LTB Order LTB-T-069278-22

Order under Section 21.2 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act A. the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 Citation: P. v T., 2023 ONLTB 20481 2023 ONLTB 20481 (CanLII) Date: 2023-02-10 File Number: LTB-T-069278-22-RV In the matter of: 173 Balsam Street South Timmins Ontario P4N2E1 Between: L. P. T. A. K. T. Landlord Review Order L. P. (the 'T.') applied for an order determining that K. T. (the 'Landlord') has collected or retained money illegally. This application was resolved by order LTB-T-069278-22 issued on January 5, 2023. On January 29, 2023, the Landlord requested a review of the order. A preliminary review of the review request was completed without a hearing. Determinations: 1. On the basis of the submissions made in the request, I am not satisfied there is a serious error in the order or that a serious error occurred in the proceedings. 2. By way of background, the T. brought an application under section 135(1) to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the “Act”) to collect money paid on the T.’s behalf by ODSP to the Landlord. It is not disputed the T. was evicted from the rental unit at the beginning of January 2021 A. that the Landlord continued to accept payments from ODSP for 4 months thereafter. 3. The Landlord submits the hearing members failed to take into account the ODSP Policy which purportedly states that “people with no shelter costs do not receive a shelter allowance”. According to the Landlord, the T. was not entitled to seek damages for post-eviction ODSP payments made to the Landlord because the T. was not entitled to a shelter allowance. While the Landlord’s review request asserts the T. was not entitled to “shelter costs”, I do not find this alleged fact would entitle the Landlord to keep the obvious overpayment made on the T.’s behalf. The Order specifically mentions at paragraph 2 the T. is requesting that ODSP money be paid to the T. so the T. Order Page 1 out of 3  may reimburse ODSP (in order to restore the T.’s full ODSP entitlement). The order also shows the hearing members correctly considered the definition of “rent” under s. 2 of the Act which encompasses “any consideration…given…on behalf of a T. to a landlord...for the right to occupy a rental unit” [emphasis added]. As such, I find the members 2023 ONLTB 20481 (CanLII) acted within their statutory authority under section 135 of the Act in ordering that post- eviction rent received by the Landlord be paid to the T.. 4. The Landlord also submits the hearing members failed to acknowledge the reason for the T.’s eviction from the rental unit; that the hearing members erred in dismissing the Landlord’s photographic evidence purportedly showing damage to the rental unit caused by the T.; A., that the members erred in accepting hearsay statements regarding (i) the T.’s existing reduced ODSP payments A. (ii) a purported unreturned email from the T.’s caseworker to the Landlord’s representative. 5. I do not find the hearing members erred in considering hearsay evidence. While the Board must be mindful of the inherent dangers in admitting hearsay evidence given that hearsay evidence can be unreliable, section 15(1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990 c S.22 (“SPPA”) makes hearsay presumptively admissible. Further, given the admission the Landlord was accepting post-eviction rent payments on behalf of the T. from ODSP, I do not find that refusing to admit the hearsay facts into evidence would have changed the result of the order. I also do not find the members erred in not considering the Landlord’s damages claim. The instant application alleges the Landlord has collected or retained money illegally. As such, it was also appropriate for the Board to limit its findings A. analysis to the substantive issues at issue in this application only; any damages claimed by the Landlord would constitute a separate application A. was thus not properly before the Board in this application. 6. The Landlord has not established that a serious error may exist in the January 5, 2023 order, or that a serious error may have occurred in the proceedings. The Landlord’s request to review the order must accordingly be denied. It is ordered that: 1. The request to review order LTB-T-069278-22 issued on January 5, 2023 is denied. 2. The order is confirmed A. remains unchanged. February 10, 2023 Date Issued Peter Nicholson Member, Landlord A. T. Board Order Page 2 out of 3 15 Grosvenor Street, Ground Floor Toronto ON M7A 2G6 If you have any questions about this order, call 416-645-8080 or toll free at 1-888-332-3234. 2023 ONLTB 20481 (CanLII) Order Page 3 out of 3