Earlier this year, Justice Matlow made a plea that appeals from decisions of the Landlord and Tenant Board be “restricted” and that perhaps leave to appeal needed to be obtained before appeals could be brought.

We wholeheartedly agree that some kind of gatekeeper function is necessary to keep frivolous and meritless appeals out of the courts.  Otherwise, respondents in appeals are forced to bring motions to quash.  Though in our firm we have a better than even rate in succeeding on these types of motions (see for example these cases: Audain v. Sisters of Saint Joseph; Thomson v. Sisters of Saint Joseph (pdf)), the bar is high to succeed on these motions.  Courts are reluctant to quash an appeal, and prefer that a full panel hear the appeal.  This both wastes court resources and generally costs the landlord significant sums of money, not only in legal fees, but often in lost rent.

Thank you Justice Matlow, for saying what needed to be said.

Filed in: Housing