Tull v Jaballah

Split/Other wins · Scarborough · 2025-11-28

Adjudicator

Nicole Pedron

Dispute

Property Retrieval, Tenant Rights

Landlord

O.J.

Tenant

R.T.

Landlord rep

Ahmad Es-Sayyed

What happened

The Tenant filed an application alleging the Landlord changed the locks without providing keys and failed to allow the Tenant 72 hours to retrieve personal property following a lawful eviction by the Sheriff on October 16, 2023. The Tenant claimed the Landlord demanded illegal fees as a condition for property retrieval and eventually refused access entirely, even when police were involved. The Landlord argued that the Tenant had already removed most items and that the remaining items were moved to storage. The Tenant sought over $27,000 in damages for lost or destroyed property.

The ruling

The LTB found that while the Landlord was entitled to change the locks following a lawful Sheriff's eviction, the Landlord breached the Act by failing to provide the Tenant with the mandatory 72-hour window to retrieve personal belongings. The Landlord's attempts to demand a $1,000 damage deposit and condo fees as conditions for retrieval were improper. However, the Tenant was denied monetary compensation as he could not prove the items were lost or destroyed, partly due to his nine-month delay in filing. The Landlord is ordered to return all of the Tenant's property currently in storage by December 31, 2025.