The New Normal: A Primer on Demovictions in Ontario
By John Wigle, Student-at-Law, and Bhavin Bilimoria, Director of Legal Services, Don Valley Community Legal Services
Q: My landlord is trying to evict me because they say the building is going to be demolished. Is this allowed?
A: Yes, a landlord is permitted to evict a tenant so that they can demolish the property, a process referred to as a “demoviction”. Since the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) can approve these kinds of evictions even when the tenant has done nothing wrong, demovictions are also considered a form of “no fault” eviction.
In order for a landlord to “demovict” a tenant, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the RTA) requires landlords to give tenants notice of termination using the LTB’s N13 form – “Notice to End your Tenancy Because the Landlord Wants to Demolish the Rental Unit, Repair it or Convert it to Another Use”. If the tenant does not move out of the unit before the termination date listed on the N13 form, the landlord must apply for a hearing at the LTB. At the hearing, the landlord will have to prove that they genuinely intend on carrying out the proposed demolition.
The RTA requires most landlords to compensate the tenants that are being demovicted. This compensation must be provided to the tenants by the termination date listed on the notice of eviction given by the landlord. The amount of compensation owed depends on the number of units in the building.
- If there are 5 or more units in the building, the tenant is entitled to 3 months’ rent in compensation or a different unit owned by the landlord that the tenant accepts.
- If there are less than 5 units in the building, the tenant is entitled to 1 months’ rent in compensation or a different unit.
However, if the landlord has been legally ordered to demolish the building, then the tenant is not entitled to any compensation or offer of a different unit.
In terms trying to fight a demoviction at the LTB, tenants have limited options. A tenant will usually have to raise evidence showing that the landlord does not actually intend to go through with the demolition and are instead claiming that they intend to demolish the building as a reason to evict the tenants. This is a difficult argument to make in most cases because even if a landlord is being deceitful in bringing this type of application, a tenant will struggle to gather evidence of their landlord’s true intentions. There may be other available arguments depending on the circumstances, but this remains a difficult type of eviction to fight if the landlord is legitimately intending to demolish the building.
While demovictions have always been an unfortunate reality of living as a tenant, they have become a much more serious issue in Ontario given the provincial government’s changes to rent control. Specifically, in 2018 the provincial government amended the RTA to remove rent control from all units that were not occupied as a residential space before November 15, 2018. As a result, any tenant living in a unit that became a rental property after November 15, 2018 will not be protected by rent control, and their landlord can increase the rent as much as they want on an annual basis. This change creates an incentive for developers and landlords to demovict their tenants and construct a new building that will not be subject to rent control. Without any intervention to prevent demovictions, the number of properties in Ontario that are subject to rent control will continue to shrink, further exacerbating the housing affordability crisis in the province.
To fight against this trend, No Demovictions, a group brought together by the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations (FMTA), has been pushing the government to end the destruction of affordable rental properties in Toronto. On October 2, 2023, No Demovictions organized a rally and march at City Hall and Queen’s Park in Toronto where they delivered their letter asking City Council and the provincial government to address the issues being caused by profit-driven demovictions. To learn more and get involved, visit their website at www.nodemovictions.ca.
Karly Wilson, Staff Lawyer from our Housing Law Team, and Laura Anonen, our Community Development Worker, attended and spoke at the No Demovictions Rally. You can watch the video online here.
If you have any questions about this or any other Landlord and Tenant matter, contact your local community legal clinic or the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations.
***This is legal information and not legal advice. If you need further information or need legal advice, please call our Intake Line at 416-441-1764 ext. 1 or complete our online Intake Form.***