Assignment 1 for tribunals PDF

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Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

Assignment 1 Landlord and Tenant Board Attendance and Report

Name: Sasha Hargobind Instructor: Riina De Faria Course: LAWS15666 Date: June 12, 2018

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

Introduction On May 24, 2018 I attended the Landlord and Tenant Board office. The address of this Board office is 3 Robert Speck Parkway, Mississauga, Ontario L4Z 2G5. The Board office was located off of Hurontario Street. I drove to the Landlord and Tenant Board office and it was quite difficult to locate the building. I ended up parking at 1 Robert Speck Parkway and walking over to 3 Robert Speck Parkway. If I was a tenant without a car, I would have probably been able to reach easily because there was a bus stop on Hurontario Street and Robert Speck Parkway; all you had to do was walk for two minutes. As I walking into 3 Robert Speck Parkway I started to feel overwhelmed because I did not see any signs in sight to let me know where the Landlord and Tenant Board offices were located. Luckily for me I was able to speak with the receptionist at the concierge desk of the building and he was able to tell me where to go. He was very friendly and he was able to tell me that the hearings usually start at 9:15am, that to make it upstairs to the fifth floor quickly and head to suite 520. At this point I was very nervous and intimidated at this building because I had never been here before, I was running late and I had no idea where to go or even whom to speak with about the Landlord and Tenant Board. As I was in the elevator, I spoke with a lady who was heading towards the fifth floor. She told me that she has been here before and that the Board office will be straight down towards my right as soon as I get off the elevators. So I followed her directions and proceeded to the receptionist area of the Board office. At this point I was very confused because there were signs that stated that this was a Social Justice Tribunal of Ontario Office. I then spoke with the receptionist and she was very rude to me. I was a student just looking for a hearing room that was dealing with Landlord and Tenant matters, and she treated me like I was

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

an annoying tenant looking to sue my landlord which I found very unprofessional of her. Once I noticed her attitude and that she was really rude to me I just walked out of the receptionist area and wandered on the floor. I ended up finding the mediation rooms with a list by the door and I also found the duty counsel office with a few names on them. I assume that it was the waiting list to speak with a duty counsel. I finally seen a security guard and he was able to direct me to hearing room one and told me the hearing will start at 9:30am. I then asked him questions about the duty counsel office and the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing rooms; he was able to give me all the information I needed. The security guard told me that the duty counsel office was provided by the Legal Aid office and they offer free legal advice to tenants and to landlords which I was very impressed by. My final impression of the Board office is that it is not userfriendly; it is more business-like and intimidating. I only started to feel comfortable once I spoke with the security officer. The security officers of that floor were very friendly, helpful, understanding and very knowledgeable. I believe the security officers are much more helpful compare to the staff at the Board Office. Lawyers and Paralegals When I was at the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing, I was able to see legal representatives present at the Board hearing. From what I observe at the hearings, the legal representatives represented landlords and tenants. I was able to ask the Board officer if it was common to see legal representatives present at the Board, she said it is a 50% chance that you might see one and a 50% chance that you may not see one. So it is safe to say that there is a pretty even split in terms of representation. The legal representative I was able to see was a lawyer representing for the landlord. However, this case got dismissed since the tenants did not appear to the hearing.

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

I did not see any paralegals or lawyers who were present appeared in more than one matter. Luckily for me, as I went to hearing room two, I was able to observe a legal representative represent the tenant; the tenant was also present at the hearing. It was easy to tell who legal representatives were and who were landlords/ tenants. Firstly, legal representatives were formally dressed and were more fashion forward. On the other hand, landlords and tenants were more informally dressed and more fashionably outdated. I was able to see a legal representative represent a tenant in hearing room two. I was very impressed by how he explained himself to the Board Officer what he was doing and what he was going to do. For example, he came prepared with an affidavit of documents which had various pictures, expert reports, police reports, and screen shots of text messages. He was able to articulate his questions to the tenant according to the evidence he had with him. This way the tenant was able to say her side of the story based on the documents and pictures she provided to her legal representative. This is a technique I will definitely use for future court hearings and examinations. I was unable to see a duty counsel present at the hearings when I attended the Social Justice Tribunal of Ontario. When I spoke with the Board staff, he was able to tell me that most of the time they are usually giving legal advice and that landlords and tenants do not ask the duty counsel to represent them. The hearing room and the parties The matters were typed out and listed which was tape to the door of the hearing room. For hearing room one there were three matters listed and for hearing room two there were seven matters listed. Since I was able to sit in two different hearing rooms I will be discussing them as hearing room one and hearing room two. First, hearing room one was a really big room, with lots

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

of windows. There were more than enough chairs for everyone from what I observed. The room was noisy because the Board officer was not present yet, but as soon as the Board Officer came in the room it was very quiet and not crowded. The matter proceeded in an orderly fashion and the Board Officer tried her best to stick to the schedule. Hearing room two was a smaller room that was crowded with people, but there were still enough chairs for everybody. The matters in this room proceeded in an orderly fashion, but during one of the matters the tenants did not have their documents organized properly so the Board officer told the people in that matter to come back at a specific time. As for the landlords and tenants themselves, I observed that the tenants were prepared compare to the landlords. The tenants stayed on topic with their issues that were listed in their application, whereas the landlords were trying to bring up issues of their own which is unacceptable. The Board Officer stated that once a complainant has filed an application to the Landlord and Tenants Board, the opposing party gets a copy of the issues that were listed in the application. The landlords and tenants seem like they attempted to dress formally for court, but they kept it casual. For example, I had seen a few people with a dress shirt and jeans or a blouse with black leggings. In all of the hearings I have observe this day , I have noticed that the landlords and tenants do understand what was going on, but when the Board Officer was asking specific detailed questions, the landlords and tenants do not answer the questions and end up going off topic. I have also noticed when the Board Officer was listening to the tenants side of the story, the landlords would just hold or shake their head or state what they were saying was a lie. The tenants were very polite, respectful and cooperative towards the Board Officer. In one matter, you were able to notice when the landlord was getting angry and frustrated as the tenants were telling their side of the story to the point where the landlord was just denying everything.

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

The Board Officer I was able to listen to two Board Officers on this day, which I will be referring to as Board Officer A and Board Officer B. Board Officer A was very patient, friendly and fair. She started her matter with the side that filed the application, and ask for their side of the story AND to specifically relate them to dates. I found this method to be useful and efficient because if there were numerous issues at least she was able to refer to them using dates. For Board Officer B she started with the tenants’ party without giving any reason why. Board Officer B was impatient and bias; I observe this by when she was listening to the tenant’s side of the story, she had more sympathy for the tenant. When you are the designated person who listens to both parties, makes orders and needs to come up with a verdict you cannot have tunnel vision. Based on what I have observed from Board Officer A and B I would feel comfortable appearing before the officers. I feel very confident because these Board Officers expect evidence that relate to the application that has been filed. In addition, to stay on topic with the list of problems that was mention in the application. I have noticed that the Board Officers get annoyed very easily once you start going off topic. I feel with using these skills and technique I am capable of getting a fair result. Board matters I was able to listen to two matters fully and one matter got dismissed based on the grounds that the tenants never showed up for the hearing. The first matter I observed was a tenant application. This matter filed on the grounds of non-repair and harassment; this matter did not have any motions set aside. Moreover, the tenants were asking for money used to spend on mould repairs, washroom repairs, moving expenses and the security deposit that was given. This matter took a very long time, approximately two hours. This hearing was not formal, but

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

nevertheless the matter was dealt with summarily. In this matter, hearsay evidence was not allowed unless it was supported with evidence such as an email or a screenshot of a text message. Once the Board officer for this matter heard both sides and accepted proper evidence that supported both parties’ statements, she told the tenants and the landlord that she will give her final verdict in thirty days. The second matter I heard was filed on the grounds of illegal entry, non-repair, and harassment. Unfortunately, in this matter I was not able to see any motions. This hearing took a long time, and it was not a formal hearing. Hearsay evidence was allowed but it had to be supported with text messages, screenshots and/or emails. The tenant was asking for $25,000 because she was deprived of heat during the cold winters, illegal entry to her apartment, mild carbon monoxide poisoning and the physical harassment the landlords had done to the tenant. This matter was done summarily and the tenants and landlord was told that they will have a verdict in thirty days. Individual Reflection The Landlord and Tenant Board is a very useful resource for access to justice, especially for those individuals whom are immigrants and are in the lower income class looking for a place to call home. I think that the process is straightforward and simple to follow as long as the tenants and the landlords avoid bringing up unnecessary details. The Board officers are only in jurisdiction to discuss the issues that were listed on the application that was filed. Therefore, it is understandable that this perspective of access to justice does not need to be improved on. However, one aspect of access to justice that needs to be improved on is time limit. I noticed that the Board officers kept running out of time and I understand this can be a hassle, especially if you have other matters on the same day. A suggestion I would think that would be helpful is to provide the tenants and landlords with an information sheet of what to expect at their hearing and

Assignment #1 LTB Observation Report By: Sasha Hargobind

emphasize on the time limit as well as that there will be a penalty if they bring up anything that is not related to the application. I was really impressed that the Landlord and Tenant Board has a help line phone number for tenants and landlords if they have any questions in regards to their rights and proper procedures to go about their situation. A role I can play with expanding upon access to justice is to ensure that there is a contract between the tenants and paralegals. With a contract it creates a foundation and goes over the boundaries and privacy space. My overall impression of the Board is that they are there to help out people with their basic needs such as their home. A home is a personal space and if a landlord is renting out the space to you it is understandable that you need to set concrete boundaries and space. In addition, it is also very difficult to live with a complete stranger and to adjust to their living situation. I noticed that the Board officers have this mentality when they are coming up with a verdict. I think that the Board still needs to have a balance because even though the tenants have filed the application you cannot assume that the landlord is a terrible person based on one statement. The process of an administrative tribunal definitely differs from that of a court. The administrative tribunal is a less expensive and less formal process; this process is very effective because it gives people access to justice quicker....