Welcome to Landlord Tenant Madness

There are things your mother never told you when she raved about the joys of being a landlord. That's because when she got into the business in 1960, Ontario had not yet become a socialist nightmare for entrepreneurs.

But it's a different story today. While the Residential Tenancies Act itself may seem reasonably balanced at first read-through, the application of the law and the inconsistency of Landlord Tenant Board (LTB) decision making makes being a landlord with a problem tenant a nightmare. The long delays at the LTB make a joke of what should be "quick law", and can turn a simple eviction into an expensive year-long process.

Litigation between residential landlords and tenants is unlike litigation in most areas of law. When it's about rent, the monetary damages continue to accrue up to and even after the hearing. In most types of law, damages are fixed when going to court. And if it's about conduct or damage, the tenant continues to live in YOUR home, and you need to still be the perfect landlord while the tenant may be punching holes in your walls.

There are good and bad landlords. There are good and bad tenants. But this is a blog about landlord's rights, frustration and horror stories. I look forward to keeping you up-to-date, educating you and hearing your comments.

But remember, what you read here is for information only, and is NOT legal advice. If you need advice on your fact-specific situation, hire a paralegal who does this sort of work.