KITCHENER — Ontario's "toothless" Landlord and Tenant Board has no power to enforce the financial penalties it orders.
The quasi-judicial tribunal deals with tens of thousands of landlord and tenant disputes a year and delivers dozens of rulings a day — some calling for thousands of dollars in penalties — but it has no way to force people to pay.
In fact, the board doesn't even keep track of how many penalties are paid.
Compliance is so low that in one Kitchener case, Ernie Hardeman, the Ontario Conservative housing critic, says the tenant should have been warned he may never see a cent from a ruling.
At the end of September, the board ordered Kitchener landlord Shawn Waechter to pay tenant Doug Smith almost $3,000 for an illegal eviction. The board called it "egregious conduct" and ordered Waechter to pay up by Oct. 4.
Smith, 62, who has been homeless since he was evicted in August, hasn't been paid.
He calls the board a "toothless" waste of taxpayer dollars. The board, funded by the provincial government, has an annual budget around $28 million.
"What's the use of tribunals if the rulings can't be enforced?" Smith said.
Hardeman said the board should have told Smith to have low expectations of getting the cash.
It seems everyone has trouble getting board-ordered money — even the board itself.
Board adjudicator Kevin Lundy ordered Waechter to pay the board a $1,000 administrative fine by Oct. 15.
"The landlord has not paid the $1,000 fine," said Whitney Miller, spokesperson for Social Justice Tribunals Ontario, which the board is part of. "As is standard practice, the (board) has forwarded the outstanding account to a collections agency."
Most landlords, who win board judgments against tenants, don't even bother trying to get the money, said Hardeman, the MPP for Oxford.
"The odds of getting it are pretty minimal."
Landlord and Tenant Board orders are legally binding, the board says on its website.
"They must be obeyed."
The government "expects" landlords and tenants to abide by board orders and "does not condone" people ignoring them, Charlene Millett, a spokesperson for the Ontario Housing Ministry, said in an email.
"If an individual fails to make a payment ordered by the (board), the payee must file the order or judgment with the appropriate authority to begin collection (e.g. through seizure or garnishment)," she said.
"In this respect, the enforcement of a (board) order is no different than enforcing an order made by other adjudicative bodies."
Miller, of Social Justice Tribunals Ontario, said the board doesn't track the number of board orders that get paid.
A freedom of information request may be required to get that number, said Catherine Fife, the NDP MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo.
"There's nothing open and transparent," she said.
Waechter, meanwhile, said he mailed Smith a bank draft to the House of Friendship men's hostel on Charles Street — and he has a copy to prove it. Smith wasn't living there and didn't receive it.
"It's not my responsibility to receive it — it's his responsibility to make sure that I receive it," Smith said.
What happened to the draft is a mystery. Waechter has cancelled it.
Now, the landlord wants Smith to sign an agreement before he pays him. Smith has declined, saying the agreement's wording could actually allow Waechter to not pay him.
Smith said he shouldn't have to sign anything to get a payment ordered by the Landlord and Tenant Board.
But it seems that after issuing an order, the board washes its hands of it, Smith said. He said a board official told him there's nothing he can do to help.
Smith assumed that if Waechter didn't pay by Oct. 4, the landlord would be found in contempt of court and forced to pay.
"It doesn't seem that there's any policing anywhere to enforce the ruling," Smith said. "It's pretty unsettling."
Smith was evicted from his $400-a-month room at 24 Cedar St. S. on Aug. 6. Waechter changed the locks and put Smith's possessions on the porch. Waechter did not serve Smith with a notice of termination and did not file the necessary board paperwork.
The board ordered Waechter to pay Smith $2,321 plus $570 to replace personal items that were lost or stolen when he was evicted.
Smith, who lives on government assistance, planned to use the money from Waechter to get another place. He liked the privacy he had on Cedar Street and figures he would need to spend $650 a month to find a decent place.
After being evicted, Smith lived in his car for three and a half months. He is now staying at the House of Friendship hostel.
One of Smith's options is small claims court. That could cost several hundred dollars, money that Smith doesn't have. Besides, he doesn't think he should have to "jump through hoops" to get his board-ordered money.
"Why should it be necessary to go to that point?" Smith said. "I don't have to be legally chasing him."
MPP Fife sympathizes with Smith's plight and suggests the deck is stacked against low-income tenants.
"If you don't have the money to go to court to ensure that the finding is upheld, then you might as well not have entered the battle in the first place," she said.
Hardeman said Smith could use a collection agency, but it would take a cut.
Smith said it would make sense for the Landlord and Tenant Board to collect board-ordered payments or at least have enforcement staff who could pressure people to pay.
Granting the board power to collect money would require legislative amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, Millett said. It would also require "extensive consultations" to ensure the act "continues to balance the rights and responsibilities of both tenants and landlords," she said.
Hardeman said it wouldn't be feasible for the board to be in the collection business.
"They would be spending their life trying to follow it up."
Waechter said he had no comment.
"I don't want to say anything. I would say check with that law office. Get your information there."
He was referring to Waterloo Region Community Legal Services, which drew up the agreement for Smith to sign and helped him with the case. A representative from the office declined comment, citing privacy issues.
