move seen as response to rent strikes

The Federation of Metro Tenants Associations believes the payment requirement is a response to recent cases of tenants organizing rent strikes.

“A hearing is one of the few occasions where you can actually force the landlord to sit down and meet with you,” said Mason Fitzpatrick, the association’s communications director. “So if you can’t use your economic leverage of withholding rent to force them to move on other issues, then you have a lot less power.”

Daryl Chong, president of the Greater Toronto Apartment Association, said he did not have a specific comment on the 50 per cent payment change but generally stated that Bill 60 “restores some faith in the landlord and tenant board for landlords.”

“There’s a lot of gaming the system, lots of bad advice online about how to delay things and delay things and basically live without paying rent,” he said.