Updates on life in the frozen north:
This is what it looked like out my front window after the storm had ended - facing west. The street on the south side of the building had already been plowed. It's been really cold for the last week, so there's very little ice, thank heavens. This street has now been plowed, and the sidewalks shoveled, I think. What I can see from here is shoveled. I haven't left the house since my daughter took me grocery shopping before she left. I need to go out tomorrow. I'm out of allergy medication.
My landlord has been trying to raise my rents illegally for years. Rents have skyrocketed since I moved here in 2015. This place was below market when I moved here and with rent controls, the landlord could get twice what I'm paying if I were to move. I can't afford to pay twice the rent I'm paying now. My oldest daughter recently moved when her landlord wanted to cash in on these prices and sell. It took her over a year to find a place. There are no vacancies and she was prepared to move to the other side of Toronto, if necessary.
I agreed to give him more money, if he fixed up the place. Nothing extravagent. A clothes dryer that works. A fridge that is less than 30 years old. His response was to refuse to accept any more rent from me, and then try to evict me because my rent is in arrears. If you think that sounds crazy, this is a man who replaced the 20 watt fuses that blew with a 15 watt fuse and then pocketed the "evidence" that our electrical system was dangerous, telling us that the problem was solved.
I have not filed a tenant's rights application against the landlord. He's a foolish old man but I don't want him criminally charged or fined $50,000 which is what could happen to him at this point. I just want to live in a building that isn't going to blow up or burn down around me, have appliances that work, and be left to sew in peace.
Yesterday I gave the landlord's agent, Mr. Ed, one last chance to do the right thing before the eviction hearing yesterday. I call him Mr. Ed because his name is Ed, and he's a horse's ass. I offered him an extension of the hearing date to give his client time to fix the hydro, and not face any fines. He lied, said he knew nothing about any of this and it wasn't his fault.
I practically begged this man to get his client to deal with the hydro. I told him that all I want is for the landlord to deal with the repair issues. The other tenants are frightened. And he kept responding that none of this was his fault because he knew nothing about it. I guess he didn't read the letters I sent him in September or October, or the evidence package I sent him last week. By the end of the day Mr. Ed sounded as loony as his client.
All of the illegal rent I had been paying him over the years meant that my rent was prepaid. When he was adding up the arrears, he counted it as paid for the month, but not the amount I paid - an extra $100 or $200 a month for the past three years. Every illegal $$ he collected went to pay for the months he refused the rent money. I wasn't in arrears at all, and I already knew the case would be tossed the next day.
The young duty counsel I spoke to before the hearing, confirmed that the case would be dismissed if I had filed proof of payment of the amount I claimed. I had nothing to fear. I knew this from the moment he handed me the Notice to Vacate. I believed this to be true, but when he said it, I breathed a whole lot easier. He also told me to check out Section 83 of the Act, and told me to let him know what happened at the hearing.
They do all uncontested cases first and then move on to the contested. I made toast and waited but not very long. It was something around 10:30 when they told me that neither the Landlord nor Mr. Ed had shown up, nor had they phoned in. I was moved to the uncontested group. They put me in the next hearing room, I asked the Adjudicator about the electrical problems, and he said to file a Tenant's Rights Application right away. The landlord ducked the hearing today and you've got 6 months before he can try to get you out again. Call our office they'll help you with your application. If there are work orders issued against this landlord, it will go very badly for him at the Tribunal. This case is done. Case dismissed.
Not long after my case was dismissed, there was a gas leak in the apartment downstairs. Desperate yelling about turning the power off right away. My neighbour across the hall was sobbing that she can't take much more of this.
This afternoon I got a snarky email from Mr. Ed saying that he would have beaten me if he had showed up (no he wouldn't), but that he was unable to connect to the zoom meeting (liar), happens all of the time (he could have joined the hearing by telephone), and he'll get me next time. If I had ever argued a case in front of the Tribunal I would know how strong his case was. Well that much was true. He didn't have a case. I'm telling him that the tenants in this building are fearing for their lives and he's trying to start a pissing contest.
Mr. Ed fucked up the paperwork and he's going to tell the landlord that he would have gotten his order, if only he could have joined the meeting. Which is of course a big fat lie. He ducked out because he was going to lose and he knew it. What Mr. Ed doesn't know is that there isn't going to be a next time.
Ontario also has whistle blower protection for tenants who report bad landlords. Once my rights application is filed the landlord and/or property standards orders are issued because I reported the problem, the Landlord can never evict me unless I don't pay my rent for real. That's Section 83 of the Act which the duty counsel lawyer told me to check out. This is why I checked in with Duty Counsel when I got to Zoom Court. I'm always learning.
Not only, can the landlord not evict me, he can't evict ANYONE in the building, until he fixes things. And he can't evict me ever because I filed complaints with the Tribunal and the ESA over the conditions at the property. Whatever money my landlord paid Mr. Ed, he needs to ask for his money back. But I must file a Tenant's Right claim against the landlord to protect all of the tenants here from conditions in the building which are threatening our lives.
I tried to get an inspector out last summer, but it's a small town. My Landlord has lived here all of his life and I just moved here 6 years ago. He's passing around the story that I'm just a deadbeat bitch from Toronto, making trouble for someone you went to school with. I can't get anyone to do work for me, and the building inspector didn't even send me a report.
The legendary Toronto law firm of Legge and Legge is going to deal with getting me inspections and work orders. I dated John Legge's best friend when John was in law School. John's parents were Legge and Legge. Some junior mortgage officer at a small trust company once snarked to John "Have you even read the Trustees Act?", and John replied "Yes, I have. My mother wrote it, and my best friend edited it. What would you like to know?". His mother was the first female bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a Canadian feminist icon. Both of his parents received the Order of Canada. Today the firm is John and his wife Mary. They were newly married and both in law school when I met them. Their son Jamie will be helping me with inspections.
Now if we can just get the landlord to do the repairs, before the Tribunal hearing, he can stop the $50,000 tenants right fines from happening. Any fines associated with the work orders are his own foolishness in ignoring real problems for so long.
The electrical inspector will be here Friday.
This is what it looked like out my front window after the storm had ended - facing west. The street on the south side of the building had already been plowed. It's been really cold for the last week, so there's very little ice, thank heavens. This street has now been plowed, and the sidewalks shoveled, I think. What I can see from here is shoveled. I haven't left the house since my daughter took me grocery shopping before she left. I need to go out tomorrow. I'm out of allergy medication.
My landlord has been trying to raise my rents illegally for years. Rents have skyrocketed since I moved here in 2015. This place was below market when I moved here and with rent controls, the landlord could get twice what I'm paying if I were to move. I can't afford to pay twice the rent I'm paying now. My oldest daughter recently moved when her landlord wanted to cash in on these prices and sell. It took her over a year to find a place. There are no vacancies and she was prepared to move to the other side of Toronto, if necessary.
I agreed to give him more money, if he fixed up the place. Nothing extravagent. A clothes dryer that works. A fridge that is less than 30 years old. His response was to refuse to accept any more rent from me, and then try to evict me because my rent is in arrears. If you think that sounds crazy, this is a man who replaced the 20 watt fuses that blew with a 15 watt fuse and then pocketed the "evidence" that our electrical system was dangerous, telling us that the problem was solved.
I have not filed a tenant's rights application against the landlord. He's a foolish old man but I don't want him criminally charged or fined $50,000 which is what could happen to him at this point. I just want to live in a building that isn't going to blow up or burn down around me, have appliances that work, and be left to sew in peace.
Yesterday I gave the landlord's agent, Mr. Ed, one last chance to do the right thing before the eviction hearing yesterday. I call him Mr. Ed because his name is Ed, and he's a horse's ass. I offered him an extension of the hearing date to give his client time to fix the hydro, and not face any fines. He lied, said he knew nothing about any of this and it wasn't his fault.
I practically begged this man to get his client to deal with the hydro. I told him that all I want is for the landlord to deal with the repair issues. The other tenants are frightened. And he kept responding that none of this was his fault because he knew nothing about it. I guess he didn't read the letters I sent him in September or October, or the evidence package I sent him last week. By the end of the day Mr. Ed sounded as loony as his client.
All of the illegal rent I had been paying him over the years meant that my rent was prepaid. When he was adding up the arrears, he counted it as paid for the month, but not the amount I paid - an extra $100 or $200 a month for the past three years. Every illegal $$ he collected went to pay for the months he refused the rent money. I wasn't in arrears at all, and I already knew the case would be tossed the next day.
The young duty counsel I spoke to before the hearing, confirmed that the case would be dismissed if I had filed proof of payment of the amount I claimed. I had nothing to fear. I knew this from the moment he handed me the Notice to Vacate. I believed this to be true, but when he said it, I breathed a whole lot easier. He also told me to check out Section 83 of the Act, and told me to let him know what happened at the hearing.
They do all uncontested cases first and then move on to the contested. I made toast and waited but not very long. It was something around 10:30 when they told me that neither the Landlord nor Mr. Ed had shown up, nor had they phoned in. I was moved to the uncontested group. They put me in the next hearing room, I asked the Adjudicator about the electrical problems, and he said to file a Tenant's Rights Application right away. The landlord ducked the hearing today and you've got 6 months before he can try to get you out again. Call our office they'll help you with your application. If there are work orders issued against this landlord, it will go very badly for him at the Tribunal. This case is done. Case dismissed.
Not long after my case was dismissed, there was a gas leak in the apartment downstairs. Desperate yelling about turning the power off right away. My neighbour across the hall was sobbing that she can't take much more of this.
This afternoon I got a snarky email from Mr. Ed saying that he would have beaten me if he had showed up (no he wouldn't), but that he was unable to connect to the zoom meeting (liar), happens all of the time (he could have joined the hearing by telephone), and he'll get me next time. If I had ever argued a case in front of the Tribunal I would know how strong his case was. Well that much was true. He didn't have a case. I'm telling him that the tenants in this building are fearing for their lives and he's trying to start a pissing contest.
Mr. Ed fucked up the paperwork and he's going to tell the landlord that he would have gotten his order, if only he could have joined the meeting. Which is of course a big fat lie. He ducked out because he was going to lose and he knew it. What Mr. Ed doesn't know is that there isn't going to be a next time.
Ontario also has whistle blower protection for tenants who report bad landlords. Once my rights application is filed the landlord and/or property standards orders are issued because I reported the problem, the Landlord can never evict me unless I don't pay my rent for real. That's Section 83 of the Act which the duty counsel lawyer told me to check out. This is why I checked in with Duty Counsel when I got to Zoom Court. I'm always learning.
Not only, can the landlord not evict me, he can't evict ANYONE in the building, until he fixes things. And he can't evict me ever because I filed complaints with the Tribunal and the ESA over the conditions at the property. Whatever money my landlord paid Mr. Ed, he needs to ask for his money back. But I must file a Tenant's Right claim against the landlord to protect all of the tenants here from conditions in the building which are threatening our lives.
I tried to get an inspector out last summer, but it's a small town. My Landlord has lived here all of his life and I just moved here 6 years ago. He's passing around the story that I'm just a deadbeat bitch from Toronto, making trouble for someone you went to school with. I can't get anyone to do work for me, and the building inspector didn't even send me a report.
The legendary Toronto law firm of Legge and Legge is going to deal with getting me inspections and work orders. I dated John Legge's best friend when John was in law School. John's parents were Legge and Legge. Some junior mortgage officer at a small trust company once snarked to John "Have you even read the Trustees Act?", and John replied "Yes, I have. My mother wrote it, and my best friend edited it. What would you like to know?". His mother was the first female bencher of the Law Society of Upper Canada and a Canadian feminist icon. Both of his parents received the Order of Canada. Today the firm is John and his wife Mary. They were newly married and both in law school when I met them. Their son Jamie will be helping me with inspections.
Now if we can just get the landlord to do the repairs, before the Tribunal hearing, he can stop the $50,000 tenants right fines from happening. Any fines associated with the work orders are his own foolishness in ignoring real problems for so long.
The electrical inspector will be here Friday.
)
Love y'all. 
