THUNDER BAY — A man who habitually missed the date for his rental payments won some reprieves from the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board until the board finally ran out of patience.
Details of the case, which dated back to 2016 and was concluded December 31, 2018, were recently made public.
According to a transcript of the Landlord and Tenant Board's decision, prior to February 2017 the owner of the property had served multiple notices to the man terminating his tenancy for non-payment of rent, and had filed at least three applications for payment.
In a period of 12 months, the rent had been paid on time only twice.
The landlord, however, agreed in early 2017 to allow the tenancy to continue on certain conditions which were incorporated in an order from the LTB.
When the tenant again failed to remit his rent on time, the property-owner returned to the LTB in February 2018 seeking termination of the tenancy, but was rebuffed.
"Although the tenant violated the terms" of the February 2017 order, the decision of the LTB presiding member stated she was "satisfied that the tenant's interest in preserving their tenancy and their anticipated success in paying their rent on or before the first day of each month...at this time slightly edges out the landlord's frustration...at having had a couple of late payments in recent months."
After the 2018 hearing, further breaches of the LTB's initial order occurred, leading the landlord to apply yet again for termination.
This time he succeeded in obtaining an order in July 2018 requiring that the premises be vacated that month.
But the tenant applied for a motion to set aside the order, leading to a further delay that lasted five months.
In defending the motion, he explained to the LTB that he had been preoccupied during 2018 with frequent visits to the hospital due to a health issue his wife was dealing with.
The LTB transcript states the man said that, as a result, he was "unable to address other issues in life, such as paying rent on the first of the month."
The LTB. however, noted that the only evidence he submitted was a hospital record showing one visit for a minor procedure which occurred months after the period in which he contended he had been immersed in his partner's health problem.
In his decision, the LTB member said he had considered "the fact that the tenant gives every indication he does not treat seriously his obligation to pay rent on time and in full, even in the face of orders of the Board."
He agreed that the tenant must give up the residence, but allowed him several more weeks to find new accommodations.
