The Ford government is putting another $1.4 million into the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) in a bid to fix the swamped tribunal.
The Ministry of the Attorney General said the new funding will let the board hire 35 new staff to help with scheduling — as well as a "centre of excellence for client engagement" to help people with cases before the tribunal.
The LTB is the only legal avenue to evict tenants or resolve a landlord-tenant dispute. Since the pandemic, normal timelines of a few weeks have shot up to nearly a year. The LTB was shut down between March and July 2020 and then switched to a fully online system, which tenant advocates and lawyers say wreaked havoc on the tribunal.
READ MORE: <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2022/10/14/the-online-tribunal-experiment-has-failed-community-lawyers-say/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The online tribunal experiment has failed, community lawyers say</a>
The news release boasted of the government's decision to switch the LTB to a "new digital case management system, an end-to-end solution that includes online dispute resolution and features to help with mediation."
Earlier this year, the government announced an extra $4.5 million for the LTB over three years. It said that funding was specifically for more adjudicators.
This year the LTB had 87 full-time and part-time adjudicators, the highest number of adjudicators ever, the government noted.
"We’re investing millions of dollars to increase the number of adjudicators and staff at the Landlord and Tenant Board, so the board can work to alleviate its case load, which was impacted by COVID-related delays," Attorney General Doug Downey said. "Residents and rental housing providers will get faster results, shorter wait times and a better overall experience when they need to engage the board."
Landlords have <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2021/06/16/small-landlords-threaten-class-action-against-ontario-government-over-lack-of-covid-supports/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called for the government to fix the LTB</a> to speed up evictions. Some have discussed <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2022/11/10/ontario-landlords-discuss-illegal-eviction-strategies-to-evade-tribunal-delays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">taking matters into their own hands</a>.
The CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario, a landlord group that has lobbied the government <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2022/11/18/whos-lobbying-for-whom-458/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">quite</a> <a href="https://www.qpbriefing.com/2022/11/04/whos-lobbying-for-whom-456/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a bit</a> recently, said he was pleased with the new cash.
"These important investments will help ensure that both residents and rental housing providers receive timely decisions and support the accessibility of quality rental housing in Ontario," Tony Irwin said in the government release.
Sean Weir, the executive chair of Tribunals Ontario, which oversees the LTB, also welcomed the funding.
"These additional resources will provide welcome assistance in addressing the backlog of cases and challenges that resulted from COVID-related delays," he said in the release.

Ontario funding 35 more Landlord and Tenant Board staff to clear up delays

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