We are living through a watershed moment when it comes to dealing with domestic abuse and sexual violence in Ontario.  Unfortunately, it also comes up with Landlord and Tenant matters as well.  As much as you won’t like it, it is more than likely that you will be caught in the middle of it all.

Last year, new measures have taken into effect in the Residential Tenancies Act.  If there is a tenant or a child of a tenant that experiences domestic or sexual violence within the tenancy, the tenant can give you a new form called an N15 notice.  This notice is given to landlords for only one specific reason:  because the tenant has experienced or is in fear of being a victim of sexual or domestic violence and abuse.  When a tenant gives you this notice, they are saying that either themselves or someone they love may become a victim if they stay in the rental unit.  The tenant’s notice gives you a minimum of 28 days notice that they are moving out.  It doesn’t have to end at the end of their term or at the end of the month.  They are leaving on or before 28 days.

The victim-tenant will also have to give either one of two documents with the N15.  One is the “Tenant’s Statement About Sexual or Domestic Violence and Abuse”.  They must date and sign the document and hand it in at the same time as the notice.  The other document they might produce is a copy of a restraining order or a peace bond issued by a court within the last 90 days in which the court will order that the other tenant-abuser not to either contact the victim/child and/or not to enter the rental unit.

Duties

The landlord has several duties:

1. A Duty of Confidentiality
   • The landlord cannot disclose to the other joint tenants or the tenant-abuser the contents of the N15 notice.
     • The landlord can only disclose to the other joint tenants or the tenant-abuser that an N15 notice was served on the landlord and the termination date on the notice, but only after the termination date and the tenant-victim has left the residential unit.
   • The landlord cannot disclose to any potential new tenant the reason why a tenant is leaving.
   • The duty of confidentiality extends to superintendents and to property managers.  The landlord can tell their superintendents and property managers the reason why for the move-out of the tenant-victim, but only enough for them to do their jobs properly.
   • If the tenant-victim does not leave the rental unit on the termination date, the landlord cannot tell anyone about the N15 notice.
   • If the landlord fails to keep this information confidential, they may face a fine of a maximum of $25,000 to the individual landlord or $100,000 to a corporate landlord if they are found guilty of a provincial offence.
2. Duty of the Landlord in Advertising the Unit for Rent
   • The landlord cannot advertise the unit until the termination date has passed and the tenant-victim has moved out.
   • The landlord cannot show the rental unit until the tenant-victim has left the rental unit and it is after the termination date
   • The Last Month’s Rent deposit goes to the other tenants that remain in the rental unit.  The tenant-victim does not get her share of the rent deposit back.

The tenant has duties as well:

1. The tenant cannot use the N15 form for an improper purpose.
   • If the tenant uses the N15 to just get out of using the proper form to get out of a lease, or to break the lease in less than 60 days, then they have committed an offence.  The maximum fine for misusing an N15 is $25,000.
2. The tenant-victim must move out on the termination date.
   • If the tenant-victim remains in the rental unit, and they are the only ones in the rental unit, the landlord can bring an L3 Application for an eviction for failing to leave a tenancy after giving notice.
   • If the tenant-victim is a joint tenant and remains in the rental unit after the termination date, then the notice is ignored.
3. The tenant victim must take all of their property with them.
   • The landlord has the right to keep or dispose of the property if there are no other tenants living in the rental unit.

Defining “Sexual Violence” in the Residential Tenancies Act

The legislature has defined a broad range of acts for the purposes of this special notice procedure.

“Sexual violence” means any sexual act or act targeting a person’s sexuality, gender identity or gender expression, whether the act is physical or psychological in nature, that is committed, threatened or attempted against a person without the person’s consent, and includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, stalking, indecent exposure, voyeurism and sexual exploitation.

As you can see, this section encompasses definitions from the Criminal Code of Canada and the Ontario Human Rights Code.

What a Landlord Can Do With the Perpetrator

If the tenant-abuser is in the apartment, and you were given a N15 with supporting documents, you have sufficient grounds to bring a N7 Notice for causing serious problems in the rental unit or residential complex.  All that is required is that their “behaviour or the behaviour of someone visiting or living with them has seriously impaired the safety of another person and this behaviour occurred in the residential complex.”  It does not require a finding of guilt by a court.  The termination date must be 10 days from the date of when the N7 Notice was served.*  You don’t have to wait until the 10 days have passed to file the L2 Application.

If they are late on rent or can only pay a portion of the rent, and they are usually a co-payer on the rent, you can still serve a N4 Notice for non-payment of rent.  The termination date must be 14 days from the date of when the N4 Notice was served.*

* Be careful on how you serve these documents.  For example, if you serve someone by mail, you will have to add 5 days to the termination date to deal with the fact that deemed service by mail is 5 days from the time of mailing.

If the rent is paid and the tenant-abuser is in jail and the tenant victim has sent you the N15 Notice and left the rental unit, the tenant-abuser is entitled to stay.  The landlord cannot change the locks because someone went to jail.  Once the rent has not been paid and the tenant-abuser is still in jail, the landlord can apply to the Landlord & Tenant Board to terminate the tenancy because the tenancy is deemed to have been abandoned.

What If the Spouse Left Behind is Not a Tenant in the Lease?

When the person left behind is not a tenant on the lease, then they are considered to be an occupant.  The landlord can give an N14 Notice to the Spouse of the Tenant who Vacated the Rental Unit.  The landlord has 60 days from the date they knew that the occupant was still in the rental unit to serve this notice.  Once served on time, the spouse then has 15 days to make up their mind as to whether they agree to pick up the rent payments on their own.  There is a spouse agreement that is part of the N14 Notice package that the spouse needs to sign in order to remain in the tenancy.  If the spouse does not sign after the 15 days are up, the landlord can apply to the Landlord & Tenant Board on an A2 Application for the eviction of an unauthorized occupant.

Last Word for Landlords and Domestic/Sexual Violence

Both the landlord and the tenants have an active role in giving proper notices when domestic abuse or sexual violence happens in a tenancy.  But victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence are going to be vulnerable and will be unlikely to think clearly, especially about the right way to end the tenancy.  So, I’m asking you to be a resource and a helping hand.  Have the forms on hand or print them up and give them to her if you get a call from someone needing your help.  I’m sure you’ll sleep better at night knowing that you helped your tenant or their child to escape these kinds of horrors.

As for the perpetrators that are also your tenants, you will have to steel yourself, be professional and firm.

Lastly, being a landlord, you will feel like that you are in the middle of the situation.  But by being professional, you will largely miss the fray that’s going on between your tenants and end up protecting your commercial interests.  If you need help in this delicate situation you can contact me for a consultation.