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Barbara Hurd of the Federation of Metro Tenants Associations (FMTA) says that while every living situation is different, roommate trouble involves unique challenges depending on whose name is on the lease or if you have a lease at all.
“It’s very sticky,” she admits.
But here are some basic things you should know and do.
Make sure you always get things (like receipts) in writing from your landlord or the “major tenant” of the household (if, for example, a multi-person household pools money in one person’s account to pay the rent ).
Get your landlord’s full name, full address and phone number.
Don’t pay your rent in cash.
If you get any sort of official notice from your landlord, a lawyer or the sheriff’s office, act on it immediately. Time frames for evictions/appeals are very short.
The length of time it takes to evict a tenant will depend on the reason claimed in the notice of eviction but can be anywhere from seven days to several weeks.
If you have any questions, you can contact your local legal aid clinic or call the FMTA hotline at 921-9494, or check out the Tenant Protection (not) Act at http://www.ont.gov.on.ca.
