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How to Try to Stop an Eviction

It is often possible to prevent getting evicted ;IF YOU ACT EARLY! Many sections of the TPA give circumstances where a tenant can stop eviction proceedings, for example, by paying the landlord any money owing. There are programs available to assist some tenant households facing eviction due to rent arrears/lack of rental payment.

Tenants eligible for social assistance may qualify for either the City of Toronto’s Shelter Fund or a Community Start up Grant. Please contact your social worker directly or call Central Hostel Intake at 416-397-5637 for more information, resources, advocacy on this issue, or for admission to a shelter. Tenants with rent arrears who are not eligible for social assistance may be able to receive a repayable loan from a rent bank program funded by the City of Toronto and administered by Neighbourhood Information Post. Please call 416-924-3862 for more information about the rent bank which assists families who are working or receiving Employment Insurance.

If you receive a notice of termination (often called an eviction notice), seek out advice immediately; either from FMTA (Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations), your closest community legal clinic or a lawyer. Do not wait to get any further notices. You may also wish to call the Landlord and Tenant Board at 1-888-332-3234 or visit their website at www.ltb.gov.on.ca.

If your landlord applies to the Tribunal to terminate your tenancy, you MUST tell the Tribunal IN WRITING within five days of receiving a copy of the application that you plan to dispute the application. If you don’t tell the Tribunal this IN WRITING, there will be NO HEARING and the landlord will be quickly granted an eviction order (usually called a default order) by the Tribunal.
 

If your Landlord tries to evict your pet: FIGHT BACK!

You cannot be evicted for having a pet unless it causes problems for other tenants in the building.

Even if you signed a lease which states that no pets are allowed, you cannot be evicted for simply having a pet. Sections 15 and 16 of the TPA specifically void any “no pets clause” in any lease.

Unfortunately, due to vacancy decontrol, many landlords can make more money be getting the current tenant out of the apartment. This may lead to some landlords giving tenants invalid notices of termination as a means of harassing a tenant out of the apartment.

PLEASE NOTE: It is possible to be evicted any time of the year, even in winter. Many people believe that it is “illegal” for landlords to evict during the winter months. This is NOT TRUE.

Also see Section 41 of the TPA.