Minas v. Adler

Tenant wins · Toronto · 2022-12-02

Adjudicator

Sachs J.

Dispute

Illegal Eviction, Termination of Tenancy

Landlord

V.M., J.M.

Tenant

K.E.A., Eagle Capital Corporation

Landlord rep

James P. McReynolds

Tenant rep

Benjamin Salsberg, David S. Strashin

What happened

Landlords appealed a Landlord and Tenant Board decision that ordered them to allow Tenants to recover possession of a rental unit. The Landlords had illegally evicted the Tenants and moved back into the property without obtaining an LTB order. The main issues were whether the LTB had jurisdiction to hear the matter, whether the LTB application was an abuse of process, whether the rental unit was still subject to the Residential Tenancies Act, and whether the unit could be considered 'vacant' under the Act.

The ruling

The Divisional Court dismissed the Landlords' appeal of the LTB decision. The court upheld the LTB's jurisdiction to hear the matter, found that the LTB application was not an abuse of process, confirmed that the rental unit was still subject to the RTA, and agreed with the LTB's interpretation of 'vacant' in s. 31(3) of the RTA. The Landlords were ordered to pay $9,000 in costs to the Tenants.