Belsito v. Zemtsov

Tenant wins · Toronto · 2019-10-08

Adjudicator

Swinton J.

Dispute

Eviction, Illegal Rent Increase

Amount

$10-20K

Landlord

B.B.

Tenant

S.Z.

Landlord rep

R. Christopher M. Belsito

Tenant rep

David J. Rose

What happened

The landlord appealed a Landlord and Tenant Board order requiring her to pay the tenant $12,000 for illegal rent collected. The tenant had lived in the unit for 13 years at $1,000 per month. When the property was sold, the new landlord had the tenant sign a new lease doubling the rent to $2,000 without proper notice. The Board found this was not a new tenancy and the rent increase was void.

The ruling

The Divisional Court dismissed the landlord's appeal of the Landlord and Tenant Board order. The Court found no error of law in the Board's decision that the rent increase was void without proper notice, and that $12,000 in illegal rent must be repaid to the tenant. The Court ordered the $12,050 paid into court to be released to the tenant, and awarded $7,500 in costs plus HST and disbursements to the tenant.