Administrative Fines (Bad Faith N12 or N13)

Caselaw.Ninja, Riverview Group Publishing 2021 ©
Date Retrieved:	2024-11-23
CLNP Page ID:	2060
Page Categories:	[Hearing Process (LTB)]]
Citation:	Administrative Fines (Bad Faith N12 or N13), CLNP 2060, <https://rvt.link/31>, retrieved on 2024-11-23
Editor:	Sharvey
Last Updated:	2023/01/22

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Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

57 (1) The Board may make an order described in subsection (3) if, on application by a former tenant of a rental unit, the Board determines that,

(a) the landlord gave a notice of termination under section 48 in bad faith, the former tenant vacated the rental unit as a result of the notice or as a result of an application to or order made by the Board based on the notice, and no person referred to in clause 48 (1) (a), (b), (c) or (d) occupied the rental unit within a reasonable time after the former tenant vacated the rental unit;

(b) the landlord gave a notice of termination under section 49 in bad faith, the former tenant vacated the rental unit as a result of the notice or as a result of an application to or order made by the Board based on the notice, and no person referred to in clause 49 (1) (a), (b), (c) or (d) or 49 (2) (a), (b), (c) or (d) occupied the rental unit within a reasonable time after the former tenant vacated the rental unit; or

(c) the landlord gave a notice of termination under section 50 in bad faith, the former tenant vacated the rental unit as a result of the notice or as a result of an application to or order made by the Board based on the notice, and the landlord did not demolish, convert or repair or renovate the rental unit within a reasonable time after the former tenant vacated the rental unit. 2006, c. 17, s. 57 (1).

...

(3) The orders referred to in subsection (1) are the following:

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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.

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196 (1) Upon receiving information that an applicant owes money to the Board as a result of having failed to pay any fine, fee or costs,

(a) if the information is received on or before the day the applicant submits an application, an employee in the Board shall, in such circumstances as may be specified in the Rules, refuse to allow the application to be filed;

(b) if the information is received after the application has been filed but before a hearing is held, the Board shall stay the proceeding until the fee, fine or costs have been paid and may discontinue the application in such circumstances as may be specified in the Rules;

(c) if the information is received after a hearing with respect to the application has begun, the Board shall not issue an order until the fine, fee or costs have been paid and may discontinue the application in such circumstances as may be specified in the Rules. 2006, c. 17, s. 196 (1); 2013, c. 3, s. 43 (1).

...

236 Any person who knowingly attempts to commit any offence referred to in section 233, 234 or 235 is guilty of an offence. 2006, c. 17, s. 236.

237 Every director or officer of a corporation who knowingly concurs in an offence under this Act is guilty of an offence. 2006, c. 17, s. 237.

238 (1) A person, other than a corporation, who is guilty of an offence under this Act is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $50,000. 2006, c. 17, s. 238 (1); 2020, c. 16, Sched. 4, s. 35 (1).

(2) A corporation that is guilty of an offence under this Act is liable on conviction to a fine of not more than $250,000. 2006, c. 17, s. 238 (2); 2020, c. 16, Sched. 4, s. 35 (2).

TST-90503-17 (Re), 2019 CanLII 87012 (ON LTB)

73. The Board’s Interpretation Guideline 16, which I will follow in this case, suggests the following approach:

An administrative fine is a remedy to be used by the Board to encourage compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the "RTA"), and to deter landlords from engaging in similar activity in the future. This remedy is not normally imposed unless a landlord has shown a blatant disregard for the RTA and other remedies will not provide adequate deterrence and compliance.

74. There is no doubt that in this matter, the Landlord has shown a blatant disregard for the RTA. The Landlord was well aware of its obligation to provide rights of first refusal. It has given no explanation for ignoring that obligation. The only question is whether fines are necessary to provide adequate deterrence and compliance, and in what amounts.

75. The Landlord is profiting enormously from its contraventions of the RTA. Before the tenancies were terminated, the rent for each of the three units was around $1,250. The Landlord has re-rented the units for $4,150.00, $4,200.00, and $4,200.00, respectively. This means that on each of the three contraventions, the Landlord is realizing a profit of over $2,900 monthly. In the first year alone, it will have profited by over $34,800 for each contravention. The Tenants testified that they all planned to keep living in the units for many years. Even if I estimate, conservatively, that the tenancies would only have continued for another two years, that is a profit of around $70,000 for each contravention.

76. The Tenants could have requested monetary remedies. However, even if they had each been awarded the Board’s maximum monetary jurisdiction of $25,000.00, those remedies would not have been sufficient to provide adequate deterrence and compliance in these circumstances. The profit the Landlord is realizing from its actions vastly exceeds $25,000.00 per rental unit.

77. In light of the above, I find that the appropriate fines in this case would be $45,000.00 per rental unit. Since those amounts exceed the maximum, fines of $25,000.00 will be awarded in respect of each unit, for a total of $75,000.00 in fines.

78. The Tenants argue that the fines should be higher because the Landlord’s disregard for the RTA was particularly blatant. They argue that in the original eviction proceedings, the Landlord misled the Board by falsely claiming that it intended to honour the Tenants’ right of first refusal. I do not need to consider that argument, because even without that potential aggravating factor, I am awarding the maximum fines.