LTB Order LTB-T-077291-22

2023 ONLTB 75897 (CanLII) O. under Section 31 Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 Citation: M. v Z., 2023 ONLTB 75897 Date: 2023-11-10 File Number: LTB-T- 077291-22(TEL-10615-20) In T. matter of: Jasper Room, 1467 Byron Street Whitby ON L1N4S6 Tenant Between: K. M. A. T. Z. L. K. M. (T. 'Tenant') A. F. an O. D. T. (T. 'L.'): • E. T. rental unit illegally. • altered T. locking system on a door giving entry to T. rental unit or residential complex without giving T. Tenant replacement keys. • substantially interfered with T. reasonable enjoyment of T. rental unit or residential complex by T. Tenant or by a member of their household. • harassed, obstructed, coerced, threatened or interfered with T. Tenant. • withheld or interfered with their vital services or care services A. meals in a care home. This application was heard by videoconference on January 11, 2020. T. L. A. T. Tenant attended T. hearing. At T. hearing, T. application was amended to remove T. allegations of harassment, illegal entry, A. withholding of vital services, which T. Tenant elected not to pursue at T. hearing. T. application was also amended to add remedies F. additional moving costs A. replacement costs incurred after T. application was filed. O. Page 1 of 6  File Number: LTB-T-077291-22 (TEL-10615-20) Determinations: 1. In their application, T. Tenant alleges T. T. L.: • Punched holes in T. Tenant’s door while T. Tenant was inside T. unit 2023 ONLTB 75897 (CanLII) • Locked T. Tenant out of T. unit A. garage A. removed some of T. Tenant’s belongings before T. Tenant was permitted to return to T. unit. • Prohibited T. Tenant from accessing his belongings in T. kitchen A. bathroom 2. T. Tenant was seeking a rent abatement of $500.00, costs to replace missing items, A. moving A. storage costs. 3. T. unit is a room in a residential complex. T. Tenant shared a kitchen with 3 other tenants. T. Tenant also had use of one half of T. garage which he used F. storage. 4. At T. time of T. incidents alleged in this application, T. parties were awaiting a Board O. D. whether T. Tenant would be evicted pursuant to section 94 of T. Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (T. ‘Act’). 5. It is not disputed T. T. relationship bet ween T. L. A. T. Tenant had deteriorated significantly during T. Tenant’s time at T. rental unit. T. L. testified T. he was frustrated by T. Tenants refusal to leave T. unit until ordered to leave by T. Board. T. residential complex had been rezoned to comprise a 3-bedroom unit A. a 10 bedroom rooming house, A. at T. time T. application was filed, T. L. A. his family A. T. Tenant were T. only occupants of T. residential complex. 6. It is not disputed T. on April 7,2020, T. L. banged on T. Tenant’s door because T. L. thought T. he smelled smoke, A. T. T. L. continued to punch T. door until he had punched holes in T. door. T. L. yelled at T. Tenant A. asked T. Tenant why he was still in T. unit, A. used profane A. threatening language with T. Tenant. T. Tenant submitted video evidence of T. incident A. photographs of T. damage T. L. testified T. he punched T. door in frustration. 7. T. Tenant testified T. he was frightened by T. L.’s actions, A. concerned F. T. safety of his daughter, who stayed with him on a part-time basis. T. Tenant left T. rental unit T. following day A. took many of his belongings with him, but left larger furniture including beds A. cabinets in T. unit. 8. Therefore, based on T. evidence before me, I find T. T. L. substantially interfered with T. Tenants reasonable enjoyment of T. rental unit. I further find, on a balance of probabilities T. T. Tenant moved out of T. unit as a result of T. L.’s actions. O. Page 2 of 6  File Number: LTB-T-077291-22 (TEL-10615-20) 9. T. Tenant requested an abatement in T. amount of $500.00, which I determined is reasonable under T. circumstances. Illegal Lockout 2023 ONLTB 75897 (CanLII) 10. T. Tenant testified T. he returned to T. unit on April 11, 2020 to retrieve more of his belongings A. discovered T. he could not access his unit. T. Tenant had not had access to T. garage since March 19, 2020, when he alleged T. T. code had been changed A. he no longer had his fob. T. L. testified T. T. Tenant had an access code F. T. residential complex A. a fob F. T. garage at all times A. was not locked out. T. L. acknowledged T. he changed T. code to T. garage to prevent T. Tenant’s friends from accessing T. garage, A. did not respond to T. Tenant’s emails about not being able to access T. garage. 11. T. L. denies changing T. code to T. residential complex. T. L. testified T. he discovered T. T. Tenant had left T. unit when T. L. came to change T. door “a few days” after T. Tenant left A. T. T. Tenant had taken some things, but had left “junk’ behind F. them to deal with including beds A. shoes. T. L. testified T. T. L. A. his wife had done some cleaning of T. unit. T. L. did not recall having contacted T. Tenant about retrieving his belongings. 12. Here, T. testimony of T. parties is contradictory. I prefer T. Tenant’s evidence, which was internally consistent. Both parties acknowledged T. their relationship had deteriorated, A. T. T. L. testified T. he wanted T. Tenant out A. was happy T. T. Tenant left. However, T. L.’s testimony with respect to his own actions was vague A. contradictory. While T. L. claimed T. T. Tenant had not taken any action, such as calling T. Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, to retrieve his belongings, T. Tenant filed an application with T. Board on April 22, 2020, 11 days after he returned to T. unit A. could not enter T. building. In my view, it is more likely than not T. T. code to T. residential complex had been changed by April 11, 2020. Therefore, I find, on a balance of probabilities T. T. Tenant no longer had access to T. rental unit as of April 11, 2020. 13. I make no finding with respect to T. termination date of T. tenancy, as Board O. TEL-05858-19 appears to determine T. termination date, A. I am bound by T. previous O.. T. Tenant’s Belongings O. Page 3 of 6  File Number: LTB-T-077291-22 (TEL-10615-20) Storage Unit 14. T. Tenant testified T. a storage unit which was left in T. rental unit was broken A. placed at T. curb after April 11, 2020. T. Tenant submitted photographs of T. storage unit in his unit A. at T. curb into evidence. T. L. testified T. he did not 2023 ONLTB 75897 (CanLII) remember moving T. unit to T. curb A. did not know what happened to it, although he did not know who else could have accessed T. Tenant’s unit A. removed T. storage unit. Based on T. evidence before me, I find, on a balance of probabilities T. T. L. removed T. storage unit, A. left it at T. curb F. disposal. T. Tenant requested $200.00, which I determined to be T. reasonable cost to replace T. storage unit. 15. In their Interim O..TEL-10615-20 dated July 20, 2020, T. member ordered T. T. Tenant could access T. rental unit “as described in T. application” on July 23, 2020 between T. hours of 8 am to 8 pm to retrieve their possessions, A. T. T. Tenant could be accompanied by police. Kitchen A. Bathroom 16. It is not disputed T. T. Tenant was allowed entry to T. garage A. his room, A. T. T. L. blocked access to T. kitchen, where some of T. Tenant’s remaining items were stored. T. L. testified T. at T. July 17th hearing, T. Tenant had indicated T. he only needed access to his room A. T. garage A. T. there was no need F. T. Tenant to access T. bathroom or kitchen. T. L. blocked T. rooms off to prevent “sabotage.” 17. T. Tenant claimed T. he had $200.00 in food, A. a slow cooker T. he valued at $80.00 in T. kitchen. T. Tenant was also seeking $250.00 F. his shaving equipment A. toiletries which were stored in T. bathroom. I find T. this is a reasonable cost to replace T. items. T. Tenant is entitled to $535.00 F. T. items in T. kitchen A. garage. Garage 18. T. Tenant testified T. he had tools on a rack in T. garage T. were missing. T. L. claimed T. T. Tenant had previously removed many valuable items from T. garage, including his tools. T. Tenant claimed T. he had removed some items from T. garage, but left his hand tools on a peg board in T. garage, A. T. T. peg board was O. Page 4 of 6  File Number: LTB-T-077291-22 (TEL-10615-20) missing when he accessed T. garage on July 23, 2020. T. Tenant was seeking $300.00 as T. replacement cost of his hand tools. 19. T. Tenant also claimed a total of $280.00 F. a computer A. gaming consoles, which were missing from T. garage. 2023 ONLTB 75897 (CanLII) 20. As I noted above, T. L.’s testimony was not consistent with respect to T. handling of T. Tenant’s items when T. Tenant did not have access to T. garage A. T. residential complex. I found T. Tenant’s evidence to be internally consistent with respect to T. missing items, A. T. replacement costs to be reasonable, A. I found no reason not to believe T. Tenant’s testimony. Therefore, I determined T. T. Tenant is entitled to a total of $580.00 F. T. items in T. garage. Moving expenses 21. T. Tenant testified T. he paid $800.00 to store his items between April 8, 2020 when he started to move out of T. unit A. August 8, 2020, when T. Tenant received T. Board O. F. eviction. T. Tenant also paid $127.81 to rent a truck. T. Tenant provided receipts F. these expenses. 22. T. L. objected to T. claim F. storage expenses as T. invoice was from T. Tenant’s employer whose main line of business was not storage. However, T. Tenant testified T. his items were stored, A. provided an invoice F. T. storage at $200.00 per month, which I find to be T. reasonable. Therefore, T. Tenant is entitled to $927.81 F. moving expenses. 23. T. Tenant also claimed $336.00 F. lost wages, but T. Tenant did not provide any testimony or other evidence in support of this claim. Therefore, I did not have sufficient information to make a finding with respect to lost wages. Costs 24. T. Tenant incurred a cost of $50.00 to file T. application, A. T. Tenant is entitled to T. reimbursement of this cost. It is ordered T.: 1. T. total amount T. L. shall pay T. Tenant is $2,787.81. This amount represents: • $500.00 F. a rent abatement. • $1,310.00 F. T. reasonable costs T. T. Tenant has incurred to replace property T. was disposed of as a result of T. L.'s actions. O. Page 5 of 6  File Number: LTB-T-077291-22 (TEL-10615-20) • $927.81 F. all OR part of T. moving, storage or other like expenses T. T. Tenant has incurred. • $50.00 F. T. cost of filing T. application. 2. T. L. shall pay T. Tenant T. full amount owing by November 21, 2023. 2023 ONLTB 75897 (CanLII) 3. If T. L. does not pay T. Tenant T. full amount owing by November 21, 2023, T. L. will owe interest. This will be simple interest calculated from November 22, 2023 at 7.00% annually on T. balance outstanding. 4. T. Tenant has T. right, at any time, to collect T. full amount owing or any balance outstanding under this O.. November 10, 2023 ____________________________ Date Issued Kathleen Wells 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. . O. Page 6 of 6