What you should do if you cannot collect rent
As a landlord in Ontario, you have the right to choose who resides as a tenant in your residences. After the approval process and a signed lease, the next expectation is that the tenant will pay you rent every month, as agreed upon in your lease. Unfortunately, oftentimes a property owner finds that it is not as simple as that. In Ontario, you have set rights as a landlord. You are entitled to collect rent, in full, on the day it is due. If it comes to the point where the tenant cannot pay the agreed-upon rent, a landlord reserves the right to evict a tenant, in specific scenarios.
A landlord is legally entitled to evict a resident if they are frequently paying rent late or missing payments entirely, if they do something illegal in the building, if they cause extensive damage to the property, or more. Luckily for landlords, they do have rights in place to evict an unreliable tenant.
How to evict a tenant
While landlords reserve the right to evict a tenant, there are systems in place that limit that power and protect tenants from unnecessary and illegal evictions. Even if a landlord is legally allowed to evict a tenant in compliance with the above circumstances, they are not allowed to physically remove the evicted tenant from their home. They must file an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board first and follow the proper eviction process set forth after review of their application. In most cases, before the tenant can be evicted, there will be a hearing with the Landlord and Tenant Board where they will decide if the tenant can be evicted. If they come to that conclusion, they will have the Sheriff, the only person who has the power to physically evict you, do so.
If you are in need of the up-to-date procedures, including the latest COVID-19 operations for the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board, please visit their site: https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/
How to avoid an eviction scenario
The easiest way to avoid an eviction scenario is to carefully vet the tenants coming into your property and make sure you have a solid agreement and understanding between parties. When choosing a tenant, a landlord in Ontario has the right to use income information, credit check, references and other important information when deciding who will be renting their property.
Our team at Regalway Homes are experts on real estate development and real estate and investment. Take some of the stress off of your investment and development process by booking a consultation with us where we will go over investigation strategies and even how to deal with unreliable tenants.
Regalway Homes | info@regalwayhomes.com | 905-462-4960