Evictly

Li v Zhu

Tenant wins · Stouffville · 2025-11-20

Adjudicator
Robert Brown
Dispute
Harassment, Illegal Lockout, Substantial Interference, Tenant Rights, Withholding Vital Services
Amount
$5-10K
Landlord
J.Z.
Tenant
M.L.
Tenant rep
Peter Bridge

What happened

The Tenant filed applications alleging that the Landlord entered the unit illegally, altered locks without providing keys, interfered with reasonable enjoyment, harassed the Tenant, and withheld vital services (power and water). The Landlord subsequently enforced an eviction order against a former tenant to remove the current Tenant, despite being aware that the current Tenant occupied the unit and failing to file an unauthorized occupant application within the statutory 60-day limit. The Board found the Landlord acted in bad faith and abused the LTB process.

The ruling

The Landlord is ordered to pay the Tenant $5,641.34, comprising $2,093.34 in out-of-pocket expenses, $3,500.00 in general damages for an illegal lockout, and the $48.00 filing fee. Additionally, the Landlord is ordered to pay a $10,000.00 administrative fine to the LTB for 'egregious' abuse of process and bad-faith enforcement of an obsolete eviction order. The tenancy was declared terminated as of the lockout date.