When the new ‘eviction ban’ is worse than the old one
On January 14, 2021, the Ontario government issued a temporary mandate banning most eviction enforcement during the state of emergency for 14 days. This was renewed until Feb. 9.
Many Ontarians were not even aware the eviction ban ordered March 19, 2020 was lifted in July. Hearings continue to be held for tenants across the province. What’s more, the Jan 2021 “eviction ban” is less effective than measures put in place from March to July of 2020. Now, with COVID-19 still ongoing, a strict lockdown implemented in the dead of winter and more people out of work, the government has taken the underwhelming and insufficient action of pausing eviction enforcement for two weeks at a time. That’s it.
Temporary eviction bans only delay some evictions. Ontario tenants need rent forgiveness now!
The emergency order does little to protect tenants who fell behind on rent due to the pandemic: Landlords will still issue eviction notices and online eviction hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board will continue. Further, we know that in most cases tenants facing eviction do not stay in their unit up to the point of the sheriff coming to remove them. With or without a ban on enforcement, tenants are still facing huge debts and many will abandon their homes. Some landlords are ramping up their harassment of tenants hoping they can push them out through other means.
What about the Landlord and Tenant Board? The Landlord and Tenant Board will continue to hold online eviction hearings and can still issue eviction orders. Tenants who had LTB eviction orders issued against them before cannot legally be removed from their homes. Tenants who have upcoming online eviction hearings where the LTB issues an eviction cannot be forced out through the legal means while the emergency order is in place. The exception would be in cases where the LTB requests the sheriff to expedite the eviction based on “illegal acts” or “serious impairment of safety” caused by the tenant.
What CAN landlords do? While the emergency order is in place, in most cases, landlords cannot have a tenant removed from their home by the sheriff. However, landlords can still issue eviction notices to tenants and file for hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board.
No matter what the stage of the eviction process, our position is made stronger by organizing.
Parkdale tenants have organized successfully to have Notices of Eviction (N4s) dropped and applications at the Landlord and Tenant Board withdrawn.
Tenants at Lansdowne and Dupont have moved their landlord toward collective negotiation in the weeks before their eviction hearings.
Crescent Town tenants in East York faced down police to stop an eviction from being enforced. This tenant is in her home now because of this organizing.
Whether we have an N4, an eviction hearing or a pending eviction order, there are things that organized neighbours can do.
Tenants need rent forgiveness. Landlords must forgive the rents owed by struggling tenants who have been unable to pay their rent in full during the pandemic.
Eviction for unpaid rent during the pandemic must be taken off the table. The government must prohibit eviction for unpaid rent during the months of the pandemic. Eviction orders issued against tenants during the pandemic must be rescinded.
The eviction factor must be shut down. Landlords must forgive the rents owed by struggling tenants who have been unable to pay their rent in full during the pandemic.