LTB Order LTB-T-071320-22

2023 ONLTB 77097 (CanLII) O. under Subsection 57 & 135 Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 Citation: A. v L., 2023 ONLTB 77097 Date: 2023-11-24 File Number: LTB-T-071320- 22-LTB-L-071355-22 In the matter of: G01-50 Fort York Boulevard Toronto, ON M5V 3Z3 Tenant Between: K. A. A. L. G. L. K. A. (the 'Tenant') A. F. an O. D. T. G. L. (the 'L.') collected or retained money illegally. The Tenant also A. F. an O. D. T. G. L. the L. gave a notice of termination in bad faith. This application was heard by videoconference on May 26, 2022, A. October 4, 2023. The L., the L.’s Legal Representative Jie Situ A. the Tenant attended the hearing. Determinations: Preliminary Issues - 1. The L.’s Legal Representative raised a preliminary issue prior to the October 4, 2023 reconvening of the matter, suggesting T. the Tenant’s name as listed in his applications are different than the name T. was provided to the L. F. the purpose of the tenancy. 2. While T. may have been the case, the L. never at any time suggested T. the Tenant was someone other than the individual who had rented her unit A. as such, I was satisfied T. the parties involved in the action were the L. A. Tenant as outlined.  File Number: LTB-T-071320-22 T1 Application – Illegal Rent 3. As explained below, the Tenant did not prove the allegations contained in the application on a balance of probabilities. Therefore, the application is dismissed. 2023 ONLTB 77097 (CanLII) O. Page 1 of 4 4. The Tenant’s application was filed with the Board on October 19, 2021. The Tenant alleges T. the L. owes him $3,816.00 in illegal rent charged from May 15, 2016 to December 21, 2020 when the Tenant vacated the unit. 5. The tenancy began May 15, 2012. The Tenant had paid $4,100.00 in rent per month from T. date to May 15, 2016 when the rent increased to $4,500.00, which the Tenant paid until December 21, 2020. 6. As such, the Tenant seeks the difference in rent F. T. period of time in the amount of $3,816.00. 7. Section 116 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the ‘Act’) states T. a L. shall not increase the rent charged to a tenant without giving the tenant 90 days written notice of the L.’s intention to do so. Section 120 of the Act states T. a L. may only increase the rent charged in accordance with the guideline. 8. Section 135 of the Act states T. a tenant or former tenant may apply to the Board F. an O. D. T. a L. collected or retained money in contravention of the Act. T. said, s. 136 of the Act states T. rent charged one or more year earlier shall be deemed to be lawful rent unless an application has been made within on year after the date T. amount was first charged, A. the lawfulness of the rent charged in an issue in the application. 9. The alleged illegal amount was first charged as of May 15, 2016. This application was brought by the Tenant on October 19, 2021 A. as such, the Tenant had been paying the deemed lawful rent within one year of his application. 10. As such, on a balance of probabilities, I am satisfied T. the L. did not collect rent in excess of the amount allowed by the Act A. this portion of the Tenant’s application is dismissed. Last Month’s Rent Deposit & Interest 11. The Tenant alleges T. the L. failed to apply the last month’s rent deposit in the amount of $4,100.00 to his last month A. further alleged T. the L. failed to pay interest on same in the amount of $649.85. .  File Number: LTB-T-071320-22 12. The L.’s Legal Representative submitted T. O. TSL-15687-20, which was an application filed by the L. based on an N4 notice of termination, had already considered A. A. the Tenant’s last month’s rent deposit A. interest. 13. The hearing F. the L.’s application took place on December 1, 2020 A. the O. 2023 ONLTB 77097 (CanLII) F. same was issued on January 20, 2021. The Tenant was not present at the hearing. At the hearing the L. had waived the excess rent which has been above the Board’s jurisdiction of $35,000.00 as contemplated under s. 207(1) of the Act. T. said, the O. did apply the Tenant’s last month rent deposit A. interest F. same from March 3, 20219 to March 2, 2020. 14. On February 11, 2021, the Tenant requested T. O. TSL-15687-20 be reviewed A. T. the O. be stayed until the request to review was resolved. The Tenant alleged T. he was not reasonably able to participate in the December 1, 2020 hearing. As such, TSL15687-20-RV-IN was issued on February 11, 2021, staying the original O. until the review was heard. 15. The Tenant’s request to review was heard on April 14, 2021 where the Presiding Member had granted the Tenant’s request to review. The L.’s application was considered again, A. in TSL-15687-20-RV issued on April 28, 2021, the Tenant was once again ordered to pay the arrears as alleged. 16. Again, the Tenant’s last month’s rent deposit was A. along with an adjusted amount of interest from May 16, 2012 to December 21, 2021. 17. As such, based on a balance of probabilities, I am not satisfied T. the L. did not illegally retain the Tenant’s rent deposit or fail to pay the Tenant’s interest on the last month's rent deposit, as required by the Act A. this portion of the Tenant’s application is dismissed. T5 Application & s. 135(1.1) Application 18. As explained below, the Tenant did not prove the allegations contained in the applications on a balance of probabilities. Therefore, the application is dismissed. 19. The Tenant alleges T. on February 15, 2019, he had received an N12 notice of termination from the L. F. purchaser’s own use. This notice was never filed, A. the Tenant received a subsequent notice F. the L.’s child on October 14, 2019, with a termination date of January 14, 2020. 20. The Tenant alleges T. after he received the notice he then received the L.’s N4 notice F. non-payment of rent from December 15, 2019 to February 14, 2020, which he stated was false. 21. The Tenant testified T. he could not move any earlier than the termination date of January 14, 2020 due to COVID-19 A. the fact T. he had a baby A. had eventually moved out of the unit by December 21, 2020. .  File Number: LTB-T-071320-22 22. The Tenant alleges T. after he vacated the unit the L. had started renovating the unit A. had noticed a party who was not the Tenant’s daughter living in the unit. The Tenant alleges a few months later the unit was converted to a pet store. 23. The Tenant alleges T. he was forced to move out because he refused to pay the 2023 ONLTB 77097 (CanLII) L. higher rent A. T. the L.’s N12 notice was given in bad faith. 24. Subsection 57(1)(a) of the Act requires the Tenant to prove each of the following on a balance of probabilities: 1. The L. gave the Tenant an N12 notice of termination under section 48 of the Act; 2. The Tenant vacated the rental unit as a result of the N12 notice of termination; 3. No person referred to in subsection 48(1) of the Act occupied the rental unit within a reasonable time after the Tenant vacated; A. 4. The L. served the N12 notice of termination in bad faith. 25. On a balance of probabilities, I am not satisfied T. the Tenant had proven the second prong of the test as outlined, namely T. the Tenant vacated the unit as a result of the N12 notice of termination. As well, I am not satisfied T. the L. was required to pay the Tenant compensation as required under s. 48.1 of the Act. 26. The Tenant was served the N12 application in October of 2019, which contained a termination date of January 14, 2020. This application was never filed. On February 16, 2020 the Tenant was served with an N4 notice of rent arrears. The L.’s application was filed on March 12, 2020 A. the hearing took place on December 1, 2020 as outlined above. 27. It is clear from my assessment of the evidence T. the L.’s intentions pivoted at this time. The N12 notice of termination was never filed with the Board or proceeded with A. the L. had served an N4 notice of termination A. had filed an application F. same. 28. The L. attended the hearing on December 1, 2020 A. presented the evidence as it pertained to the rent arrears within the rental period as alleged. In T. O. it was determined T. the Tenant had not been paying rent since December of 2019. 29. The O. was issued, A. the Tenant filed a request to review. The review was granted, A. a new hearing took place with respect to the Tenant’s rent arrears. 30. In the third paragraph of TSL-15687-20-RV, the Presiding Member made a determination T. the Tenant vacated the unit on December 21, 2020 as a result of a consent agreement T. was reached in mid-December of 2020. 31. The Tenant never sought a review of T. determination. As such, because the Presiding Member in T. hearing made a determination with respect to the reasons regarding the ending of the tenancy, I am unable to make a determination otherwise. The Tenant ought .  File Number: LTB-T-071320-22 to have sought a review of T. O. if he did not agree with the reasoning behind the ending the tenancy. It is ordered T.: 2023 ONLTB 77097 (CanLII) 1. The Tenant’s applications are dismissed. November 24, 2023 ____________________________ Date Issued Jagger Benham Member, L. A. Tenant 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 1-888-332-3234. .