Some Ontario Landlords Were Sharing Tips on How to Illegally Evict Tenants

Burlington | Halton | Milton | Oakville | Ontario | Latest News |

Published August 21, 2019 at 9:21 pm

Renting a home in Halton is already hard enough. Now, recently discovered forum posts have revealed that some landlords want to make it even harder.

Renting a home in Halton is already hard enough. Now, recently discovered forum posts have revealed that some landlords want to make it even harder.

A recent forum post on RedFlagDeals.ca titled: “Ways landlords can get fair market for ‘wynned’ (rent-controlled) units” was found with posts that are certainly troubling for renters.

The title of the post most likely refers to Kathleen Wynne’s 2017 expansion of rent control protections from units built before 1991 to all privately owned units in Ontario.

These protections are meant to regulate landlords’ pricing so that renters can afford rent. The protections also prevent the tenant from being wrongfully evicted. The housing market is steadily rising across the GTA, and with it, many landlords would like to increase their renting rates.

While the rules are there to protect a renter, the forum post outlines numerous excuses a landlord can take to force a tenant out of a unit.

Some examples of the reasons the post says landlords can use include:

  • Renoviction (Eviction due to a renovation)
  • Expenses are too high, and the landlord must move into the unit. 
  • Landlord’s child is moving in.
  • Putting the unit up for sale.
  • Landlords talk to their tenants and work out a deal for them to pay more.

It should be noted that these ‘tips’ are meant to make a tenant feel like they have no choice but to leave.

Landlords can be fined up to $25,000 for lying about needing a unit for their use, the use of a family member or for an immediate sale.

Many comments on the thread also seemed to show little remorse for tenants that would be forced out of a home wrongfully. 

“What the jealous individuals and bears do not understand is condo investing, like many other undertakings, is a business. We don’t exist to subsidize your life. Go buy your own condo if you are just going to complain,” reads one of the comments on the post.

“It is simply far better to Airbnb if your home is Wynned,” read another post. “Not only is wear and tear from Airbnb much lower than from a tenant you also make far more money… Even if you in an area where it is illegal, the chance of being caught is extremely low if you run the unit properly.”

With the housing market the way it is right now, it’s a sad thought that tenants have even more barriers keeping them from having a home.

What are your thoughts on this forum post?

insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising