LTB Order LTB-L-028429-22

O. under Section 87 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 In the matter of: 910, 28 Byng Toronto Ontario M2N7H4 Between: L. D. J. A. F. T. T. D. L. D. J. (the 'L.') A. F. an O. requiring T. D. L. (the 'F. T.') to pay the rent A. daily compensation that the F. T. owes. This application was heard by videoconference on January 16, 2023. The L., the L.’s representative Joseph Behar, the L.’s witness Moira Cockburn A. the F. T. attended the hearing Determinations: 1. As explained below, the L. has proven on a balance of probabilities the allegations contained in the application. Therefore, the F. T. must pay the L. $5,799.73 by March 14, 2023. 2. The F. T. vacated the rental unit on September 15, 2021. 3. The application was filed within one year after the F. T. ceased to be in possession of the rental unit. 4. The lawful rent was $2,100.00. It was due on the 1st day of each month. 5. Based on the monthly rent, the daily rent/compensation is $69.04. This amount is calculated as follows: $2,100.00 x 12 months, divided by 365 days. 6. The F. T. has not made any payments since the application was filed.  File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 7. The L. collected a rent deposit of $2,100.00 from the T. A. this deposit is still being held by the L.. 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) O. Page 1 of 7 8. The rent arrears A. daily compensation owing to September 15, 2021 are $7,700.00. The T. does not dispute the arrears as claimed by the L.. 9. The L. incurred costs of $201.00 F. filing the application A. is entitled to reimbursement of those costs. T.’s Section 82 Claims 10. The T. testified that he is seeking an abatement of rent to offset the arrears based on a number of maintenance A. other issues raised with the L. during the tenancy which the L. failed to address. 11. Section 82(1) of the Act states: At a hearing of an application by a L. under section 69 F. an O. terminating a tenancy A. evicting a T. based on a notice of termination under section 59, the Board shall permit the T. to raise any issue that could be the subject of an application made by the T. under this Act. Storage unit 12. The T. submitted that the L. occupied half of the Tenants leased storage unit F. four months F. the period of December 20, 2020 to April 15, 2020. That he notified that L. immediately A. that the issue was resolved only after four months, he is seeking 10% abatement of rent F. each of the months. 13. The L. submitted that this was resolved in two days. Evidence of the same was confirmed at the time of the hearing by way of a text message exchange between the T. A. the L. on April 15, 2021 in which it is stated that “the locker is cleared out. Keys are at security F. you.” 14. Based on the evidence before me, on balance of probabilities, the L. rendered the locker empty on or about April 15, 2021. Therefore, I am not able to consider abatement of rent as it relates to this issue. Burst pipe 15. The T. submitted that a water pipe burst under the kitchen sink overnight on February 19, 2021, that the Tenants were forced to clean up the water, A. that the house smelled damp A. moldy F. up to a week after. He notified the O. Page 2 of 7  File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 L. immediately A. the issue was resolved, he is seeking rent abatement of 10% F. the month. 16. The L. submitted that a plumber was called within one hour of the L. being notified of the leak A. arrived at the rental premises on 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) February 19, 2021 at 4:30 p.m. 17. There was no dispute between the parties that the leak was addressed on February 19, 2021. No evidence was produced to suggest that the L. was made aware of any ongoing issues after the incidents of the water penetration. On cross examination, it was suggested that if the T. felt that there were ongoing issues A. there was any damage to his property he could have pursued a claim based on his T. insurance, he submitted that this was not pursued. 18. Based on the evidence before me, on a balance of probabilities, if there was any ongoing issues stemming from the water penetration the L. was not aware. Therefore, I am not able to consider abatement of rent in respect of the water penetration issue. Leak in coat closet 19. The T. submitted that on March 16, 2021 a leak was discovered in the coat closet A. that the L. did not respond to the T. F. two days, the closet was unusable the L. did not repair the leak. The L. advised the T. to contact building security A. put a bowl under the leak. 20. It was submitted that the rental unit from that point smelled damp A. moldy A. that the issue was not resolved, the T. is seeking an abatement of rent F. 25% per month F. a seven month period from March 2021 September 2021. 21. The L. submitted that once becoming aware of the issue she immediately responded on March 18, 2021 by way of text. She advised the T. to contact building security as the leak was coming from the rental unit above. The L. did not hear anything further on this matter A. believed the issue to be resolved with building management. 22. On cross examination, the T. he was uncertain how A. when the issue was fixed as he wasn't the one dealing with building management to resolve this issue. He submitted that he was simply either going to work or sleeping A. does not have any further details, however thought this took about two months to address completely. When asked about T. insurance, he submitted that this was not something that he pursued. 23. The T. did not advance any evidence to support the allegation that the L. was aware of the alleged odour issues arising from the water penetration. Given the lack of evidence to support the claim F. abatement in respect of this issue, I am not able to consider it. Doorknob O. Page 3 of 7  File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 24. The T. submitted that on March 24, 2021 at 1:00 a.m. he was not able to enter the rental unit as the front door doorknob was inoperable A. the L. could not be reached. The T. called the locksmith to enter the unit. The following day the building superintendent was tasked by the L. to fix the issue. The issue was rectified six days later on March 30, 2021 with no 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) assistance from the L. A. the initial costs being covered by the T.. 25. The T. is seeking rent abatement of 20% F. the month of March 2021. 26. The L. submitted that she did not receive the T.’s message until the following morning A. contacted the superintendent to assist with this issue. The T. did not answer the door, the T. chose to call their own locksmith to remedy the issue. The L. reimbursed the T. F. their expense A. followed up in this regard on April 1, 2021 to ensure the issue was resolved. 27. The L. submitted into the Board’s record a bank statement to demonstrate that she had reimbursed the T. the cost of the lock repair by way of a deduction from April 2021 rent. 28. Based on the evidence before me, on a balance of probabilities, I find that the L. acted reasonably by responding to the T. the next morning once becoming aware of the issue A. reimbursing the T. accordingly. F. this reason, I am not able to consider the claim F. abatement of rent in respect of this issue. Comments by L. 29. The issues as described under issue #5 of the Tenants’ evidentiary submissions were withdrawn at the time of the hearing. L.’s communications with T.’s father 30. The T. submitted that the L. continuously contacted his father A. spoke to him regarding the T.'s private matters A. then subsequently created a group chat with himself, the T., the T.’s father A. the T.'s girlfriend on March 11, 2021. 31. It was submitted that the father was not a guarantor A. that there was no need to involve the T.’s father in his private matters concerning the rental unit. He is seeking rent abatement of 10% F. seven months from March 2021 to September 2021 A. that the Board issue a fine F. the L.’s behavior. 32. The L. submitted that she had contacted the father because she was afraid F. her safety based on the aggression that she felt from the T. A. because the T. was not paying rent. Coincidentally she made the contact with the father through a professional network. 33. Abatement of rent is a contractual remedy based on the principle that if you are paying 100% of the rent then you should be getting 100% of what you are paying F. A. if you are not getting that, then a T. should be entitled to abatement equal to the difference in value. O. Page 4 of 7  File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 34. In the case before me, while the L. contacting the T. has allegedly impacted the relationship between parties, the end result does not have a direct impact or correlation on the T.’s utility of the rental unit. Consequently, I am not able to consider the request F. abatement arising from this situation. 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) 35. In addressing the T.’s submission F. the issuance of a fine against the L., I have considered the circumstances A. do not believe that the L. when contacting the T.’s father had any negative intent in doing so. As per the L.’s submissions, when the T. exhibited an attitude A. stopped paying rent this at the time seemed like a viable option to attempt to remedy the issue. 36. I am not satisfied that it is appropriate to O. the L. to pay a fine to the Board in this application. An administrative fine is a remedy to be used by the Board to encourage compliance with the Act A. is not normally imposed unless a L. has shown a blatant disregard F. the Act, as already noted I do not believe this to be case. Social media post 37. The T. submitted that the L. posted unsubstantiated claims on social media about him. He believes that it is the L. who is responsible F. the posting of these inappropriate claims based on a skull A. Irish flag in her post matching the ones that the L. uses in her text communication with the T.. 38. The T. submitted that the social media posts have impacted his image A. business dealings. The T. is seeking 10% abatement F. the month of June 2021 A. F. the L. to be fined by the Board F. the L.'s behavior. 39. The L. submitted that she did not write or inspire the social media messages. 40. Based on the L.’s testimony A. that there is no reasonable way F. the T. to prove that it is the L. who made those posts, on a balance of probabilities I do not believe the L. made those posts. Therefore, the claim F. abatement of rent A. a payment of a fine by the L. must be dismissed. 41. The L. collected a rent deposit of $ 2,100.00 from the F. T. A. this deposit is still being held by the L.. The rent deposit must be A. to the last rental period of the tenancy. 42. Interest on the rent deposit, in the amount of $1.27 is owing to the F. T. F. the period from December 21, 2020 to September 15, 2021. It is ordered that: 43. The F. T. shall pay to the L. $5,799.73, which represents rent A. compensation owing up to September 15, 2021, A. the cost of filing the O. Page 5 of 7  File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 application. The amount of the rent deposit A. interest the L. owes on the rent deposit has been deducted from the amount owing by the T.. 44. If the F. T. does not pay the L. the full amount owing on or before March 14, 2023, the F. T. will start to owe interest. This will be 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) simple interest calculated from March 15, 2023 at 5.00% annually on the balance outstanding. March 3, 2023 _______________________ Date Issued Alicia Johnson L. A. T. Board 15 Grosvenor Street, Ground Floor Toronto ON M7A 2G6 If you have any questions about this O., call 416-645-8080 or toll free at 1-888- 3323234. * Refer to the attached Summary of Calculations. O. Page 6 of 7  File Number: LTB-L-028429-22 2023 CanLII 136407 (ON LTB) Schedule 1 SUMMARY OF CALCULATIONS Amount the F. T. must pay the L.: Rent Owing To Move Out Date $7,700.00 Application Filing Fee $201.00 NSF Charges $0.00 Less the amount the T. paid to the L. since the - $0.00 application was filed Less the amount the T. paid into the LTB since the - $0.00 application was filed Less the amount of the last month's rent deposit - $2,100.00 Less the amount of the interest on the last month's rent - $1.27 deposit Less the amount the L. owes the T. F. an - $0.00 {abatement/rebate} Less the amount of the credit that the T. is entitled to - $0.00 Total amount owing to the L. $5,799.73 O. Page 7 of 7