Notice Law - N7 (Serious Impairment of Safety)

Furr v. Courtland Mews Cooperative Housing Inc., 2020 ONSC 1175 (CanLII)

[16] The appellant maintains that the Vice-Chair, although citing the language of s. 94.2(1), did not apply the test as interpreted by the Board in other cases. The Vice-Chair’s formulation did not, he argues, include the necessary elements of seriousness and gravity and did not address the question of whether there was evidence of an “intention” to act on any verbal threats.

[17] I do not agree with this argument. The Vice-Chair’s formulation of the test falls well within the range of the jurisprudence cited. In 2276761 Ontario Inc. v. Overall, 2018 ONSC 3264, the Divisional Court made it clear that serious impairment of safety includes both actual impairment and a real risk of impairment. In other cases, the Board has held that it is not necessary that anyone has actually been hurt or injured and that a serious impairment of safety may include:

(i) the potential for an outcome that has the risk of a substantial negative effect on a person’s well-being;

(ii) a foreseeable act or omission that could result in or may result in a serious impairment to safety; and

(iii) extremely loud and intense arguments could easily result in violence and would be a safety hazard.

[18] There was no error of law in the Vice-Chair’s formulation of the applicable legal test. The appellant’s real complaint is with the Vic-Chair’s application of this test to the facts. This, however, subject to the next ground of appeal, is not a question of law but a question of mixed fact and law and is, therefore, not subject to appeal under the RTA.

2276761 Ontario Inc. v. Overall, 2018 ONSC 3264 (CanLII)

The Tenants’ Main Ground of Appeal

[11] The tenants argue that the board erred in relying on the fact that their cats were not vaccinated as a ground for eviction where (a) lack of vaccination of the cats was not listed as a ground relied upon in the landlord’s N-7 Notice; and (b) there was no fair notice that vaccination was in issue.

[12] An N-7 notice process is reserved for requests for eviction under serious cases like a breach of s. 66 (1) (a) of the statute. That subsection allows for the eviction of a tenant whose conduct “seriously impairs or has seriously impaired the safety of any person.” The notice period is short and the statute does not allow for a cure period. Case law has reserved resort to s. 66 and the N-7 process therefore to cases involving “weighty, grave, or momentous conduct” involving the actual impairment of safety or a real risk of impairment of safety. LTB File No. NOL-08606-12 (9 July 2012; Stevens) 2012 CanLII 46749 at para 15.

[14] The law is clear that only a ground of eviction set out in a notice given under the statute may form the basis of an eviction order. It is an error of law to evict a tenant on a ground that is not set out in the notice document. Oshawa Housing Authority v. Maule, 1979 CarswellOnt 2708 (Div. Ct.) at para. 6; DU Chapter House Ltd. v [Tenant], (3 December 1998; Ittlemen), File No. TSL-03969 (ORHT) [CRO No. HOU-D-00691] at para. 7.