Tenant owes rent and moves out without notice.
The tenant moved out and did not pay rent. It is not uncommon. In some cases, the amount of unpaid rent may be significant. Landlords often contact paralegals in Toronto, GTA and other areas about what they should do with that. How to collect the rent owing?
Apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to collect the rent owing.
The recent changes of the Residential Tenancies Act allow landlords to claim unpaid rent through the Landlord and Tenant Board. A landlord can file an application for rent arrears with the Board even after the tenant is gone. Before September 1, 2021, a landlord could do it only in the Small Claims Court if the tenant left. However, the Act sets some requirements which a Landlord must follow.
How to apply
Here are some tips that may help:
- The landlord must file an application for rent arrears not later than twelve months after the tenant moved out.
2. The landlord must deliver a copy of the application for unpaid rent and notice of hearing to the former tenant. This is a tricky part. Tenants tend to hide their whereabouts from the former landlord. For this reason, the landlord should prepare for this in advance:
- It makes sense to obtain a copy of the tenant’s driver’s license and Social Insurance Number even before the tenant moves in. These documents may help to locate the tenant.
- Also, it is worth it to get the tenant’s email address and sign a consent form to send and receive documents by email. A landlord can serve the tenant with the application and notice of hearing by email.
3. The landlord must correctly calculate the unpaid rent. If a tenant left without giving the landlord notice, the Landlord and Tenant Board can order the former tenant to pay rent up to the date when she/he could legally move out under the proper notice.
4. The difficulties in this type of Landlord and Tenant Board matter may vary. They include proper calculation of the rent owing, last month rent deposit deduction, request to the Landlord and Tenant Board to use alternative service of the documents on the tenant, etc.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help and representation to claim the unpaid rent from your former tenant.
