Salim v. Singh

Tenant wins · Milton · 2024-05-03

Adjudicator

Mandhane J.

Dispute

Assignment Of Lease, Non-payment of Rent

Amount

$5-10K

Landlord

S.S.

Tenant

G.S., A.D.

Landlord rep

Zachary Rodgers

Tenant rep

Mukta Batra

What happened

The Landlord filed an application to collect unpaid rent from former Tenants. The Tenants argued that the Landlord unreasonably refused their request to assign the lease, which would have allowed them to end the tenancy early without owing additional rent. The Landlord had refused the proposed assignees, citing concerns about family size for the rental unit.

The ruling

The court allowed the appeal and remitted the matter back to the LTB for a re-hearing. The court found that the LTB made a serious error by failing to apply the Ontario Human Rights Code when interpreting whether the Landlord's refusal to assign the lease was arbitrary or unreasonable. The court articulated the proper legal test for determining discrimination based on family status in the context of lease assignments.