An LTB spokesperson confirmed the plan to focus on the above guideline rent increases (AGI) and previously deferred matters because they are a large percentage of the board’s aging caseload. “Focusing on these applications will help ensure that older applications are scheduled and heard as a priority as LTB continues to find solutions to address service delays,” said Janet Deline, in a statement. Stakeholders on both sides of the landlord-tenant relationship are criticizing the move. They told CBC Toronto that prioritizing the AGIs puts the interests of corporate landlords ahead of tenants already facing high rents and small landlords in debt from unpaid rent due to months-long LTB arrears.
“It makes the companies richer,” says the tenant
“You’re offering things for the companies, instead of pushing things for the people,” said Sharlene Henry, a resident in Toronto’s Weston neighborhood. “It makes companies richer while people — whether they’re poor, whether they’re working class, living on a fixed income — struggle more.” In the past decade, the Henry building has had four LTB-approved AGIs. She says each has tacked on an extra $60-$70 a month to her rent, and two more AGI applications for 2019 and 2021 are still pending with the board. Without LTB approval, landlords in the province are only allowed to raise the rent for most existing tenants by the annual Ontario rent increase for inflation. This year, that guideline is set at 1.2%. Sharlene Henry’s apartment building was one of five Toronto rental properties reported by CBC Toronto in March where the landlord had applied to the LTB for five or more above guideline increases (AGI) in the past 10 years. (Sue Goodspeed/CBC) However, the Residential Tenancies Act allows landlords to levy up to an additional 3 percent annually through AGIs to help cover the cost of capital expenditures such as major repairs and renovations. Henry’s building was one of five Toronto rental properties reported by CBC Toronto in March where the landlord had applied to the LTB for five or more AGIs in the past 10 years.
Expenses part of the cost of doing business: attorney for tenants
Capital expenses that are supposed to help cover AGI should be part of the cost of doing business, according to a tenant attorney with Parkdale Community Legal Services. “A lot of landlords will do things in the name of security, but they’re actually doing it because they want to increase the rent they can extract from the units,” said Samuel Mason. “If LTB schedules AGI earlier, of course that’s in the interest of the big owners.” The LTB says its plan to focus on above-guideline rent applications and previously deferred matters “will help ensure that older applications are scheduled and heard on a priority basis”. (Kimberly Ivany/CBC) There are currently 1,733 AGI applications before the LTB, with the oldest case dating back to January 2018. The Federation of Metro Tenants Associations told CBC Toronto that there has been an “explosion” of AGI over the past decade. In the last financial year, 613 applications were submitted in Ontario, more than double the 252 submitted to the LTB in 2011-2012.
Smallholders “can’t afford” longer delays
Paralegal Kathleen Lovett says small landlords cannot afford any further delay in the LTB. (Submitted by Kathleen Lovett) For small landlords, attorney Kathleen Lovett says AGI prioritization will mean those waiting six to eight months for a hearing on unpaid rent will be bumped even further down the queue in the new year. “They just can’t afford to keep going,” he said. “My client that I’m working for at the moment is selling her property and that will make the rental market shrink even more.” Zibute Janeliunas was “devastated” to discover her unpaid rent hearing could be further delayed due to the LTB’s focus on AGI. He has been awaiting a hearing at the LTB since May and still has no date. “[The tenants] I owe me $18,000,” he said, adding, “I’m in terrible financial shape at this point.” Janeliunas bought the Etobicoke condo with the plan to rent it out for three or four years before moving out. But with a steady income, he now worries he’ll have to sell the unit before that happens. Despite the focus on AGI hearings and previously postponed matters, the LTB says it will continue to schedule urgent matters as a priority. But Lovett says she’s never had a single file approved for a shorter timeline, even when a client was facing bankruptcy. Zibute Janeliunas is worried she will have to sell the flat she was planning to move into, due to delays in an LTB hearing for unpaid rent from her tenants. (Angelina King/CBC) “I really don’t know what else you could put in a request to show the board how urgent it is,” he said. “I don’t know why companies would be held to a higher standard.” If you have any tips on this issue or anything else you’d like investigated, please contact us at [email protected]
