Discouraged

Why is it that there seem to be so few self-proclaimed tenant advocates/activists types that actually are inclined to do anything that might be construed as in any way positive or productive?

I find it extremely discouraging.

If the sort of so-called advocates & activists that show up in the Ontario Landlord Association forums are any indication, it's no wonder that the situation - for both landlords and tenants in Ontario - is such a mess.

No respect - not for tenants or landlords. They constantly frame - and speak to - tenants as incompetent infants incapable of taking responsibility or making decisions for themselves. And of course, as far as they are concerned, every single landlord is an evil greedy slumlord. It doesn't matter what we say, they cannot see past their biases & lack of respect. 

I understand that people who have never been landlords do not see things the way those of us who have do - in fact, I know that as a tenant, I too was ignorant of the realities of being a landlord. But at least I treated them with respect. And when there was an issue, I talked to them ... funny...I never once had to run to the Legalized Theft Board to resolve an issue (nor did any landlord ever feel the need to serve me with any sort of form/notice/whatever).... but among those who participate in the forums, that is the ONLY possible approach to anything. Name-calling, rudeness, and file with the LTB.

The landlords too sometimes recommend that a tenant who has asked for advice file with the LTB - but very rarely without at least first suggesting that they talk to the landlord directly and attempt to resolve their difficulties.  Which is not to say that we are all perfect any more than the tenant uh... ~contributors~ are; many of us are more than a little frustrated & cynical & fed up, and it definitely comes through.... but most of us do try to treat others with respect, and to offer actual advice when it is requested.

It is more than a little discouraging to be constantly attacked no matter what we say.... but more than that, I am discouraged because if these interactions are any indication at all of how ACORN and the other activist/advocacy groups work, the likelihood of any sort of positive or productive dialog happening is slim to none.

People on assistance, people with any sort of disability, and seniors are increasingly going to be discriminated against when it comes to housing in Ontario - and no one seems inclined to do anything to fix that.

It is very unfortunate - especially because it does not need to be this way.

Simple low and no cost fixes ... but hey... what do I know. My solutions tend not to make anyone rich ... must be useless then, huh?

Brighter Prospects?

Read a little bit of Ontario Report "Brighter Prospects" ...a report by the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance prepared by Commissioners Frances Lanken and Munir A. Sheikh.

Was looking, of course, specifically for what it says about housing in Ontario. Disappointing. Extremely so, in fact. This section of the report, on page 90 if you're interested, shows a total lack of understanding of WHY people on assistance are having difficulty accessing affordable housing.

Which is not surprising, as they apparently consulted with "stakeholders" -  i.e. people on assistance, most of whom have extremely limited understanding of why landlords refuse to rent to them, having rarely had the opportunity to be on the other side of the landlord-tenant relationship. My perspective - back when I was a single mother (albeit working, rather than on assistance) was very different than it is now that I am on the other side of the deal - I did not have a CLUE...

So it does not surprise me that the majority of low income people seeking housing don't get it.

The others who were provided the opportunity for input, however, should have done better.

Better yet, someone should have asked the landlords what the problem is and how to fix it. Because I'm sorry, but the recommendation that is offered will not do it. What they are suggesting is a housing benefit for not only those on assistance, but "all people with low-incomes." 

Guess what? We will still refuse to offer affordable housing to people on assistance. Those of us who have been burned - and all of those who haven't but have heard about our experiences and realize how easily it could happen to them - will continue to rent to people with jobs and NOT to people on OW/ODSP.  It doesn't matter how much money you give to people on assistance in Ontario for rent - it is not worth the risk, and we know it.

And you can cry discrimination and make laws against discrimination all you want - but the reality is that not all landlords are independently wealthy. Many, like me, cannot AFFORD to provide housing to people on assistance - because when it goes bad, it goes really, REALLY bad, and there is no help at all for us in Ontario. Everyone wants money - but no one actually DOES anything to help, at least not in any reasonable period of time.

The money that my last tenant-from-hell cost me was about 1/3 of my gross income for a year. Gross. Not net. How would YOU like to take a hit like that? Yeah, I thought not.

At least, if you rent to someone with a job and a good credit rating and it goes bad, you have some small hope of recovery. It might take a long time and a lot of hassle - but we will eventually likely get at least some of our money back.

If you rent to someone with neither of those things, when it goes bad, you get to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars  - and continue to provide them with housing and all amenities for the months it takes to get them out - and for the damages they do during that time.... and you have ZERO chance of recovery at the end of it. Ever.

It is not even worth paying to file the order that the Legalized Theft Board will eventually give you against them ...which is a shame, as it means that the orders don't show up on their credit ratings so other people learn the hard way too....

We pay taxes which go to support people on OW and ODSP. Our taxes also support, presumably, the agencies which go out of their way to protect the poor helpless tenants against the big bad landlords - the Legalized Theft Board, the Sheriff's Office, the police, local by-law officials and so on ....

Guess what?

People don't get to be in the position of having money and credit to buy properties to rent by being stupid.

Chance of recovery vs no possibility of recovery - who would YOU rent to?

If the Commission for the Review of Social Assistance actually wanted to make recommendations to address the difficulties of finding housing for marginalized people they should talk to the landlords. Stop by the http://ontariolandlords.org/forum/  why don't you?

The problems CAN be fixed ... but not by giving low income people more money, sorry. Won't work.

There are some relatively simple measures which would drastically improve the situation ... but it seems that no one wants to hear them; most can't even be bothered to respond to emails.

I don't claim to have all the answers ...but I DO have suggestions:

• As soon as a landlord reports an issue with a tenant's rent to their OW/ODSP worker, their shelter allowance should be STOPPED pending resolution. Hold it in trust until the issue is resolved by the LTB, then distribute it as per the order
• individuals who have demonstrated their inability to manage their housing independently should be on direct pay (rent paid directly to landlords) AND required to provide 60 days notice to landlord and worker before shelter allowances can be redirected
• If you really feel the need to throw money at the problem, I would suggest that it would be better used to create a fund which could guarantee tenancies. For example, if my tenant has messed up and needs assistance to save their housing, the fund would pay the shortfall - and - so as to reduce abuse - require that they pay it back through a small monthly deduction. Expecting landlords to eat it every time a tenant doesn't pay their rent is not reasonable.
• The LTB needs an attitude adjustment. Their role is to implement the RTA - NOT to assist tenants to screw landlords and to provide worthless orders. There should be timelines for hearings - it is not reasonable to allow lengthy delays. And they should treat all parties with respect. Yes, even landlords.
• The Sheriff's Office is a joke. When evictions are ordered, they need to happen - even if it happens to be winter, or December, or someone's week off or what-the-hell-ever.  If the Sheriff's Office can't handle that, then end their monopoly; allow us to pay someone else to execute the order. And again - some training re: treating people with respect wouldn't hurt. I'd be happy to contribute to it through my taxes.

 

9 Things Your Landlord Won't Tell You

Followed a link to an article called Nine Things Your Landlord Won't Tell You on Huffington Post - tried to respond in a comment but the site was wonky and was getting frustrated... so here is my response instead.

Don't know if I'll manage Nine... but lets see, shall we?

However Many Things Your Landlord WILL Tell You:

1. The rent you are asked to pay is used to pay the bills on the house you live in. I know it doesn't seem like it - but trust me, darling, owning a home costs more money than you think. In addition to the cost of carrying the mortgage, utitlities and maintenance and repair - which, you presumably have some awareness of? - there are things that, if you've never owned a home, you might not be aware of. The insurance, for example, costs us a heck of a lot more on a house someone else lives in that it would on one that we live in... as in close to 3x as much. And then there are property taxes, of course.
2. Most landlords do charge slightly higher than the bare minimum required to cover the expenses of the unit though - that is because we've learned that almost every single tenant will screw us over one way or another, so we have to build in a cushion to try to cover that.
3. When you don't pay your rent, we still have to pay the mortgage, property taxes, hydro, water, gas, insurance, maintenance & repairs on YOUR home - even if that means that we don't have anything left to pay for ours.
4. When you withhold some portion of your rent because of unexpected expenses like a car repair, cell phone bill, medical emergency, bus pass you had to replace... whatever... you are essentially borrowing money from us - without our consent. We are often sorry about your bad luck - but not so fond of having it visited on us.
5. Last month's rent is collected not because we are mean, and trying to keep you from finding a place to live but to protect both of us. If you ever actually bothered to give proper notice when you left, you would have last month's rent available for the next landlord, and it wouldn't be such an issue for you. Hey - here's a thought   - if you actually gave proper notice when you were moving, not only would you have your last month's rent back with interest, you could probably also have a really good reference. You know...because it is so rare.
6. When you give notice that you want to move on, we typically wish you well and start looking for new tenants. If you change your mind, you really do need to try to come to some agreement with us - and the nastier and uglier you are about this, the less likely we are going to work out such an agreement.
7. There are these really big smelly trucks that come by every week to pick up your garbage. All you have to do is get it to the curb on the right day of the week. Storing your garbage in the back yard, or worse, in the house, means the smell stays in the unit and doesn't go away. It really is not that hard, honest. And if you'd just make that little bit of effort, your landlord will love you for it. Really!
8. Problems that are small are a lot easier to fix than problems that have been allowed to get big and ugly. We really do appreciate it when you let us know about problems before they turn into crises.
9. The reason you have a hard time finding reasonable landlords is because so many of us have been screwed sooooooooooooooo many times. There is no support for landlords, really. When there is a problem, the landlord is required to pay lots of extra money to the agencies that are supposed to help to solve the problem - but they really don't. If we're really, really lucky, after we pay all that money to jump through all the hoops, all we wind up with is a useless piece of paper, which we have to pay more money to try to collect from you.
10. We know that YOU would never ever screw us over, make a mess, damage our property, let your kitty and your dog and your children stink up and/or decorate the joint, refuse to pay rent, deal drugs out of our homes, etc etc .... but you know, every single tenant we've ever rented to has promised all those same things you're promising.  

So yeah... there are some pretty unreasonable landlords out there...and then there are others, like us, who have decided to just not bother any more. Congratulations... you win.  Don't have a lot of reasonable housing options any more?  Well gee, I wonder how THAT happened?!

Legalized Theft

Legalized theft – while I am willing to concede that this is not the actual intent of Landlord & Tenant Board Legislation in Ontario, this is, in fact, the reality. The system is broken.  

If someone books a hotel room, pays for one night, and then the next day, refuses to either pay or leave, are they permitted to stay there for months on end, continuing to pay nothing, while enjoying all the amenities that the hotel has to offer? Of course not. The hotel calls the police, and the person is ejected, and quite possibly charged.

And yet, when my tenants give notice that they will be moving out at the end of the month and then fail to leave, what happens? Absolutely nothing.

Not only am I unable to have the police assist me to eject those who are now stealing from me, they are able to call the police and any number of other community agencies, all of whom insist that I, as a landlord, am required to continue to provide my now ex-tenants with the amenities to which they were entitled while paying rent, and, as if that weren’t enough, they also continue to be entitled to the “enjoyment” of “their” home.

I was able to get an ex parte eviction order, after paying the $170 fee to do so, of course – unfortunately, the Sheriff, in Ontario, is the only one that can legally evict the tenant and they don’t seem to be the least bit interested in actually doing their jobs. Certainly not during the month of December, in any case…. They’ll get to it when they get to it. I had thought perhaps it was simply the Barrie Sheriff’s office which couldn’t be bothered, but a simple Google search shows that this is a common issue throughout the province.

Weeks pass…during which the tenants figure out how to file for a stay of the eviction order. So now I’ve paid $170 for the order which is stayed, plus $401 for the eviction which never happens, and of course, I must continue to pay all of the tenants’ utilities, and ensure that they have heat and water and hydro. Oh, and another $170 for an order re: the outstanding rent and damages.

Makes no never mind at all that they have not paid a single cent since a partial payment in October, or that they gave notice for the end of November, or that they are running around town bragging about how they’re getting away with screwing us over. Nobody cares that our Christmas was ruined and that we don’t have money to pay our own bills – just as long as we keep paying the bills for the tenants.

They demand that we repair the appliances they destroyed, the wall they ripped out, the patio door they demolished – and when we do make repairs, they immediately trash everything again. We, on the other hand, are told by police that we may no longer use our own basement unit because our running of the vacuum cleaner downstairs interferes with their enjoyment.

Seriously?! How is this in any way reasonable?

Perhaps we should just unlock the doors to the basement unit and let them have that too, since we can’t use it?

Maybe we should just sign over the deed – at least that way we wouldn’t have to keep paying for the insurance, taxes and utilities.

At any rate, eventually we do have the hearing. The instructions say that one must sign in by 9 am, and provide 3 copies of any evidence to be offered, and we do that. She, on the other hand, does not, turning up several minutes into the proceedings of our case. The hearing goes reasonably well – or so I thought. Turns out, not so much.

The adjudicator ruled that the male of the couple – the one that actually works, from whom we might eventually be able to garnishee wages to recoup some of the now $5000 and rising we have lost – is not a tenant of the unit. Had he mentioned that he was considering this, I would have had the opportunity to address the issue, and provide my evidence to the contrary. But this, apparently, was a secret. Not only that, even though the adjudicator found that my affidavit as to having received notice for the end of November was credible, and her denial was not, he decided that due to her circumstances it was “not unfair” to permit her extra time. So he extended her totally free tenancy to on or after 16 February.

How very charitable of him.

Toss out our only chance of repayment without so much as a discussion – and then decide that they should remain in the unit, on our dime, for an extra month.

Plus, of course, whatever time it takes the Sheriff to actually do his job this time; a minimum, they tell me, of 5 days, but probably longer.

So -  a partial payment of rent in October, and then not a cent more, and we’re on the hook until basically the end of February. But not to worry, we’ll get “an order”, which thanks to the oh so charitable adjudicator, is not even worth the stamp they used to mail it. To add insult to injury, after all this, they even get credit for their last month's rent - so what is the point of even collecting that?

But hey, I can spend another $50 to ask for a review of the decision.

And even if John is not added back onto the order, I can spend another couple of hundred dollars to enter my order against Christine in Small Claims Court. Perhaps someday she might actually get a job that I could garnishee. Not likely – and how would I ever find out about it? 

And in the meantime, they continue squatting in our house – now with heaters and other appliances running nonstop from every plug, and the windows wide open. And there is not a blessed thing we can do about it. I did call the OPP to ask for assistance with this, but it’s been 5+ hours now and they haven’t bothered to call me back.

Because nobody cares if deadbeats steal from landlords in Ontario.

The system is a complete and utter joke.

It is a disgrace.

OK, now THAT is just funny. I just called the OPP again ... guy asked the address, and said "Is this ------?"  Apparently she called them too - presumably to whine that I yelled at J about having a lot of nerve to be so rude to me when they are the ones who have stolen more than $6,000 from us, and that I slammed the door when I left.  Newsflash - even though you've changed the lock and refused to give us a key, it is still our door, in our house. I have a heck of a lot more right to slam the door than she does.

Or I should have, if this wasn't Ontario, where tenants have all the rights, and landlords have none at all.

Penguins

No doubt this mess is far from over - but did get a bit of penguin worthy news today....

The ex parte order for eviction has been issued and will be in a mailbox by "the end of today."

Another fun day

Another fun visit to the house in yet another attempt to respond to the squatter's maintenance demands. Notice was given on Monday that we would be there today at 11.

We showed up with the deputy fire chief - he was there at our request, as we wanted to address her concern about the "fire hazard" .... the snippet of her note is actually very funny if y'ask me... what she neglects to mention is that they demanded the deck be removed and did most of the work; the patio door was fixed when they moved in - with a brand spanking new handle, even - and THEY broke it; and the 2 inside doors she "needs" for the bedrooms she has no right to be using anyway are CLOSET doors, 1 of them for a closet which has actually never had a door because it is an odd configuration.

Is there something in the Landlord and Tenant's Act that says bedroom closets must have doors?

Anyway ... her whole list is complete & utter nonsense, but I've covered that already, so....

We do, however, need to address the issues around the patio door - they've knocked it off its track so there is a gap to the outside and that will not do under Tay Township property standards.

Our plan WAS to reseat the doors and then seal them up, but since the squatter not only refused to leave as per the notice, she brought in her very mouthy and aggressive sister, we were unable to have R. enter the unit to make any repairs at all... another conversation caught on video ...boring though, just so you know.

So we wound up once again having to fix it only from the outside... did the best we could without access to the interior, and, of course, without spending copious amounts of money, since we don't actually have copious amounts of money and are, in fact, now in the hole by $2900 and counting.

Won't be at all surprised if J. removes it again.... but police officer, bylaw officer and fire chief all now have documented that we have addressed her concerns for her safety.

Anyway .... once we got back home, was sitting here trying to do some other work and the thought just crossed my mind....what if the fax didn't actually go through? 

I did get (and keep) the confirmation slip ... but still..... shit happens .....and honestly, in my life, shit happens a LOT.... what a NIGHTMARE that would be ... if we were sitting here waiting out the week to ten days it supposedly takes to get an ex parte order or, God forbid, a hearing date....

Anyway ... since I was having an anxiety attack, I called the Board - CS person told me that there was nothing showing yet (OMG!?!?!) ... but not to worry ...that just means it hasn't been processed yet... can take up to 72 hours from time it's received, blah blah blah....

not to worry? uh yeah.... no....    So she is going to email the office I faxed it to (Barrie area is covered by the Mississauga office) and ask someone to call and let me know either way. So NOW I am sitting here waiting to hear back from them.... fully aware it won't likely be as quick as I would like it to be though.

What a freaking NIGHTMARE!

Anyone wanna buy a house?

Our Recourse

So... another post in the ongoing saga of how much I love being a landlord.

Once it became clear that this ~charming~ young lady has no intention of vacating our apartment, nor paying any rent, nor cleaning up her garbage, nor allowing us access to the unit unless we bring the police along, I was off to the Landlord and Tenant Board site to see what our options are.

We could file for eviction on the second notice N5 (L2 - $170) but that requires a hearing, and realistically, the woman I spoke to on the phone told me, it is unlikely that we would even get a hearing before Christmas. She suggested that I file an Application to Terminate a Tenancy - Tenant Gave Notice or Agreed to Terminate the Tenancy Form L3, which will be completed on Monday, 3-Dec... just need the town office to be open so that I can have my affidavit sworn.  Will do that first thing tomorrow, then come back here and fax the application.

Has been a bit of a challenge getting fax set up, but seem to have that running now... at least for outgoing.

Tomorrow, Bell Canada will activate my new identi-call service, and then will try to figure out how to make the fax pick up only on that ring.

A working fax machine seems very necessary right now.

Another tool that I have found extremely helpful as we work through this tenant-from-hell nonsense, is NitroPDF.

I used to have a licensed version of this software and loved it, but lost it in one crash or another... but when I was dealing with the Landlord and Tenant Board forms and getting SO frustrated at being unable to save the pdf forms once they were filled in, I went looking for it again.

Have downloaded a free two week trial and honestly, it is SUCH a relief to not have to keep retyping the stupid forms every time I need to make a change ...and to be able to pull up and reprint copies of what I need rather than have to get so freaking stressed out about keeping track of the forms.... can never seem to put my hands on the one I want when I want it.

I have ~plenty~ of stress right now.... don't need more! It's a small thing, but Nitro helps to reduce my stress...am very glad I thought to go find it again. STILL think it's ridiculous that LTB site doesn't provide saveable forms though!  Or allow us to send/receive stuff by email!

It's not bad enough we're paying taxes so that deadbeats like CS and company can ruin MY family's Christmas by stealing thousands of dollars out of our pockets - and the incoming tenant's Christmas as well....  you would think that the LTB could go just the wee bit further to make things just a bit more convenient for the landlords that are expected to bear the brunt off all the costs associated with this nonsense!