Chelly v Novus -Bentall Green Oak

Landlord wins · Toronto · 2025-08-27

Adjudicator

Rebecca Case

Dispute

Illegal Rent

Landlord

N.G.O., D.T.

Tenant

M.C.

Landlord rep

David Ciobotaru, Damon Thomas-Anderson

What happened

The Tenant applied for a determination that the Landlord collected or retained money illegally. The core of the dispute was whether a lower rent amount proposed by the Tenant in a blacklined renewal offer, which the Landlord did not explicitly reject initially, became the lawful rent. The Tenant argued silence constituted acceptance, while the Landlord maintained the lawful rent was the amount specified in a valid N2 Notice. The residential complex was exempt from rent increase guidelines as it was first occupied after November 15, 2018.

The ruling

The Tenant's application for a finding of illegal rent collection was dismissed. The Board ruled that the Tenant's attempt to unilaterally lower the rent amount on a renewal offer was a counter-offer that the Landlord never accepted. Consequently, the rent increase set out in the Landlord's N2 notice remained the lawful rent for the unit.