Hogg v McConnell

Tenant wins · 2015-06-09

Adjudicator

J. Sebastian Winny

Dispute

Non-payment of Rent

Amount

$5-10K

Landlord

C.A.H.

Tenant

C.M.

What happened

Landlord filed a claim in Small Claims Court seeking payment of rent arrears from July 2012 to April 2013, totaling $6,210. This claim was filed after a previous Landlord and Tenant Board order terminated the tenancy but did not address the rent arrears due to the landlord's absence at the LTB hearing.

The ruling

The Small Claims Court dismissed the landlord's claim for want of jurisdiction. The court determined that the Landlord and Tenant Board has exclusive jurisdiction over residential tenancy disputes, including rent arrears. The landlord should have requested payment of arrears during the original LTB hearing and cannot use the Small Claims Court to correct this oversight.