Tenant wants justice for being evicted during COVID-19 but says hearing delays are wearing her thin

Windsor resident Brenda Lelievre recalls the early months of the pandemic as when she was made homeless. 

On July 11 2020, Lelievre said she arrived home and found that her basement room was locked without warning. She said her landlords illegally evicted her, because there was a ban on evictions due to the pandemic. 

"I suffer from it to this day," she said of the experience. 

"I had to go live off a couch for a few weeks, before I could find accommodations." 

That eviction case has now been sitting before Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for months. 

Lelievre told CBC News that she feels like her eviction case is getting "lost in the shuffle" as the LTB juggles a backlog of cases. 

Across the province, some landlords and tenants have been vocal about the impact that Landlord and Tenant board hearing delays have been having on their livelihood and living situations. Lelievre is advocating for a more efficient process. 

Lelievre first filed a case against her landlords in October 2020, but said when it came time for the hearing, her former landlords didn't have a translator and she felt like she didn't fill out the application properly, so she closed the case.

Since re-filing in June 2021, she said it's been adjourned two times — once because her former landlords again didn't have a translator and the second time the LTB mediator was running late so Lelievre's paralegal had it adjourned. 

Now she's left waiting for a new date. 

"I cried. I called my friend and said, 'this is how it played out today, back to the waiting game.' There's not much you can do, it's being adjourned and they don't give you a specific date, you just wait for the email," Lelievre said. 

"I can't let it go, I lost too much." 

Stephen Heimann is the paralegal for Lelievre's former landlords. He told CBC News in an email that based on when he was retained, he's only aware of the latest adjournment of the case. 

WATCH: Lelievre talks about what the process has been like

Brenda Lelievre says she feels 'lost in the shuffle'

2 years ago

Duration 0:32

Lelievre claims she was evicted during the early months of COVID-19 and now she wants compensation for the belongings that were lost. But she's been waiting for more than a year for her hearing to be heard.

Lelievre's 73-page long application claims that her former landlords entered her unit, took some of her belongings and locked her out of the unit so that she couldn't get all of her possessions back during COVID-19. She told CBC News that she had many issues with her landlords and that she was behind one month's rent. But added that it didn't condone their actions.

She's now looking for compensation over what was lost. 

In an emailed statement, a spokesperson for the LTB said it "acknowledges that current processing times are longer than we wish them to be."

"Over the past two years, the LTB experienced significant challenges that have impacted its caseload, including the five-month moratorium on eviction hearings from March to August 2020 resulting in the loss of 25,000 hearing time slots," reads the statement. 

It said that applications are generally heard in the order they are filed in and that, on average, new and adjourned matters are scheduled within seven to eight months depending on the type of application.  

This month, the LTB announced that it would prioritize above guideline rent increase applications. But, it's also giving priority to previously adjourned applications, which means Lelievre's case could be moved up. 

Applicants can also submit a Request to Shorten Time form or "request to have an expedited hearing if they feel their application should be scheduled in priority," the LTB said. 

As for the translator challenges Lelievre faced, the LTB said it usually only provides that service for French or English, but added that it can arrange for an interpreter if the party meets certain criteria. 

'Long wait' adding extra stress to the process: paralegal

"We're not really getting a reason why it's backlogged, beyond that there was a brief moratorium during the height of the pandemic. But it's a long wait and it's an even longer wait when you don't know how long you have to wait until you get a date," said Justin Brodie Timms-Fryer, Lelievre's paralegal. 

He said delays are putting extra stress on clients. 

Douglas Kwan, director of advocacy and legal services at the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario, said the pandemic isn't the only factor playing into all of this. 

He said the LTB's switch to online hearings and certain scheduling changes are adding to the delay. 

While it's now taking seven to eight months for a matter to be heard, Kwan said in January 2020 it took seven to eight weeks. 

"The delays at the Landlord Tenant Board has been a cause for significant concern for both landlords and tenants," said Kwan.

"What we're seeing is sort of a wild west out there where parties are taking matters into their own hands, we are hearing stories about landlords posting on social media asking what are the penalties if I illegally evict my tenant, hearing stories about tenants withholding their rent and those actions are result of just the frustration of all the parties due to the delays."

Kwan suggested that the LTB bring back in-person or hybrid hearings, return to scheduling hearings by region and create a better case management system that connects with the applicants beforehand to make sure they have everything in order for their case to be heard. 

But for those like Lelievre who are waiting, the drawn out process is weighing on them. 

"Some of why I haven't given up is I don't think I should," Lelievre said.

"I want to stand by this, I do believe trust the process, but it wears you thin."