View this email in your browser Motion to restore in-person hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board Yesterday, two City of Toronto councillors made a motion to restore in-person hearings at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) as the default. Since the LTB moved hearings online in 2020, the hearings have been chaotic and dysfunctional. This has had a detrimental impact on access to justice for renters and has made the housing crisis in Ontario far worse. In some cases, tenants are being illegally locked out and waiting months to have their hearing. An influx of funding and hiring more adjudicators has not resolved these issues. All parties agree that the LTB is fundamentally broken. The LTB must restore in-person hearings in order to resolve the dysfunction and provide better outcomes for everyone. We are asking residents who have had difficult experiences with the LTB (whether that be through using the portal or attending a hearing over Zoom) to submit their comments by email so that they can be included in the motion. The website to submit comments via email can be located here. READ THE MOTION Understanding privacy law in Ontario ACTO staff lawyer Karen Andrews was featured in a segment by CityNews that covers privacy rights under Ontario law. All renters are afforded a high degree of privacy under the law, but there are some legislative grey areas that can be open to interpretation. Some actions by landlords may considered “interference” and beyond the limits of what a “reasonable” person would do. LEARN MORE What’s the deal with cash-for-keys? There’s been a bit of buzz in the news lately around “cash-for-keys.” Cash-for-keys is nothing new. Typically, it’s a deal where landlords offer their tenants a lump sum of money in order to get them to willingly vacate the unit. Should renters accept these kinds of deals? It  depends on a number of factors. Landlords typically only offer them because they know convincing a tenant to leave their home is lucrative for the landlord in the long run (either by renting the unit to someone new for double the price, or, selling the property). It may not always be in the best interest of tenants to accept them. We delve into the issue in our latest blog post. READ THE BLOG Read our provincial pre-budget submission It’s that time of year! ACTO has put together a pre-budget submission for the provincial government on housing. The submission covers a number of policy priorities and recommendations to take action on the affordable housing crisis. It’s not too late for the province to take the necessary steps to make a difference. Renters deserve to have their concerns reflected in budgets and legislation. READ THE SUBMISSION Copyright (C) 2024 Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. All rights reserved.