Laventhall v Ie

Tenant wins · Toronto · 2025-09-17

Adjudicator

Frank Ebner

Dispute

Illegal Retention Of Money, Tenant Rights

Amount

$5-10K

Landlord

M.I.

Tenant

P.L., T.K.

Landlord rep

Amir Vali

What happened

The Tenants filed an application claiming the Landlord illegally retained their last month's rent deposit. The parties had agreed to terminate the tenancy early using an N11 agreement and a subsequent verbal agreement. The Landlord admitted to keeping the $5,450.00 deposit, arguing that it was used to cover real estate commission fees incurred while finding replacement tenants for the remainder of the fixed-term lease.

The ruling

The Landlord is ordered to pay the Tenants $5,498.00 by September 28, 2025. This amount includes the return of the $5,450.00 last month's rent deposit and the $48.00 application filing fee. The Landlord was found to have illegally retained the deposit to cover real estate costs, which is not permitted under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.