# data[].attributes.body
Termination

# data[].attributes.body
It is common enough for people to leave a place they are renting and let a friend or family member take it over, but unless approved by the landlord, this is illegal. If someone else takes over a tenancy without the consent of the landlord, the landlord may apply to the Board to have them evicted. If they refuse to leave after the Board has approved the eviction, it can be filed with the Sheriff to enforce the eviction as you would with any other eviction. If the tenant does not remove all their property by the date specified, it may be put in storage or thrown out. Below is an image of an evicted tenant's property being sorted through to be taken away.

# data[].attributes.body
In Ontario, it can take a considerable amount of time for a landlord to successfully terminate a tenancy. They must first give the tenant a notice of termination and if the tenant does not comply with this, the landlord must then start an application with the board. This may be followed by a hearing where both the landlord and tenant present their cases to an adjudicator. If the tenant does not leave by the date specified by the board, the landlord must then file the order with the Sheriff for the Sheriff to forcefully evict them. Below is a picture of a Sheriff overseeing the eviction and removal of the tenant's property.

# data[].attributes.body
After a family repeatedly made late payments on their rent, they are finally evicted when they come up 100 dollars shy of what they owed. In this picture, constables arrive to force family eviction as they would have been in violation of non-payment of rent.

# data[].attributes.body
Las Vegas constable often serves more than 30 notices a day and tenants have only the time it takes to change the locks to grab what they can and leave. Most of the evictions are due to non-payment of rent (s.59 in Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act), and though it may be sad to see, all of them were given ample notice to leave.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Las Vegas has the highest foreclosure rate in the country and one of the highest unemployment rates. Bill Whitaker rides along with the Constable's office as they carry out the unenviable task of evicting people from their homes.

# data[].attributes.body
When you begin renting somewhere, it is regulation to pay first and last months rent. It is also necessary to give reasonable notice before you move out, but when it comes to MetCap Living it had been their practice until recently to charge tenants two months worth of rent after eviction. They have now agreed to forgive these two months of rent and acknowledge that they should not have done so.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
One of Toronto's biggest landlords has pledged to abandon the debts he claimed two evicted tenants owed and to send settlement letters to credit bureaus to repair their credit ratings.

The action follows a letter he received from Ontario's housing minister saying that under currrent rules he is not entitled to demand two months' rent after evicting a tenant.

Brent Merrill, president of MetCap Living Management and Suite Collections, told the Star he will stop pursuing Wesley Harkness and Cyrilla Hamilton for two months' rent after their evictions. If they pay back rent up to the day they moved out and cover the sheriff's fee, their debts will be considered settled, Merrill said.

"I'll present that to the two people and see what they have to say," he said.

MetCap's policy of evicting a tenant and then billing them for improper notice existed in a legal grey area for years, justified by a court ruling from 20 years ago but rejected by a lower court judgment last year.

After the Star revealed the practice in an investigation published last weekend, provincial housing minister Ted McMeekin said he didn't believe it was legal and vowed to eliminate any uncertainty in the law.

In the letter sent to Merrill on Tuesday, the minister wrote: "There is no provision under the Residential Tenancies Act that entitles a landlord to collect an additional 60 days' rent after an eviction.

"I expect that MetCap will discontinue this practice immediately and permanently."

Harkness and Hamilton have seen their credit ratings further damaged because MetCap claimed they owed two months' rent. For years, this has prevented them from getting credit cards or qualifying for loans and overdraft protection.

Because Harkness, who was evicted from a MetCap building in 2010, paid the amount owing on his eviction order plus a $324 sheriff's fee several months after moving out, Merrill said if he agreed to sign a settlement letter, he would be free and clear.

"That amount is sufficient to settle the file," Merrill said, adding that the settlement letter would be forwarded to the credit bureaus.

"It's not going to totally wipe it off his credit rating, but it will show (it's) settled," he said. "That should not affect him any more going into the future."

When informed of the offer, Harkness said he was happy, but skeptical. "That's awesome," he said, "if it's true."

He has had to bear the consequences of the $800 debt imposed on him by MetCap for more than five years.

"I want to make sure that it's going to be off my (credit rating)," he said, "because I still don't trust them. But if they're being straight up about that, it's good news."

Because Hamilton hasn't paid the rent she owed up to the day she moved out in 2012, nor the sheriff's fee, she will have to pay about $500 to clear the $1,420 debt she's been carrying since her eviction.

"It will be the same thing with her," said Merrill. "If she pays us that money, we would be willing to write a settlement agreement with her saying, 'We're all settled. We're done and we'll record that on your (credit) rating.'

"But we have to sign an agreement to say that no one's going after anyone for any more money."

Hamilton was happy to hear about the offer, but weary after so many years.

"It's been a long road," she said. "They've acknowledged they were wrong. At least we can move along now."

If Hamilton can settle with MetCap, it will also remove the debt from the credit score of her niece, Beverly, who co-signed her lease.

The debt has put additional financial pressure on Beverly, who has credit troubles of her own. With two mortgages and a home-equity loan, she says she hasn't been able to get a car loan to replace her aging Chrysler van, already on its last legs.

"When something like this happens, the major institutions won't even talk to you. They just look at your credit rating and walk away," Beverly said.

"But this (outcome) is a milestone. It gives people assurance there's a fair system in place."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Landlord agrees to forgive eviction debts | The Star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of Toronto's biggest landlords has pledged to abandon the debts he claimed two evicted tenants owed and to send settlement letters to credit bureaus to repair their credit ratings. The action follows a letter he received from Ontario's housing minister saying that under currrent rules he is not entitled to demand two months' rent after evicting a tenant.

# data[].attributes.body
After finally being evicted from the property, Nina Willis has 72 hours to call her former Landlord to collect her things or they will be disposed of. Willis will be facing charges of fraud for providing homeowners with fraudulent cheques and false employment information as Landlord Vakili was not her first victim.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It took five police officers, the sheriff, a landlord and a locksmith, but nightmare Toronto tenant Nina Willis has finally been removed from the building.

"Why are you doing this to me? You can't do this to me!" Willis shouted at enforcement officers with the Ontario Sheriff's office from inside the North York house she was evicted from Wednesday.

"I've done everything right," she said.

Willis, who has a history of not paying rent and stalling evictions, has been ordered out of six homes since 2005, including the most recent, according to tenant board and court documents obtained by the Star, as well as interviews with landlords, lawyers and paralegals.

The Star has been following Willis's case, which shows how easily tenants can manipulate the provincially funded Landlord and Tenant Board using protections designed to avoid unfair evictions to stay in properties without paying rent.

On Wednesday, Willis, two men and a woman, wearing hats and sunglasses, left under police supervision through the fenced backyard of the house Willis had called home for more than a year.

The locks are changed and she has 72 hours to call her former landlord and arrange to collect her things.

Landlord Darius Vakili was pleased Willis was out but said he was "scared of what will happen next," and is worried she will return and break into the house.

Vakili said police have cautioned him not to enter the house until Willis removes her possessions, and to let police know when she returns to remove her things, as Vakili must be there to let her in.

If she doesn't call within 72 hours, Vakili can dispose of everything in the house.

"I have a bad feeling they are not going to call me and I will have to clean up all (their) junk," he said.

Willis first rented the house in July 2011 and moved into the property in late August. Vakili said her first cheque cleared but the second one bounced and after that the only way he received money was through court and tribunal orders.

Willis was ordered out by the Landlord and Tenant Board in April, but appealed the decision, resulting in a stay on the eviction. Her appeal was quashed in August because she didn't meet the conditions set out by a Superior Court judge, to pay her back rent and what she owed on time.

Last week, she made a last-ditch effort to plead her case before the Landlord and Tenant Board, using a provision in the Residential Tenancies Act that affords tenants one chance during each case to pay what they owe, in rent and to cover fees their landlords incurred during the process.

Willis had paid $11,550 in back rent, but failed to account for a $170 filing fee Vakili had to pay the board, and the eviction was upheld.

On Wednesday, two enforcement officers with the Ontario Sheriff's office arrived at the house close to noon. Loud shouting was quickly heard from inside and police officers arrived at the house shortly after. Five officers were involved in the removal.

Toronto Animal Services was also called in to remove a light-coloured dog.

Willis has claimed during tenant board hearings that a sister who lives with her has mental health issues and that moving would cause her and her family harm.

Vakili said he has no immediate plans to seek a new tenant and that he first has to see the condition of the house, expecting "to see a lot of dirt" and damage to the property.

"Right now, everything is hidden."

In May, Willis will appear in a Toronto court to face fraud charges for allegedly providing homeowners with fraudulent cheques and false employment information.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serial bad tenant evicted by sheriff, police | The Star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It took five police officers, the sheriff, a landlord and a locksmith, but nightmare Toronto tenant Nina Willis has finally been removed from the building. "Why are you doing this to me? You can't do this to me!" Willis shouted at enforcement officers with the Ontario Sheriff's office from inside the North York house she was evicted from Wednesday.

# data[].attributes.body
After following all the appropriate actions to have a tenant evicted, the tenant consents to an order of eviction by the Board and then later applies to the Board to review the case he consented too. After a number of hearing dates being pushed, judges refusing to throw out the appeal, and 18 months of the tenant living rent-free, the court finally awarded the landlord damages of 5000 dollars on top of the owed rent and directed the sheriff to take possession of the property immediately.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Anyone interested in becoming a landlord in Ontario could learn some lessons from a recent court case which demonstrates how an unscrupulous tenant was able to live rent-free for 18 months.

Rogers Afam Nwabue was the tenant of an apartment on Howell Square, in Scarborough. On April 1, 2015, he stopped paying rent. After the landlord launched eviction proceedings at the Landlord and Tenant Board, the tenant consented to an order for eviction as of July 31, 2015. In exchange, the landlord agreed to waive rent arrears to June 30.

Instead of moving out as he agreed to do, the tenant applied to the board for a review of the eviction order he had already agreed to. On July 29, 2015, the board refused the request for a review.

In a textbook example of how to delay eviction, the tenant then appealed both orders of the Landlord and Tenant Board to a three-judge panel of the Divisional Court.

The tenant filed the required appeal papers in September 2015, but made no effort to set a hearing date. The landlord's lawyer sent the tenant letters in February, March and June 2016, but the tenant did not reply.

Finally, in November last year, the landlord filed a request with the court to quash the appeal as "frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process . . . manifestly devoid of merit and . . . designed for an improper purpose - to remain in the premises without paying."

The tenant was notified of the November 22 hearing date but did not appear. Incredibly, on that date, the judge refused to quash the appeal but instead set a new hearing date for December 6.

A few days before the new date, the tenant faxed the court to say that the date was inconvenient and conflicted with his exams outside of Toronto.

By December 6, nothing further had been heard from the tenant and the court proceeded with the appeal.

On behalf of a three-judge panel of the Divisional Court, Justice Michael Dambrot dismissed the tenant's appeal on December 9 and wrote: "It is plain that the tenant was evading contact and avoiding a hearing, particularly in light of the fact that he had been in possession of the apartment rent-free since April 1, 2015."

The court awarded the landlord costs of $5,000, although the likelihood it can be collected, along with the rent arrears, seems remote given the history of the case.

The court directed the sheriff to give possession of the unit to the landlord "immediately." In Toronto, the sheriff's office is typically backlogged and evictions can take weeks or even months.

Names of tenants who do not pay rent are not made public by the Landlord and Tenant Board. This, I believe, contravenes the principle of an open and transparent judicial process and makes it difficult to keep a database of deadbeat tenants.

It is only when tenancy cases wind up in court that the names of the tenants are made public.

The Ontario government needs to take action to prevent scofflaws from getting away with not paying rent for months on end. The solution, I suggest, would be to require tenants to pay rent arrears to the board in order to dispute an eviction application based on nonpayment.

Landlords should always be very careful to check credit, as well as job and landlord references before handing over the keys to a rental unit.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Bob Aaron is a Toronto real-estate lawyer. He can be reached at bob@aaron.ca , on his website aaron.ca, and Twitter @bobaaron2.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Devious tenants must be stopped from gaming system | The Star

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Anyone interested in becoming a landlord in Ontario could learn some lessons from a recent court case which demonstrates how an unscrupulous tenant was able to live rent-free for 18 months. Rogers Afam Nwabue was the tenant of an apartment on Howell Square, in Scarborough. On April 1, 2015, he stopped paying rent.

# data[].attributes.body
Instead of making repairs, this landlord makes unlawful evictions. After neglecting to comply with S.21 of the Residential Tenants Act, the landlord decides to serve the tenants who voiced their complaints with eviction notices with-out cause.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Landlord tries to evict tenants in retaliation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CINCINNATI (Rich Jaffe) -- "There's obviously a big difference in power between the landlord and a low income person renting an apartment but their actions of trying to get a landlord to comply with building and health code violations, that's protected by law," said the managing attorney for Legal Aid Society of southwest Ohio.

# data[].attributes.body
Landlord was told she was unable to evict tenant until they stopped paying rent. Here in Ontario, there would have been clear evidence for tenants to be evicted under s.62 or s.63 of the Residential Tenants Act.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Landlord makes shocking discovery when tenants move out

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
She says the tenants were hoarding junk and animals.