SMALL LANDLORD, BIG PROBLEMS
MITIGATING YOUR LOSSES What to do when students walk out on their leases BY
DAVID LYMAN, DICKIE & LYMAN, LAWYERS LLP
A
s a small landlord in a university town, many of you are facing a similar problem. Here is an example of that common scenario: In February 2020, you rented your single-family property to four students for a one-year term running May 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021 for $2,400 per month. The students signed the Ontario standard lease, making it official. But then in March, everything changed and your new tenants told you in April that their in-person classes had been cancelled and therefore they would not be taking occupancy. You subsequently tried to rent the property, listing it on Kijiji and other listing services. You posted ads on and around campus, and then finally managed to rent it in November for one year beginning January 1, 2021. The rent was just $2,000 per month—$400 less than you’d originally planned.
You have sent repeated demands for your lost rent to the students and parents (who guaranteed the lease), but there is no hint that they plan to pay you anything. They say the pandemic was an Act of God, and the lease was frustrated.
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS AND WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Your solution is to sue the four students and the parents who guaranteed the lease. Your damages (the money you were entitled to but lost) are probably a little over $20,800. That is made up of the following: • eight months rent at $2,400 = $19,200 • four months x $400 = $ 1,600. You could also add the cost of the advertising you created to try to find new tenants. You can’t successfully claim the reduction in the rent after April 2021, since the lease could
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FAIR EXCHANGE | MARCH/APRIL 2021
