Last week, we received a worrying email from the Landlord and Tenant Board (the LTB) regarding a specific application. The email introduced a new form, called Advanced Resolution Request, for Landlords, Tenants and Co‑op Applicants to submit. The LTB describes the purpose of this form is to “help the LTB understand if there have been changes with…application[s] after it has been filed”.

Looks to us, though, like the LTB has been so overwhelmed that it has lost track of applications’ status. Why do we think that? Well, the email continues: “Please note that if your file has already been withdrawn, discontinued or you have already had a hearing, disregard this email as you do not need to do anything further.” Isn’t this information that the LTB should already have? The answer is yes, and so we ask, why would this email be sent out if the LTB had known the status of this file?

In our previous blog post of October 20, 2020, we said that “we are concerned that the LTB is collapsing under the weight of the considerable backlog”; after receiving this email, our concerns are unchanged. It appears the LTB has sent out this form with the intention of the Applicant doing the leg work of sorting out the tangled caseload.

We, on behalf of our clients, expect more from the LTB, especially after a considerable amount of time and money is spent on the application process. We can only hope that the LTB will strengthen its file organization and persevere in the upcoming New Year.

Filed in: Co-operative Law, Housing

Tags: Landlord and Tenant Board, Tribunals Ontario