Can a Landlord Evict a Tenant During the Winter?
The Belief That a Tenant Cannot Be Evicted In the Winter Is Urban Myth Often Based on a Misperception of the Hardship Discretion Sometimes Used By the Landlord Tenant Board.
The belief that a residential tenant cannot be evicted during the winter is false. There is nothing within the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17 (the "RTA"), being the law that governs residential tenancies, that prevents a wintertime eviction; however, the RTA does contain section 83 which provides an adjudicator at a hearing of the Landlord Tenant Board to make discretionary decisions that may involve delaying an eviction and the reasoning for doing so may be because it is winter. Accordingly, the adjudicator may choose to refrain from issuing an Order to Evict during the winter months or may choose to issue an Order to Evict with a delayed eviction date. It seems that whereas an adjudicator may refrain from issuing an Order to Evict because it is wintertime, the urban myth was born that a tenant cannot be evicted during the wintertime. Of course, this is a false truth, meaning a perception based on misunderstanding. The misunderstanding arises when people misinterpret the reason that an adjudicator may refrain from issuing an Order to Evict in the wintertime whereas such a decision is a choice based on a discretion. The adjudicator may choose such a discretion out of concern for the hardship that a wintertime eviction would cause rather than because of any mandate in law.
Theresa Forrest, Paralegal provides Landlord Tenant Board services for clients located in London, Guelph, Oakville, St Catharines, Hamilton, among other places.
NOTE: A significant quantity of queries like “lawyers near me” or “best lawyer in” typically indicate a pressing requirement for competent legal assistance rather than a particular job title. In Ontario, paralegals who hold a licence are governed by the same Law Society that supervises lawyers and are permitted to represent clients in specific litigation cases. Central to their function are advocacy, legal analysis, and procedural expertise. Theresa Forrest, Paralegal provides legal representation within its licensed parameters, focusing on strategic positioning, evidentiary preparation, and compelling advocacy aimed at achieving swift and favourable outcomes for clients.