In a previous article, Going After a Bad Faith N12. We discussed overall process of proceeding on a T5 – Bad Faith Application when it comes to a Bad Faith N12 and the potential awards that the Landlord and Tenant Board could award to an aggrieved tenant such as yourself.
The Potential Awards
The Landlord and Tenant Board can award the following under section 57(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act:1Residential Tenancies Act, https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK79, retrieved October 4, 2023
1. An order that the landlord pay a specified sum to the former tenant for all or any portion of any increased rent that the former tenant has incurred or will incur for a one-year period after vacating the rental unit.
1.1 An order that the landlord pay a specified sum to the former tenant as general compensation in an amount not exceeding the equivalent of 12 months of the last rent charged to the former tenant. An order under this paragraph may be made regardless of whether the former tenant has incurred any actual expenses or whether an order is made under paragraph 2.
1.2 An order that the landlord pay a specified sum to the former tenant for reasonable out-of-pocket moving, storage and other like expenses that the former tenant has incurred or will incur.
2. An order for an abatement of rent.
3. An order that the landlord pay to the Board an administrative fine not exceeding the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court.
4. Any other order that the Board considers appropriate.
Let’s break down those awards and outline the important factors.
Increased Rent
The question that the Board has to answer is; did you experience an increase in rent? If the answer is yes and your evidence supports it. The Landlord and Tenant Board will generally award this to you.
A nice tidbit of information to know is that since tenants are facing increased rents across Ontario. As a tenant, this means if your rent went up by $500, that would be $6,000 awarded to you. We have seen tenants monthly rent increase by a $1,000 or more.
General Compensation
General compensation is capped at one year of your old rent. This means if your old monthly rent was $2,000, the maximum that the Landlord and Tenant Board can issue would be $24,000. As stated earlier, with raising rents, it will be very easy to hit $35,000 in the future for Tenants.
What are the factors that the Landlord and Tenant Board will take into account? These factors can include:
- Size of the new rental unit,
- State of the new rental unit,
- Location of the new rental unit,
- What was enjoyed by the old rental unit,
- Impact of the move,
- Loss of amenities, and
- Changes to your life.
Evidence is extremely important when it comes to the compensation as without the evidence, the Landlord and Tenant Board can issue awards that are based on credibility. Another important piece of information to note; how to present the evidence of maximum impact. This award is one of the few awards that the Landlord and Tenant Board has the discretion to award what they think is fair.
An example of this would be that you asked for $24,000 in compensation. The Landlord and Tenant Board could issue an award for $15,000 for compensation.
Out of Pocket Costs
This award is strictly in relation to the cost of moving. When it comes to moving, potential awards can include reimbursement you for the cost:
- Hiring movers,
- Renting a moving truck,
- Renting a storage unit, and
- Gas used for doing the move.
If the costs can be proven, the Landlord and Tenant Board will generally have to either award the full amount or none. If there is no evidence provided, what happens is that the Landlord and Tenant Board can award what they think is appropriate for out of pocket costs.
Abatement of Rent
An abatement of rent is a discount on the rent that was paid. How the Landlord and Tenant Board determines if an abatement of rent is be awarded, is to answer the question: Did the Tenant have 100% use of the rental unit?
You will have to show that because of the N12, you weren’t able to fully use the rental unit. Now, simply a receiving a N12 doesn’t entitle you to a rent abatement. What helps with achieving a rent abatement are:
- Was your landlord holding viewings of the rental unit?
- Was your landlord doing inspections on the rental unit?
- What kind of stress and work was done in finding a new place to live?
The above three questions need to be answered in order for the Landlord and Tenant Board to determine if and how much a rent abatement should be awarded.
Administrative Fine
If the Landlord and Tenant Board issues a fine to your old landlord, that fine does not go into your pocket. The fine goes to the Landlord and Tenant Board. To help the Landlord and Tenant Board assess the fine, you need to show that your old landlord’s conduct was egregious and that they profited over the bad faith eviction.
If a fine has been issued, there are some tricks in the Residential Tenancies Act that can be used to cause even more problems for your old landlord.
Any Other Award
This allows the Landlord and Tenant Board to issue an award that wasn’t available under the above awards. In essence, this a catch all award. You have to ask yourself, what do you want the Landlord and Tenant Board to award?
Let’s say for example, you had to leave various items behind and your old landlord failed to give them back. You could ask the Landlord and Tenant Board to issue an order to get those items back or the monetary value of those items. In order to prove that, you will need evidence such as receipts and photographs.
Now, the Landlord and Tenant Board can’t award everything. For example, the Landlord and Tenant Board cannot evict the current tenant and place you back into your old rental unit nor could the Landlord and Tenant Board change your current rent to your old rent.
The Importance of Evidence
Having evidence is extremely important in order to get the award that you want from the Landlord and Tenant Board. Hard evidence such as documents, photographs, or videos will give the Landlord and Tenant Board less leeway in determining how much to award to you.
Independent witnesses can also be beneficial to your case. An independent witness can collaborate your story.
Your first instinct when it comes to evidence is give the Landlord and Tenant Board everything. That’s a bad idea. A legal professional such as those at Riverview Legal, know which piece of evidence will have the greatest impact and which pieces of evidence will do nothing for our case.
