Request to Review an Order (LTB)

Fava v. Harrison, 2014 ONSC 3352 (CanLII)

[6] The landlords requested a review of Board Member Beckett’s decision. Pursuant to s.184(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S. 22, applies to proceedings before the Board. Section 21.2(1) of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act provides as follows:

21.2(1) A tribunal may, if it considers it advisable and if its rules made under s. 25.1 deal with the matter, review all or part of its own decision or order, and may confirm, vary, suspend or cancel the decision or order.

[7] Section 209(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act provides that an order of the Board is final and binding, subject only to s. 21.2 of the Statutory Powers Procedure Act.

[18] In this case, Board Member Beckett made a finding of fact that the notice that one of the landlords wished to occupy the property was not given in good faith. She decided that the credibility of the landlords was undermined because one of the landlords took the position that she wished to live in the house notwithstanding the other landlord’s belief that the unit was unsafe. In our view, the Board was entitled to take this into account in assessing the landlord’s credibility and in assessing the landlord’s good faith. In our view, Board Member Van Delft’s conclusion restricts the meaning of the term “good faith” to an unreasonable degree. By excluding any consideration of the landlord’s motives in deciding whether the landlord has acted in good faith, she has unduly restricted the consideration the Board must give to that term. We see nothing in Salter or Feeney, supra, to the contrary.

[19] It was also unreasonable of Board Member Van Delft to fail to consider the question of whether the landlord’s review application should have been refused by Board Member Beckett because the landlords were in serious breach of their responsibilities under the Act.