Eviction

There are some rules about eviction that apply only to care home tenants.

How can a landlord evict a tenant?

A landlord can evict you for certain reasons, whether you live in a care home or any other type of housing. These reasons include:

not paying your rent
often paying your rent late
doing illegal acts in the building or on the building property
having so many people living in your room or apartment that it breaks a health, safety, or housing standard
seriously disturbing your landlord or other tenants
risking other people's safety
damaging your room or apartment, or another part of the building

Another reason that applies to all tenants is that the landlord wants to demolish, convert, or do major repairs or renovations to the building. But if you live in a care home and your landlord wants to do this, your landlord must first try to find another suitable place for you to live.

What reasons apply just to care home tenants?

If you are a care home tenant, you can also be evicted if:

your tenancy agreement says you will only stay for a certain length of time and that time is up, or
the care home is no longer suitable for your care needs.

What if my tenancy agreement has ended?

Your landlord can try to evict you because your tenancy agreement has ended only if both of the following are true:

the only reason you live in your care home is to get rehabilitative or therapeutic services that you and your landlord agreed on when you moved in, and
your landlord does not allow any tenants who live in the care home for that reason to stay for more than 4 years.

If you rent by the month or by any longer period, your landlord must give you at least 60 days’ written notice. If you pay by the week or day, your landlord must give you at least 28 days’ written notice.

The notice should be on a form called Notice to End your Tenancy at the End of the Term (Form N8).

And the termination date in the notice, which is the day your landlord wants you to move out, must be the last day of a rental period. For example, if you pay rent on the first day of the month, the termination date must be the last day of the month. If you have a year-long lease, it must be the last day of your lease.

If you do not move out, your landlord can evict you only by applying to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for an eviction order. You have the right to dispute this application and to have a hearing before the LTB.

How can I be evicted based on my care needs?

As a care home tenant, you can be evicted if you no longer need the care your landlord gives you, or if you need more care than your landlord can give you. This is sometimes called “transferring out” but it is really an eviction.

What happens if my landlord says I need more care than the care home can give me?

If your landlord says this, you can be evicted only if your landlord can prove to the LTB both of the following:

that your landlord’s care services cannot meet your needs, even when combined with other services available in your community, and
that there is “appropriate alternative accommodation” available for you.

Why are other community services important?

There may be other people or organizations in your community who can give you the care services you need, while you continue living where you are. If there are, your landlord cannot have you evicted just because your landlord cannot meet your care needs.

You can find out about community services by calling your Home and Community Care Support Services (HCCSS). You can find contact information for your HCCSS by calling 310-2222 (you don’t need an area code) or visiting healthcareathome.ca.

Some of these services are free or cost very little. They include occupational therapy, physiotherapy, social work services, nursing, nutrition counselling, and personal care services.

Your landlord usually cannot refuse to let the community service providers into your home. But the government could order them to close the care home to outsiders because of an emergency situation, like the COVID-19 pandemic.

When is other accommodation "appropriate"?

The LTB must decide if a place suggested by your landlord will suit your needs better than your current home. You can argue that a place is not appropriate for you if:

it is too expensive,
it is too far away from your family or friends,
it is not physically accessible to you,
it cannot meet your care needs, or
there is some other reason why you do not want to live there.

When is other accommodation "available"?

Your landlord might say that you need to be in a long-term care home, such as a nursing home. But there might not be a space for you there.

All of the following 3 things must happen before a space is considered to be “available” for you at a long?term care home:

you have applied to be admitted to a long-term care home,
at HCCSS has decided you are eligible, and
one of the homes you chose has offered you a bed that is available right away.

Instead of a long?term care home, your landlord might think there are care homes that are more appropriate to meet your care needs. Again, any care home your landlord suggests is not considered “available” to you unless you have applied and been accepted there. Your landlord cannot have you evicted unless you can move into the new place on the same day that you move out of where you live now.

What is the process for eviction?

If your landlord makes an application to the LTB to have you evicted, the LTB will send you a copy of the Application and a Notice of Hearing. The Notice of Hearing tells you the date, time, and place of your hearing with the LTB. Hearings are held by video conference unless you ask for a different format, like an in-person hearing, and the LTB agrees to your request.

The LTB must send you these papers a certain number of days before the hearing. The number of days can be from 5 to 30, depending on the landlord’s reason for trying to evict you.

For more information about the eviction process, see CLEO’s resource called Fighting an eviction.

CLEO’s Steps to Justice has practical tools like forms and checklists, and referral information for legal and social services. Visit stepstojustice.ca and see the information about moving out in the “Housing Law” section.

The eviction process for care home tenants is the same as for other tenants, unless your landlord is trying to evict you because of your care needs. The differences are explained in the next section.

What is the process if my landlord wants to evict me because of my care needs?

If your landlord wants to evict you because of your care needs, there are some differences from the regular eviction process.

In this type of eviction, your landlord does not have to give you a Notice to End your Tenancy, but can just apply to the LTB right away. The LTB still has to give you a copy of the Application and Notice of Hearing at least 30 days before the hearing date.

Unless you make an agreement in mediation, the LTB must hold a hearing. The hearing happens even if you did not ask for one or if you do not go to the hearing.

The LTB must offer mediation to you and your landlord if the LTB finds out that you do not want to move. The LTB will find this out if you write to the LTB saying you do not want to move. The law is not clear about what other ways the LTB can find this out. For example, it is probably good enough to go to the hearing and say that you do not want to move. But it might not be good enough to tell this to someone in the LTB office before the hearing.

If your landlord does not take part in mediation, the LTB can refuse your landlord’s application.

You do not have to go to mediation. You can just go to the hearing instead. If you do go to mediation, the mediator cannot force you to agree to anything.

Try to get legal advice before you go to mediation and before you go to a hearing.

You can bring a lawyer or paralegal with you to mediation or a hearing. Or you can bring someone else who can give you advice and support.

For more information about mediation, see CLEO’s resource called Fighting an eviction.

What if my landlord threatens to evict me?

You cannot be evicted for any reason unless your landlord applies to the LTB. If you do not receive an Application and a Notice of Hearing, there is a chance your landlord is only threatening you.

It is against the law for your landlord to harass or threaten you. It is also against the law for your landlord to refuse to give you care services or meals or prevent someone else from giving them to you. If you believe your landlord is threatening or harassing you, you can make an application to the LTB. But try to get legal help to do this.

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