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Evictions from Co-op Housing

Non-profit housing co-operatives (co-ops) have many similarities to other forms of social housing. But because they value collective decision-making by the people that live there, they chose not to be included in the Residential Tenancies Act so they would not be subject to Orders of the Landlord and Tenant Board (the LTB). So, when co-op residents do not pay their rent or behave in anti-social ways, the co-op must apply to the Superior Court for an eviction order. This process has become very expensive and unpredictable in recent years.

To make the process better for the co-ops and for residents that may be facing eviction, the co-ops decided that they would ask the Government of Ontario to allow them to apply to the LTB for eviction orders. The government issued a paper responding to this request for discussion among co-ops and the public. The paper proposed moving some co-op evictions from the Court to the LTB. The co-op could only apply to the LTB after the resident had a chance to attend a meeting with the co-op Board of Directors to discuss the problems that may lead to eviction. The LTB would hear the case based on the same rules that apply to landlords and tenants.

ACTO participated in this consultation. While we supported the idea of moving these cases from the Court to the LTB, we had some concerns with the government’s proposal that we shared with the co-ops and the government. First, the co-ops would still be able to apply to the Court for evictions for reasons not included in the Residential Tenancies Act. We did not think this was necessary or that it was a good thing for co-op residents. Secondly, the proposal did not allow co-op residents to go to the Board to deal with problems of repair or harassment. Tenants now have this right and it does not seem fair to exclude co-op residents from resolving their problems in this way. Finally, because there are many co-op residents who are receiving rent subsidies, we wanted the LTB to be able to resolve any disputes about what the correct rent is. The Residential Tenancies Act prevents the LTB from dealing with this question for anyone receiving a subsidy, whether in a co-op or a rental building.

Co-op housing is doing a lot to address the problem of lack of affordable housing and the powerlessness that many tenants feel in their housing. About 125,000 people in Ontario live in co-ops and many of the 550 co-ops provide excellent models of inclusive communities. The government appears to be moving ahead on these changes, be they must take care to ensure that the many vulnerable people who live in co-ops have the legal protection that they need.