Homeless in the GTA: Finding affordable housing especially tough for women

Another article about the lack of "affordable housing" in the Toronto Star today.

Geez, I wish people would WAKE UP and LISTEN!!!!

A big part of the problem is NOT affordability. As several commenters on the article have noted, there are plenty of places listed for rent in Oshawa in the less than $700/ month range.

As I have explained many, many times, both here and in the many letters and emails I have sent to reporters and to politicians -  only one of whom has deigned to even respond (and that was a I'll look into it and get back to you later) - while affordability is ONE issue, it is far FAR from the only one....

for small landlords in Ontario, it makes no sense whatsoever to rent to tenants like the woman described in the article.

Even if she could afford a considerably higher priced apartment, landlords still wouldn't rent to her.

“Most landlords don’t want to rent to people from shelters. Bad credit is another problem; many people have been evicted in the past. It makes it very hard to find places for these women. It’s a long process (to get into affordable housing). If they are not abused, just homeless, they have to wait years and years, with no other option than rental properties.”

Bad credit, evictions, children.... and a "fair & balanced system" that does not and will not support landlords if/when there are problems...

oh yeah... and your only income source is one that we can't garnishee. Uh yeah.... will get RIGHT on that.

As long as the LTB and the Sheriff's Offices think it's just hunky dory fine to take months to do their jobs (if they even bother) so that when there is a problem, it doesn't get resolved until it's cost us THOUSANDS ... and as long as they slow down even moreso the instant there is a child involved....

As long as the entire system demands that we continue to provide these people with all amenities to which they would be entitled if they were paying rent when they are not...

As long as OW/ODSP continues to pay shelter allowances to people who don't pay shelter COSTS (your tax dollars at work) and therefore add to the motivation to screw landlords over...

HOW could you possibly expect me to rent to these people?

I am a left wing, card carrying member of the NDP. I have worked for years and years in social services. I have housed single moms and women with serious mental illnesses in my own home, even.  And I have rented to people with disabilities, mental illnesses, and yes, single moms...

I would love to be able to continue to do so.

It sickens me that I cannot.

But I can't afford to take the risk as long as the situation remains as it is in Ontario.

I am not unique....  well, aside from the fact that I am a leftie  - definitely a minority among the landlords I know....

when it gets so bad that even I could not/would not do a dang thing for women like the one featured in the article, you know it's bad.

The Liberal government can tell us all they want that the system is "fair & balanced" ... it is most assuredly not.....   and I am so very sorry that this means that children are sleeping in parks and shelters .... but hey ...I have been trying to get someone to listen. I have offered low/no cost solutions....  things that would make it possible for me to rent to people on assistance again...

but no one listens. So hey....what can I do?

Discriminate, or sell. Got any other ideas?

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.

Tenant Tip #1

Here's a tip for tenants - especially tenants-from-hell.

If you gave notice and then refused to leave, pay rent, OR stop harassing your landlords and destroying the repairs YOU DEMANDED THEY MAKE...

when you see them in passing, do NOT bother to nod courteously... it will most assuredly NOT help anything... and in fact, it might infuriate the landlord (you know, those people you are stealing from) and make them want to go pound your face in SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO badly.

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!