Mohammadi v Thisairajah

Landlord wins · Scarborough · 2025-07-10

Adjudicator

Kimberly Parish

Dispute

Illegal Retention Of Money, Rent Deposit

Notice

Tenant's Notice to End the Tenancy (N9)

Landlord

A.T.

Tenant

E.M.

Tenant rep

Bahman Bilehjani

What happened

The Tenant applied for a determination that the Landlord illegally retained a rent deposit of $2,600.00. The Tenant provided an N9 notice with insufficient time and subsequently vacated the unit without providing proper statutory notice after failing to move on the initial date. The Landlord argued that the Tenant's failure to provide 60 days' notice, coupled with damages to the unit that prevented re-renting for two months, justified the retention of the deposit to cover rent arrears.

The ruling

The Tenant's application for the return of the rent deposit was dismissed. The Board found that because the Tenant failed to provide the mandatory 60 days' notice and the Landlord was unable to re-rent the unit due to damages, the Tenant remained liable for rent through the statutory notice period. Consequently, the Landlord's retention of the deposit was not illegal.