‘Denying justice’ — Critics say Landlord and Tenant Board overwhelmed, inefficient
A provincial watchdog is warning that the glacial pace of Ontario’s overwhelmed landlord-tenant dispute system is denying justice to thousands of people — causing many to take desperate measures.
“Then you get self-help,” Kathy Laird, a Tribunal Watch Ontario committee member, told the Star. “Tenants who can’t get repairs done on their building might stop paying rent. Landlords who can’t get their tenants out might start taking other steps to get a tenant out illegally. Those things happen more than they used to.”
As rent prices climb and landlord/tenant disputes grow increasingly hostile, a largely provincial domain issue has spilled into the federal election campaign.
The NDP said this week they would implement national rent control if elected.
The party said it would also introduce a Renter’s Bill of Rights, and tie federal housing funding to rent control, tenant protections, and acting against “exploitive” landlords.
