Tong v Zhou

Split/Other wins · Richmond Hill · 2024-09-11

Adjudicator

Fabio Quattrociocchi

Dispute

Damage to Property, Illegal Entry, Maintenance, Termination And Eviction

Notice

N5

Amount

<$5K

Landlord

Z.Z.

Tenant

Y.T., J.Z.

Landlord rep

Barrington Lue Sang

Tenant rep

Cuiwen Hu

What happened

The Tenants filed applications claiming the Landlord illegally entered the rental unit, failed to meet maintenance obligations, and charged illegal rent increases. The Landlord filed an application to terminate the tenancy and evict the Tenants due to substantial interference and property damage. The key issues were the scope of the rental unit, the legality of the Landlord's entries, the rent increase, and the Landlord's claim for out-of-pocket expenses.

The ruling

The Landlord illegally increased the rent by $800 per month for 5 months, which the Tenants are entitled to be reimbursed. The Landlord also illegally entered the rental unit on 4 occasions without proper notice, for which the Tenants are entitled to a $1,000 rent abatement. However, the Tenants' claim for general damages was denied. The Landlord is entitled to $1,000 for an insurance deductible due to water damage caused by the Tenants' negligence in not reporting the leak sooner. The net amount owed to the Tenants is $4,017.