Electricity

Caselaw.Ninja, Riverview Group Publishing 2021 ©
Date Retrieved:	2024-04-27
CLNP Page ID:	1926
Page Categories:	Maintenance Obligations (LTB), Maintenance Abatements (LTB), Vital Services
Citation:	Electricity, CLNP 1926, <https://rvt.link/25>, retrieved on 2024-04-27
Editor:	MKent
Last Updated:	2022/12/14

Residential Tenancies Act

Termination of obligation to supply electricity

137 (3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), if a meter or a suite meter is installed in respect of a rental unit, a landlord who has the obligation under a tenancy agreement to supply electricity to the rental unit may terminate that obligation by,

(a) obtaining the written consent of the tenant in the form approved by the Board;

(b) providing adequate notice of the termination of the obligation to the tenant in accordance with the prescribed rules; and

(c) reducing the rent, in the prescribed circumstances and in accordance with the prescribed rules, by an amount that accounts for the cost of electricity consumption and related costs.

CET-55518-16 (Re), 2016 CanLII 72155 (ON LTB)

3. Further in the same paragraph it states, “The Tenant also acknowledges that where electricity is currently included in the rent the landlord, in its sole discretion, may at any time choose to meter the Tenant’s Rented Premises separately and transfer responsibility for payment of electricity directly to the Tenant based on the Tenant’s own consumption. In such an event the Landlord shall reduce the Monthly Rental in accordance with applicable rent control legislation and the Tenant hereby consents to such transfer of responsibility for payment of electricity.”

(...)

14. On June 10, 2015 WMS sent a letter to the male Tenant which advised that they were the new provider for electricity sub-metering and billing services in the residential complex, and asked the Tenant to complete an enrolment form that was attached, and on September 9, 2015 WMS sent the Tenant a Final Notice and advised him that the service would be disconnected on October 7, 2015 unless he paid $147.72.

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24. Despite the tenancy agreement, the Landlord had the obligation to supply and pay for the electricity to the rental unit as an implied term of the tenancy and implied by the actions of the Landlord.

25. Subsection 137(3) of the Act states that, “Where a landlord who has the obligation under a tenancy agreement to supply electricity to the rental unit may terminate the obligation by (a) obtaining the written consent of the tenant in the form approved by the Board ; (b providing adequate notice of the termination of the obligation to the tenant in accordance with the prescribed rules; and (c) reducing the rent, in the prescribed circumstances and in accordance with the prescribed rules, by an amount that accounts for the cost of electricity consumption and related costs.”

It is ordered that:

1. The Tenants' obligation to pay for the electricity costs for their rental unit is terminated as of June 1, 2014. As of this date, the Landlord shall assume the obligation to pay electricity and electricity related costs for the rental unit.

2. The Tenants are authorized to recover the cost of payments they made for electricity.

TSL-66668-15 (Re), 2015 CanLII 94900 (ON LTB)

25. There was an absence of running water, a lack of hot water, a lack of electricity and a lack of heat over the course of a total of 21 days in the first two months of 2014. The Landlords did not substantively respond to the allegations and an abatement of rent would be appropriate whether they were caused by disrepair or whether there was a withholding of vital services. Specific quantum was not argued and I find the appropriate amount would be 50% for the days in question. With monthly rent throughout of $983.59, the abatement should be $339.57.

EAT-60893-16 (Re), 2017 CanLII 48751 (ON LTB)

5. On October 17th, the Landlord informed AD that she had contacted Ottawa Hydro and directed that the account be changed to AD’s name. In response to this action, the Tenants informed the Landlord that they would be withholding a portion of future rent to cover the cost of utilities.

6. On November 4th , the Landlord wrote to the Tenants to inform them that she had contacted Hydro Ottawa again and instructed that the hydro bill be placed back in her name. Later that evening, the Landlord met with AD and apologized for her conduct, explaining that she had been under severe financial stress. However, she also requested that the Tenants move out of the rental unit in June 2017.

(...)

10. The Landlord also breached the Act when she contacted Ottawa Hydro and had the hydro bill transferred to the Tenants’ names. Under the terms of the lease agreement which both parties signed, the Landlord is responsible for paying the cost of all utilities. The Landlord’s action in effect constituted an illegal rent increase.

TNT-28299-12 (Re), 2012 CanLII 46625 (ON LTB)

3. From January to April 2012, the Tenant had complained to the Landlord and to the Toronto property standards officer on numerous occasions about the Landlord withholding or deliberately interfering with the supply of vital services (such as heat, water and hydro) to the unit. The property standards officer (G.G.) and the police officers A.K. and A.C. provided testimonies in support of the Tenant’s claim that the Landlord had intentionally turned off or interfered with the supply of heat, hydro and water to the rental unit on a number of occasions to try to “force” the Tenant to vacate the premise. The Landlord had also made false claims to Toronto Hydro and Enbridge Gas that “the building was vacant or condemned”; this resulted in the hydro, water and gas supply being turned off to the unit.

As a result of “having no heat” during winter months and not having any power supply, the Tenant was unable to cook in the rental unit and she was forced to move temporarily to a motel on February 21, 2012. Since the Landlord refused to restore power supply to the unit, the Tenant had to hire her own electrician to “troubleshoot, repair and install stolen fuses”. The Tenant had reason to believe that it was the Landlord who intentionally removed the fuses to cause the power outage. The Landlord shall reimburse the Tenant for the cost of hiring the electrician ($259.90), the motel room rental of $171.00, spoiled food in the refrigerator caused by power outage and restaurant bills, totalling $632.23.

4. The Tenant called the police for assistance on several occasions, in an effort to have the electricity restored, but these efforts were in vain. The police officers, A.K. and A.C., both testified that they have responded to calls made by tenants in the building about heat, water and hydro being cut off by the Landlord. The Landlord had always advised them that the hydro supply was cut off due to “safety concerns” as the Landlord was undergoing major renovation in the building. However, they had found clear evidence to indicate that the Landlord had shut off or tempered with the power supply in the electrical room.

A.K. testified that he charged the Landlord with fraud on March 14, 2012 because the Landlord gave a fraudulent cheque to a former tenant as settlement of a claim against the Landlord.

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7. I find that from January 2011, the Landlord, I.M., conducted a campaign of harassment against the Tenants by deliberately interfering with the supply of vital services and by making false allegations against the Tenant to the Children’s Aid Society and the municipal councillor.

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10. The Tenant is entitled to a 75% abatement of rent for the months of January to April 2012, in the amount of $2,880.00. I determined the rent abatement to be 75% because I considered the rental unit to be almost uninhabitable due to lack of electricity, heat and cooking facilities. In addition, there continued to be a multitude of maintenance issues in the unit that have not been addressed by the Landlord. As a matter of fact, it was the Landlord, I.M., who herself characterised the rental unit as “uninhabitable” when trying to get the Tenant to vacate the rental unit.

(...)

It is ordered that:

11. The Landlords shall pay to the Landlord and Tenant Board an administrative fine in the amount of $3,500.00 by August 16, 2012. Until this fine and the other two outstanding fines are fully paid by the Landlords, the Landlords will not be allowed to file any application with the Board. The Board will also initiate legal proceedings against the Landlords for the collection of the fines.

NOT-01967-10 (Re), 2010 CanLII 48883 (ON LTB)

4. The hydro and water services to the rental unit were disconnected in April, 2010 due to failure of the Tenant to pay the outstanding account. The utility authority cancelled the Tenant’s account when he failed to contact them within two weeks of the disconnection of service.

5. The Tenant attended to pay all outstanding accounts on May 5, 2010 but was unable re-establish the account without the Landlord’s approval. The Landlord withheld his consent because there was a pending application to the Board to evict the Tenant.

(...)

7. The Tenant was without hydro or water service at the rental unit from May 7, 2010 to June 10, 2010 due to the Landlord’s refusal to all the utility authority to reopen the account in the Tenant’s name. The Landlord was not responsible for the disconnection of the utilities in the first instance and is therefore not liable for any reconnection fees paid by the Tenant.

8. The lack of hydro and water is a substantial disruption to the Tenant’s ability to use and enjoy the rental unit. I find that the Tenant is entitled to a rent abatement equivalent to 50% of the monthly rent of $643.00 for a period of 34 days. The rent abatement the Landlord’s interference in the provision of a vital service is $359.37.

EAT-47420-15 (Re), 2015 CanLII 35118 (ON LTB)

14. The Tenants claimed $10,000.00 as compensation for CP’s mental anguish, pain, and suffering resulting from the Landlord’s conduct. The physician’s note commenting on the state of CP’s mental health was not accepted into evidence because the author of the note was not called to testify about how the impact on this tenancy CP’s mental health was assessed. I do acknowledge that the ongoing lack of maintenance, the lack of a working furnace in winter, the increase electricity costs incurred, the Landlord’s intentional withholding of vital services, and the Landlord’s abusive conduct towards the Tenants have had a cumulative negative impact on CP’s mental health. The Landlord must pay $1,000.00 to the Tenants for pain and suffering.

TET-53899-14-RV (Re), 2015 CanLII 6683 (ON LTB)

7. As a result of this information I advised the Landlord to ensure the hydro was restored to the unit by 4:00 p.m. on January 15, 2015 or there would be a substantial reward to the Tenant for every day the hydro was not restored. This reward would be in addition to the reward I was considering due to the fact the hydro was transferred into the Tenant’s name without consent and the fact there was no hydro to the unit.

Pichette v Rochon, 2021 CanLII 145591 (ON LTB)

4. The Tenant also requested that the Landlord be ordered to pay an abatement of $375.00 which is equal to 50% of the rent the Tenant paid for period that the hydro was disconnected. The Tenant testified that as a result of this act, there was no electric light or heat in the unit and the Tenant’s fridge and television were inoperable for this period. As well, the Tenant was forced to prepare and eat his meals at this mother’s home during this time. On considering the Tenant’s uncontested and internally consistent testimony in relation to the impact the disconnected hydro had on his tenancy, it is clear that the Tenant was functionally deprived of the at least half of the services and facilities associated with the tenancy for this period as a result of the Landlord`s behaviour. As such, I decided in favour of the Tenant’s abatement request.

TNT-75619-15 (Re), 2015 CanLII 93370 (ON LTB)

25. The Tenant testified that the Landlord frequently threatens to disconnect electricity service to the rental unit. At the hearing the Tenant submitted a copy of an e-mail from the Landlord dated September 17, 2015 with the subject line “How do I pay no money” and with an attached photograph of a reminder notice from Toronto Hydro.

26. At the hearing the Tenant showed an e-mail from the Landlord dated October 16, 2015 with no subject line or any text, just an attached photograph of a disconnection notice from Toronto Hydro.

(...)

30. Accordingly, based on the Tenant’s uncontested evidence about the Landlord’s threat to discontinue electricity service to the rental unit, I am satisfied that the Landlord has harassed and threatened the Tenant and substantially interfered with the reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit by the Tenant.

TST-67502-15 (Re), 2015 CanLII 94869 (ON LTB)

13. The Tenants say that they have incurred $1,200.00 for having to purchase meals because they cannot cook in the unit. The Tenants says the spent approximately $35.00 per day for food in the last three months.

(...)

14. I also find that it is more likely than not that as the Tenants have no electricity in their unit, they could not use the stove and therefore, incurred out of pocket expenses to purchase meals. The Tenants only provided one receipt for the purchase of food. Notwithstanding, I find that the Tenants would have incurred costs to buy meals. I find that the reasonable costs would be $1,000.00.