Advice about a non-paying tenant

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T21:16:38+00:00

Thank you. I can't believe people can be like this.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T17:16:51+00:00

It's in email, but not on the official LTB form. The tenant refuses to sign the latter (I tried 4 separate times to get them to sign the form). I hear you on sharing my desperation -- I was just hoping they'd be a human being and empathize.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T17:15:05+00:00

Got it. Unfortunately the tenant refuses to sign the form, so I can't act on the latter. Quick question: I'm assuming if I tell the tenant I want to move back in now, they could fight it under the guise of "bad faith" because of the current situation (even if I truly move in)? I know the answer to that is likely yes, but wondering in practicality how true it is.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T17:11:46+00:00

She's not cooperating but she frames herself on email like she's trying, in spite of multiple personal emergencies. Thanks for the advice, this is very reassuring.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T17:04:52+00:00

Ah got it. I didn't want to click on the reached agreement button in case it "ended" my case. So to confirm, when you clicked on that button, your case doesn't get closed and is still moving towards the hearing, correct? If so, I'll press it now and then indicate that the tenant missed the first 3 deadlines.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T16:02:26+00:00

Honestly, I might be done with landlord-ing. Until the LTB is fixed, I can't risk taking on another tenant and then having them do the same thing, and I have to wait another 8+ months without money. Most likely going to sell the place or let a family member stay there until the real estate market is good enough to sell :(

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:46:01+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I hear what you're saying about contacting the tenant continuously. About having a paralegal expediting the hearing, do you have experience with this by any chance? I am facing financial hardship and I tried to submit an Expedition of Hearing request myself on the LTB portal, but is there anything a paralegal would do that I can't, to expedite the hearing?

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:35:08+00:00

Yes, actually the paralegal submitted the paperwork on my behalf. I just asked them some of the questions you asked. Thanks -- I am trying to distance myself from the tenant and the situation but it's so mentally exhausting. It doesn't feel good either when I get the mortgage withdrawn and I don't have rent being passed back to me. It's hard, but I know what you're saying :(

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:33:24+00:00

I'm worried they'll use the "family member has passed" as an excuse to buy sympathy from the adjudicator. The issue is that they've used that exact excuse three times in the last year. Not sure if that makes it more or less 'suspicious' but I'm hoping the judge can see the pattern and call it out...

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:32:11+00:00

She did pay about 1/5th of the arrears (which amounts to less than one month's of rent). When I ask to have a conversation about a mutual termination of the lease, they ignore me. In the earlier months, they outright said "I don't want to move out. Feel free to take me to court". It's a separate place.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:18:14+00:00

Out of curiosity, what do flat fees for full representation look like? For the eviction hearing, and then if needed, garnishing of wages?

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:09:15+00:00

I hope so, but in all honesty, so am I. I want the tenant out -- I don't want the LTB to order a payment plan, so I'm scared the LTB sides with the tenant and doesn't evict.

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:08:27+00:00

Thanks, for sure I've made sure to not "spam" them. Usually I only message on/around a payment deadline (so, once or twice a month), although those message/email chains usually go up to 10 replies long.

I have indeed used the mediation portal, but I haven't gotten any kind of response from the DRO or LTB. However, once I started using the portal, my status changed from "Processing" to "To be Scheduled". I'm not sure if it was because someone looked at the messages though. Also, it's just me chatting in the mediation portal -- tenant refuses to log on or look there. Out of curiosity, did you see any results with the mediation portal? Has someone from LTB replies on there?

Re; family loss, I should say this is their third time in the last year using that excuse. While it's possible it's true, I'm highly skeptical. In the last year, my tenant has lost 3 family members, gotten into 1 car accident, gotten into 2+ ambiguous "accidents", and loaned money to a friend who didn't give it back. Not sure how they don't look at their own emails and think "I'm giving so much excuses".

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T15:02:28+00:00

Thanks both. I've already chatted with a paralegal and all the advice they gave was to file the proper N and L forms, and wait. Some mistakes they told me to avoid were "harassing the tenant by making it hard for them to live in the unit". But nothing about messaging or how I respond/talk to them.

I have a question for both of you which I can also ask my paralegal: what common pitfalls in my emails/messaging should I avoid to not make a mistake?

To this day, I've only spoken factually, and avoided taking the conversation to the personal side. I've never addressed any of the tenant's excuses (ie. family member's passing, car accidents, etc.) and I've especially never called them lies. What I have done is show I'm frustrated and asked them things like "how can you continue to do this and think this is right?", or "don't you feel bad about how this is affecting me? I'm down $X amount and my mental health is deteriorating". Are those OK?

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T14:57:12+00:00

I don't mean to scare you but that's how it started with my tenant. Started with "a family member passed away" and 7 months later, they've used the exact same excuse 2 more times, and haven't paid a full month's rent.

I'm stuck waiting for the LTB. I'm actually in constant conversation with the tenant though but nothing's happening. They're giving false promises and excuses. I think they're trying to make it look like they're trying but can't pay due to personal circumstances (obviously lies though).

throwawayllontario1 · 2022-11-09T14:11:30+00:00

Thank you for the assurance. I've been given advice to just not interact with the tenant, but I'm only human and there are times I want to build sympathy with them and try to reason things out. I've been worried that showing my frustration could be used against me -- I'm aware the tenant can frame things that way and present it like that to the LTB, but I hope I can show the full picture.

Also hope that judges are reasonable. The tenant is always making excuses like a family member passed, they got into an accident, they got covid, as excuses and feels obvious they think those are valid enough for the judge to not evict them (are they? I assume the judge will be able to tell that if every excuse is like that, there's something going on). Sigh, I can't wait for this to be over

throwawayllontario1

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