Landlords in Ontario Legal Fund - Call to Action

ONTARIO LANDLORDS THIS IS A CALL TO ACTION

UPDATE NOV 06, 2022 The legal fundraising for legal action is on hold until further notice. In December 2021 the law team advised us that it would be more prudent to continue changes through advocacy as the Provincial Government has passed laws that prevent class action suits. We then used available funds and moved forward with a lobbyist. If you would still like to support SOLO in our other initiatives, please e-transfer a contribution directly to us. Connect with us through the website for the email address as we are not able to post it here. We can assure you that we are not going away and currently provide support to 5600 and growing, Facebook group members and 900 vetted landlords on our email group. ON HOLD SOLO Inc. www.soloontario.ca has retained Will Davidson LLP www.willdavidson.ca to provide strategic assistance and to deliver a notice letter to The Province of Ontario pertaining to compensation for the financial losses of small residential landlords and to make immediate changes to the RTA failing which legal action will be contemplated to provide fairness to landlords. Fundraising for the legal costs begins now. We recommend a minimum of $100.00 donation, but any amount will assist us to obtain our goals.

SOLO Landlords have suffered immense and unpublicized losses due to the Government’s unilateral decision to close the LTB and clog the redress process by banning evictions. All this unilaterally decided by the Government without any compensation to Landlords.

The Government has repeatedly said, “We remain committed to providing fair, effective and timely access to justice.” For Small Landlords, it hasn’t been fair, it hasn’t been effective and there certainly hasn’t been timely access to justice.

SOLO Members are seeking restitution and compensation for millions in rental losses due to no fault of their own retroactive to March 1, 2020. Unlike big Corporate Landlords, Small Landlords often get into the housing rental market to supplement their income by renting out space in their own home, or purchase a first home that provides rental accommodation for tenants to live in for a period of time, that they plan to eventually live in or build a future for themselves that will provide an income in their senior years. Some Small Landlords provide housing to multiple residents. According to REIN, CMHC and the Aliferous Group, small landlords provide 49% of the rental stock. 

Contract law is not being adhered to and this reflects a direct bias to us. Additionally, we are not afforded the same legal rights as other contract holders, access to justice or access to the criminal laws. No other category is denied these rights. No person can enter a grocery store, steal thousands of dollars in food and avoid being arrested on the spot.

Once COVID hit and the Provincial Government placed a moratorium on evictions, Small Landlords faced extreme financial hardship as tenants stopped paying rent. The Government released a financial package for every group impacted by the pandemic: commercial landlords, students, big corporations, airlines, NGOs, unemployed, farmers, non profits, artists, civil servants etc.

NO COMPENSATION WAS PROVIDED FOR SMALL LANDLORDS BEING FORCED TO HOUSE PEOPLE FOR FREE !!!

And the messaging from our Ontario Premier, very early into the pandemic, was that if rent could not be paid then the tenant would not need to pay the rent owed and the Provincial Government would not make these same tenants face eviction. Despite the above, prior to the moratorium on evictions, the Residential Tenancy Act is complicated, commonly misinterpreted and difficult to procedurally follow. The LTB was already being investigated by the Ombudsman of Ontario, due to the increasingly lengthy delays in obtaining a hearing for anything from damages to property, non payment of rent, illegal activities in the rental property, etc. We need your financial support. This is a call to action. It’s time to stop the bias towards landlords.

We recommend a minimum of $100.00 donation, but any amount will assist us to obtain our goals. The funds will be used for legal expenses and SOLO Administration.