Cole v Sakhi

Landlord wins · Hamilton · 2025-09-05

Adjudicator

Dana Wren

Dispute

Bad Faith Eviction

Landlord

S.S., 683 Main Street Holdings Inc, 685 Main Street East Holding Inc

Tenant

H.C.

Tenant rep

Kevin Staats

What happened

The Tenant filed a T5 application alleging the Landlords gave a notice of termination in bad faith. The Tenant claimed that starting in December 2023, the Landlord repeatedly gave verbal notice that the property was sold and she had to move out, even threatening to have a lawyer kick her out. The Tenant moved out in March 2024. The LTB considered whether the verbal communications constituted a valid N12 notice under the principle of substantial compliance. The Adjudicator found that because the Landlord failed to provide a specific termination date—a mandatory requirement—the verbal notice did not substantially comply with the Act. Consequently, the claim of bad faith termination failed as no valid legal notice was ever given.

The ruling

The Tenant's application for a determination of bad faith termination was dismissed. Although the Landlord pressured the Tenant to move out verbally and through threats after selling the house, the lack of a specific termination date meant the verbal notice did not legally qualify as an N12 notice. Because there was no valid notice, the Tenant could not claim it was given in bad faith under the Residential Tenancies Act.