海角社区官网

Pond received an eviction notice after 海角社区官网Fire Services听determined last summer that her landlord violated the fire code; an apartment connected to hers needed a second fire exit.

When the landlord鈥檚 daughter told a fire inspector that adding a second exit to the unit wouldn鈥檛 be feasible, the daughter proposed demolishing and combining the two units. The inspector replied, “it would be an easier option,”听email exchanges听the landlord submitted to the LTB show.

Pond said her landlord has been trying to evict her for some time,听and she believes her landlord saw 海角社区官网Fire鈥檚 input as a 鈥渟ure way鈥� to get her out.

鈥淢y situation is incredibly fraught and tenuous at the moment,鈥� Pond said, nervous to re-enter an unaffordable market.听鈥淲hat if they do win? Where will I go?鈥�

Pond’s case is among several instances where a landlord pursued eviction based on a 海角社区官网Fire notice of violation.

Landlords have a duty to ensure their properties are safe, and may require a tenant to temporarily move out in order to do renovations to get a home up to code. However,听Pond’s lawyer, who has worked on听multiple similar cases, believes some landlords are using the notices as an excuse to evict long-standing tenants in rent-controlled units so they can听charge higher, market-rate prices.听

In two cases, documents show landlords were told by 海角社区官网Fire inspectors that their rental properties needed more fire exits to be up to code, and the landlords proposed alternatives they argued required tenants to move out. In one case, tenants filed a complaint at the LTB, arguing their landlord evicted them in bad faith.

鈥淟andlords ought to make (a unit) safe enough so it complies with 海角社区官网fire code, but what these landlords opted to instead do is to try to take it away entirely,鈥� lawyer Samuel Mason alleged.

Tenants in both cases said they were adamant to stay, even if it meant having renovations take place around them.

The Star听also听reviewed听one instance in which听a landlord听used fire code violations to pressure a tenant to move out of听a听rooming house, although听the landlord has not pursued the case at the LTB.听

海角社区官网Fire chiefs have said they take a zero-tolerance approach to enforcement听since the devastating Rupert Hotel rooming house fire that killed 10 people in 1989. 鈥淲e will move people out, we will close the building, we will issue an immediate threat to life notice, order the owner to close the building. We will charge the owner,鈥� said Jim Jessop in 2019 ahead of the fire’s听30th anniversary. At the time, Jessop was deputy chief, and he is now fire chief and general manager of 海角社区官网Fire.

A听海角社区官网Fire听spokesperson听told the Star in an emailed statement that听landlords have a duty to comply with the Ontario Fire Code, and 鈥渉ow they chose to do so is not at the direction of TFS.鈥�

Tony Irwin, president and CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, said he has heard anecdotally of more 海角社区官网Fire inspections taking place, and he believes small landlords, in particular, would feel the impact of potential fines or renovation costs.

While听rental homes should be safe and听landlords have a responsibility to rectify the issues, Irwin said, some landlords could find themselves in a position where renting out a unit may no longer be tenable.听

“It could be difficult for a small landlord to be able to find the financial resources to be able to pay for the work that’s needed,” he said. “There could be circumstances where perhaps the landlord might say, ‘I understand this is the order, but I don’t have the money to do this.’”

Landlord previously sought an above-guideline rent hike

Pond fears her well-below-market rent and听complaints about maintenance have made her a target for eviction.

She said that in December 2023, she was pressured to voluntarily sign a new lease with a rent increase of about $300. Her landlord, Indira Gangam, maintained Pond was not her tenant because she had moved in with someone — who later moved out — and was never put on the lease. Pond, however, says she and a friend moved in at the same time and neither were given a lease.

By mid-2024, Pond’s lawyer sent the landlord a letter rebutting the landlord’s claims听and raising听concerns about听maintenance, including below-legal temperature.

An eviction notice to demolish her unit to comply with the fire code听came two months later.

In December, the landlord offered Pond $1,215 to move out,听emails show. Pond turned it down.

By January, the landlord’s daughter and property manager were telling Pond the听heating issues could not be fixed unless Pond vacated the unit.

The LTB,听at the hearing in February,听said the landlord needed to pay Pond one-month’s rent as compensation for a no-fault eviction听and dismissed the case听before ruling on the validity of the eviction.

Days later, Pond received another eviction application to demolish her unit to comply with the fire code. She is now awaiting a date for that hearing.

Gangam’s paralegal听Mehria Qarizadha told the Star she and her client could not comment听due to ongoing legal proceedings.

Renovicted tenants argue they were kicked out in bad faith

Isabella Fink hoped she and her partner would be allowed back into the Parkdale apartment where they lived for 10 years and paid $1,690.

The couple听and听three other households听were evicted听for renovations听after 海角社区官网Fire听ordered their听landlord to add more fire exits to two听multiplexes. The landlord proposed installing sprinklers听instead,听and they filed for eviction, saying the work required walls and ceilings to be broken and therefore vacant possession.

The tenants wanted听to stay, but when they saw 海角社区官网District Fire Chief Gordon Chabot appear as a witness for their landlord at the LTB hearing, they felt compelled to consent to an eviction order, said Mason, their lawyer.

鈥淚t was a surprise to everyone to see a 海角社区官网Fire chief there,鈥� added Mason, who believes their presence could hold sway with LTB adjudicators.听

Fire staff 鈥渞outinely鈥� attend LTB hearings on behalf of owners or tenants to give observations about fire safety, but听they 鈥渄o not provide opinions on evictions,” 海角社区官网Fire said in a statement.

The LTB, for its part,听told the Star in a statement that “every decision is based on the specific facts, evidence and submissions that are before the adjudicator.”

But landlords acting in bad faith could听still leverage听fire officials’听clout with their tenants, said Benjamin Ries, executive director of the South Etobicoke Community Legal Services, who is not involved in the cases.听

He said tenants may be more likely to voluntarily move out when they听see听the fire department or the city are听involved听because 鈥渢hey are more likely to assume that it is neutral, for their own protection, 100 per cent legally correct, and not optional,鈥� even though they still have a legal right to challenge the eviction.

Under the LTB order, tenants were听evicted from March 1 until July 1, subject to exceptional circumstances.

Since the order, communication from the landlord’s agent and paralegal has been tense — leaving Fink afraid she’ll be displaced long-term.

More than two weeks after moving out, the landlord鈥檚 paralegal sent an email听saying the tenants violated the LTB agreement.听The email said renovations would not begin until tenants removed more furniture from the property, even though听the eviction order said they could leave large items that would be difficult to remove.听

It also said tenants had not returned their keys, and the landlord could file for eviction for unpaid rent in March.

Fink quickly complied with the听request.

鈥淲hile I was optimistic earlier in the process that it was just our landlords doing their best to deal with a challenging situation, at this point it is increasingly difficult to see the situation as anything but an avenue for long-term eviction,” she said.

By April 1, the renovations still hadn鈥檛 started, according to another emailed update from the paralegal.

Days later,听the tenants听filed听applications to the LTB arguing the landlord evicted them in bad faith. While the renovations were expected to take four months and tenants were meant to move back in July 1, “the landlord has admitted to not beginning the work without reasonable excuse,” reads an听April 11 application viewed by the Star.

Neither the landlord’s听paralegal Eric Steiman听nor the landlord’s agent responded听to the Star’s questions or request for comment.

Lawyers see cracks in the system

Mason charged that for some landlords pushing for eviction, it’s 鈥渘ot about safety鈥澨齜ut getting tenants out of affordable units. Landlords of rent-controlled units can raise rent by any amount once a current tenant leaves.

Ries said听while the LTB can temporarily force tenants out for renovations, it doesn鈥檛 typically ensure they get back in.

In 2018, the听LTB ruled听the board could not force out new, higher paying tenants, even though that听meant denying the previous tenants their right to return.

To prevent the abuse of 海角社区官网Fire orders for evictions, Mason believes the city and 海角社区官网Fire should work more closely听together.

The City of 海角社区官网told the Star听it is committed to supporting people at risk of eviction听with an incoming听听that will take effect on July 31.

Under the renoviction听bylaw,听landlords issuing an N13 notice of eviction for repairs听must present the city with a professional report proving tenants have to move out for renovations to be completed. They must also provide tenants who wish to return with听temporary, comparable housing at similar rents, or provide monthly rent-gap payments, as well as moving allowances.听

When asked whether the bylaw would apply if landlords say renovations are necessary to comply with the fire code, the city said the bylaw would apply “in all circumstances.”听

Additionally, it said the Multi-tenant Houses Regulatory Framework approved in 2023 established a compliance and enforcement strategy specifically for rooming houses across several city divisions, including 海角社区官网Fire.听On multi-tenant houses, 海角社区官网Fire said it inspects the homes yearly and听works with 海角社区官网Buildings听“on Alternative Solutions where buildings face non-compliance issues with the Ontario Building Code.”听

The city also said听it can offer help to tenants facing eviction through the 海角社区官网Tenant Support Program, which provides access to legal services.听

Ries听suggested a change in 海角社区官网Fire’s approach could be part of the solution.听He pointed out 海角社区官网Fire uses a “compliance-based enforcement” 鈥� telling landlords what they need to fix, and that they can avoid fines if they do it immediately, which “effectively transfers the consequences of their own non-compliance” onto the tenant.

“What if the landlord knew that no matter what, if they are found to be in breach of certain fire code provisions, that they’re going to pay a big fine?”听

Whether or not that should be the case is debatable, Ries said,听but “there’s a variety of different pieces that all kind of mix together here to create what might seem like a pretty unfair outcome.”