Tillsonburg paralegal is offering consultations for tenants at Canterbury Court apartment building

Robin Krafft, Post Contributor

Licenced paralegal Devon Glowka has offered free consultations to the residents of Canterbury Court at 70 Devonshire Avenue.

Documents that tenants received from their landlord indicate that they need to vacate their apartments by May 31, for a period of eight months, due to necessary renovations. Glowka has met with several panicked tenants since they received the documents in January. He said that the N-13 form contains important information.

"The N-13 is technically correct as it's filled out," Glowka said. "The landlords and tenants are properly named and addressed. They have given the proper amount of time, and it is signed and dated by the property manager. A payment for compensation equal to three months rent before the termination date is also a mandatory requirement of the N13 notice."

Glowka’s consultations for affected tenants are intended to help them understand the paperwork they received, their rights, and how the process works.

"The legal intention of the N-13 was to protect the tenant and allow for (more extensive) maintenance," Glowka explained, "but many of the tenants are on ODSP or pension and temporary relocation is detrimental for them. The eight-month period isn't reasonable in our society. A normal lease period is one year."

Tenants are also unlikely to find a temporary rental at the rates they currently pay. Glowka advised tenants to write a letter informing their landlord that they want to return to their unit when the work is completed. The letter must clearly include their unit number and their name, and should be given to the property manager and mailed to the corporation.

"The letter should state that the tenant would like to exercise their Right of First Refusal and that they intend to move back into the unit as soon as it's available when the work is finished," Glowka said. "After that, they keep paying their rent on time. I'm telling people that they need to lock in their rights now."

The N-13 is a notice of intent, not an eviction. Douglas Kwan, director of advocacy and legal services for the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, spoke to CTV London about a similar situation at a Sarnia townhouse complex.

"Understand that these letters are just merely letters without any power to actually end your tendency," Kwan said in the CTV interview. "In order to end their tendency, they need to prove their case at the Landlord and Tenant Board."

Glowka agreed and explained that an eviction will not be ordered until a landlord applies to the LTB and justifies his reasons.

Tenants also received N-11 forms which have been described as a cash-for-keys deal, enticing them to move out by the end of March in return for a $5,000 payout, which ends their tenancy.

Tenants who have already signed an N-11 and are now having concerns can contact Glowka to talk about how they can fight an eviction.

"There might be reasonable grounds for cancelling it," he said.

In a recent public letter, Kayla Andrade, founder of Ontario Landlords Watch, explained that there are protections for tenants.

"The Residential Tenancies Act already provides strong protections, including: 120 days notice for N-13s, a full LTB hearing, mandatory compensation or alternate accommodation, a high evidentiary burden on landlords, the right to return at the same rent, and the right to file a bad faith application for up to two years,” Andrade said. “There are also serious penalties for abuse - up to 100,000 for individuals and 500,000 for corporations."

Meanwhile, work has already begun and five units have been renovated and are vacant, leaving tenants to wonder why they are being asked to vacate. It is up to each individual tenant to learn what their rights are and how to ensure that they have the best possible outcome.

Glowka is willing to consult with tenants in person or by phone and can be reached at 519-854-2463.