Understanding Informal Evictions in Toronto

Research Report

Explore our research findings on informal evictions in Toronto and their impact on tenants, and our recommendations to the City of Toronto to better protect tenants, improve their living conditions and increase affordable rental housing options.

Evictions are a serious issue in Toronto, where nearly half of the population rents their homes. As rent prices in the private market continue to rise, more renters struggle to make rent payments, increasing their risk of eviction if they fall behind on paying the rent.

Informal eviction refers to situations where tenants are forced out of their homes without going through the full legal eviction process. When evictions happen outside the formal legal process, they are not tracked by authorities, and this has contributed to a lack of documentation and understanding of these situations.

To help fill this knowledge gap, the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) surveyed 178 current and former residents of Toronto in early 2023, to gather information about their moving history within the previous 12-month period. CCHR also conducted 19 interviews with housing service providers, tenant advocates, and housing lawyers and paralegals to discuss their experiences with informal evictions in Toronto.

Our report Understanding Informal Evictions in Toronto presents the findings from our research and our recommendations to the City of Toronto.

Findings:

What we heard from tenants:

• The most common reason for eviction was when landlords wanted to take back rental units for their own use or for the use of their immediate family members.
• Renovations, demolitions, or conversion of properties for non-residential use were the second most common reasons given for eviction.
• Harassment from landlords or other tenants, rent increases, maintenance issues, accumulated rental arrears, and being forced to end a sublease agreement were other reasons causing renters to move.
• Certain groups reported having more issues with landlords. This includes men, people who identify as white/European, individuals with disabilities, and members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community.
• Younger people were more likely to have moved, experienced landlord-initiated moves, or been forced to move. Similar patterns were seen among newcomers, though the survey did not specifically ask about citizenship.
• Those who were forced to move because they had issues with landlords were more likely to move to neighbourhoods with fewer children, more newcomers, and larger visible minority populations.
• Some tenants were forced to move because of unbearable living conditions caused by landlords, rather than through direct informal evictions. Landlords might treat tenants poorly, like ignoring repairs or acting disrespectfully, to push them to leave without putting up a fight.

What we heard from housing services caseworkers, lawyers, and advocates:

• Many evictions occur before landlords officially file eviction applications with the LTB. Landlords can give tenants eviction notices before filing with the LTB, and tenants often move out involuntarily because they do not know their legal rights or are not aware of the housing services that are available that could help them stay in their home.
• Many tenants do not fully understand the eviction process and feel that they have no choice but to leave when they receive an eviction notice. Language barriers can also lead to confusion about what the notices mean.
• N12 notices (for landlord’s own use) are the most common eviction notices given to tenants. These are often given to long-term tenants who pay much lower rents due to rent control, and landlords sometimes try to raise the rent before issuing an N12 notice. Other frequently used eviction notices include N13 (for the demolition, repair, or conversion of the unit), N4 (for non-payment of rent), N5 (for interfering with others, damage or overcrowding), N6 (for illegal acts), and N7 (for causing serious problems in the rental unit or building) notices.
• Unresolved maintenance problems can also cause tenants to move. Interviewees mentioned cases where tenants were forced to move because their landlords repeatedly ignored serious maintenance and repair issues in their units. Due to a backlog at the LTB, tenants in these situations often have few options and must endure unsafe living conditions while waiting for a hearing.
• Low-income tenant households, especially those on a fixed income, are at the highest risk of experiencing an eviction.
• Tenants facing eviction often also need other types of support and services, including financial planning, disability-related support, mental health services, and settlement services.

Policy recommendations

Based on the study’s findings, the following policy recommendations for the City of Toronto aim to protect tenants from informal evictions, improve living conditions in the city, and increase affordable housing options.

Acknowledgements

This report was researched and authored by Jon Paul Mathias, Researcher at the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the interviewees and survey respondents who generously shared their experiences, insights, and time. Their contributions were invaluable to the development of this report and have enriched our understanding of housing issues impacting communities across Canada.

This study has been generously funded by the City of Toronto’s Toronto Tenant Support Program.