The deck is heavily stacked against those who rent out their properties, struggling landlord Ali Khajavi says
A London landlord has lamented that he will likely lose more than $4,000 over the Ontario government’s decision to halt all evictions since March.
Retired teacher and engineer Ali Khajavi, who has rented out a three-bedroom suite over the last four years, said that the COVID-19 pandemic has made dealing with delinquent tenants much harder.
Khajavi said that a couple who moved into his unit around two and a half years ago had recurrent trouble when it came to paying their $1,325 monthly rent on time – a problem that was aggravated when the couple split last January, and the woman who remained ended up being unable to shoulder the rental costs.
Khajavi was eventually forced to serve the tenant with N4 notices, and he opened a file with the Landlord and Tenant Board on March 18. However, by this time, Ontario had already frozen evictions as a humanitarian response to income losses brought about by the coronavirus outbreak.
“The laws are failing to help people like me,” Khajavi told CBC News. “It’s a nightmare for me and my wife, honestly. I get emotional, I don’t know what to do.”
Khajavi said that if the eviction gets delayed further, or if there’s no way that he can recoup the costs he has already incurred, his family will have to face the prospect of financial ruin.
“It’s a serious problem for us,” Khajavi said. “Financially, we have other obligations and no one can help us. This is not fair.”
While the LTB announced on July 31 that it will begin eviction application hearings anew, the board will have to first settle the massive backlog of cases that have accumulated since March.
Even the much-touted Bill 184 represented no relief for Khajavi and others in his situation, as landlords have argued that the legislation is actually placing them at greater risk due to all the extra costs involved.
