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Telephone Hearings

The Landlord and Tenant Board began a pilot project in target regions of Southwest Ontario and Northern Ontario that replaced in-person hearings with hearings conducted over the phone for all landlord and tenant matters. Tenants began losing their homes by phone. The hearings also involved increased costs to tenants, for such things as copying and mailing documents in advance to both the Board and the landlord as well as telephone costs. These costs, as well as access to a phone, were a serious concern for low-income tenants

Together with community legal clinics across the province, ACTO opposed mandatory telephone hearings because they compromised:

tenants ability to access their rights under the Residential Tenancies Act
the right to a fair and equitable hearing
the right to hear and see all evidence from both sides and to have the chance to make a submission on that evidence.

In addition, Community Legal Clinics that provide d duty counsel services at the Landlord and Tenant Board to self-represented tenants , including assistance with document organization, summary legal advice, negotiating with landlords and assisting with mediation to find good resolutions for all parties involved, found it virtually impossible to assist tenants over the phone.

While in some instances telephone hearings can be a useful way to deal with matters for tenants and landlords in remote areas when requested by both parties , they should not be used as a matter of routine. The pilot project s was halted, but ACTO will continue to oppose any attempt to introduce mandatory telephone hearings.