# Eviction at End of Lease



## SlowandSteady60 (Feb 19, 2012)

Here is a quick question which I think I know the answer to but not 100% sure. I have a condo which I lease to students for the school year. Each has a one year lease which gives them a room and access to common areas. i have one student that I do not want back next year, What is the process for him to be moving out at the end of his lease. Do I have to go through eviction process. Student is young kid who games all night long and leaves common areas in a mess, food all over the kitchen which I deem a health threat to other students (bacteria) etc. Any thoughts?


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## cldellow (Feb 16, 2012)

What province are you in? Ontario, for example, has very strong tenant protection laws. "Games all night" isn't grounds to evict; you'll need to speak in landlord code like "interferes with reasonable enjoyment" of the property by other tenants.

You also don't get to evict if they improve their behaviour; so you want a documented trail of providing them with specific issues raised by their roommates which the problem tenant has refused to remedy.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

I don't know what province, but in Ontario I think that after the 1 year lease is up, you've automatically switched to month-to-month renting. You really can't do anything while the tenant has a lease, but once you're on month-to-month (with no lease in effect) you can ask a tenant to leave with appropriate notice.

I could be wrong, I didn't research this. But I think month-to-month offers that flexibility... I think you don't need to give a reason, just appropriate notice. Give a little extra notice for courtesy.


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## cldellow (Feb 16, 2012)

You are correct that the tenancy defaults to month-to-month.

You are incorrect in believing that this gives the landlord the power to end the tenancy. The notice period (60 days) is the amount of notice that the tenant must give the landlord to end the tenancy, or that the landlord must give the tenant when evicting the tenant under the terms of the act.

http://www.ltb.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/csc/@ltb/@keyinfo/documents/resourcelist/170121.pdf provides the gory details, but in general you can only evict for cause or for very specific cases like taking the unit back for personal use, doing major renovations that would cause the unit to be uninhabitable, etc.


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

Oh, my mistake then.. I thought it would be more symmetric than that on the month-to-month. I didn't look into it much. An article I found says: "Let us look at the month-to-month rental agreement. This gives a lot more flexibility to both landlord and tenant. One big advantage for the landlord is that if your tenant turns out to be noisy, late in paying the rent, or otherwise troublesome, you only have to wait one month after giving notice before they have to quit."


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## cldellow (Feb 16, 2012)

Perhaps one of the landlords on the forum could chime in, but I'm pretty sure that site is a garbage site designed to stuff keywords ("if you are landlord in one of the university towns in Ontario such as ...") to get search engine traffic.

For example, they state that a downside of month-to-month tenancies is "that the tenant can leave at the end of any month, usually giving just 30 days notice." One need only consult the Residential Tenancies Act (http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06r17_e.htm#s44s2) to see that they are incorrect ("...a notice to terminate a monthly tenancy shall be given at least 60 days before...").

I'm not trying to jump on you specifically, but as a tenant in Ontario, I often feel like good tenants have the worst of both worlds. We have landlord laws that are so onerous that no sane person wants to be a landlord, resulting in limited supply of good rental units. This inventory is then run by landlords who have no clue what their rights and responsibilities are. It is, in a word, frustrating. I do not like to see people ask questions on forums like this and get answers prefaced with "I haven't researched it, but I think/feel that..."


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## james4beach (Nov 15, 2012)

cldellow: you make good points. I've also been a tenant for many years in Ontario, though I've never encountered this situation. I agree that the poster should go to the reliable source (the Act) for information, or consult a qualified professional.

You're right that the web site I linked looks unreliable (notice period error is pretty bad). I'm going to edit and remove the link so to not help them gain more search engine placement.


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

In Ontario landlords are slaves to tenants that can do anything they wish for the most part and will be saved by the landlord and tenant board if the landlord files.

But until the original poster comes back with clarification on province we are just typing without a cause


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## SlowandSteady60 (Feb 19, 2012)

The OP is back and here are the goods. I posted this question on the forum to see if anyone had a quick answer to the question, such as a landlord who may have already been through this. I would not do anything without going through the proper due-diligence of getting the information from the Landlord and Tenant Act, I just thought it was a good question. I have since found out that in order for me to remove this person from the premises, I must fill out forms and have them served to the tenant. Yes he can change his ways of doing things and be there forever. We are in Ontario and there are many ways the tenant are protected but what bothers me is I have a perfectly good tenant living there as well, that I am going to lose because of this. Thank you LTA. I'm sure there are many good tenants out there as there are good landlords, but the game is not in our favor. Sad but true. As for you renters, I hope you have good landlords and you appreciate them. I know I appreciate good tenants.


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## cldellow (Feb 16, 2012)

@SlowandSteady60: I do feel your pain, and did not mean to give the impression that I thought you'd act outside the rules set forth by the LTA!

As a tenant, I actually also wish the LTA had fewer protections for tenants! I have to live with the other people in the building; I'd like my landlord to have the power to kick them out if we complained. (And I'd be willing to accept that I, too, might be kicked out if my behaviour was bad.)

I imagine there's a lot of would-be landlords sitting on the sidelines, because they've looked into the laws and decided the headache wasn't worth it. I sometimes wonder if the supply of rental housing would be greatly improved if the LTA was gutted.

The common answer on this board to questions like yours is to go to the tenant and ask them to leave. Offer a month's rent for "moving expenses". It's a bribe, plain and simple, and it sucks, but it might be worth it.


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## jamesbe (May 8, 2010)

I'm not sure many are sitting on the side, many jump in without knowing the rules.

I keep telling one of my co-workers some of my problems and he keeps telling me things like kick them out or do this or that. And I keep telling him you can't. He wants to buy a property and rent it out. When I tell him the rules he says, maybe he shouldn't do it.... yeah maybe he should!

Like my current tenant somehow put holes in my laminate. He said, keep their security deposit.... yeah that's not possible in ontario where you can't collect one. Oh take it from their last months rent then, well sure but they didn't pay for their last month, because that's the point. So my only recourse is to sue and well it's not worth it.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

I've been a landlord and got tired of the rat race. Odds are stacked with the tenants - landlords pay and other tenants suffer too. Even with a premium unit and it's sometimes hard to screen to get "normal" people. 

If they are employed or have any assets whatsoever take them to small claims court. Find a way to get your pound of flesh.


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## realist (Apr 8, 2011)

Can you raise the rent just on that one room? Raise it for all tenants and hire a cleaning service? Have the other tenants complained?


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## SlowandSteady60 (Feb 19, 2012)

Yes the other tenants have complained. I'm going toexplain to them that at the end of their lease, they will not be getting a new one. Hopefully they will get the message and just go away. Other than that, perhaps I need to move a family member in. Lots of ways to do this, just have to be smart about it. All else fails, up for sale it goes. Don't have time for PITA tenants. Maybe time for a flip!


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