WARNING: This story may affect those who’ve experienced gender-based violence or know someone impacted by it.
For a couple of months, single mom Chantelle Edgar was afraid she’d be kicked out of her London, Ont., apartment with her two-year-old daughter in tow, joining the tens of thousands of people in Ontario alone who are living on the streets.
Edgar’s story is not uncommon, particularly for women with violent partners who sometimes use housing as a way to further exert control, said Jessie Rodger, executive director of Anova, which helps people facing gender-based violence in London.
But on Thursday, Edgar got a reprieve — an adjudicator with Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) ruled against her landlord and agreed that living in her apartment for the past four years qualified her as a tenant. Even though Edgar’s name isn’t on the lease, the adjudicator said she could stay in the apartment and pay rent.
“More and more often, we’re seeing controlling the housing situation as another way to abuse and to cause harm to someone, whether they’re going to throw you out or change the locks or keep you off the lease,” Rodger said.
Finding somewhere for a woman to go that is safe, accessible and affordable is challenging, they added.
“We used to be really focused on gender-based violence, and helping women unpack what’s happened to them and how to help them navigate living a life free of violence, and now we spend the bulk of our time trying to find people safe places to live.”
‘I don’t want to be in a tent’
Edgar had been living in the two-bedroom apartment in south-end London for four years with her boyfriend at the time.
Her ex — who’s now in jail for assaulting her — as well as his father, sister and an ex-girlfriend signed the lease nine years ago, according to evidence presented at an LTB hearing this week.
After he was arrested in September, his father applied to break the lease. The landlord then served Edgar with an eviction notice, arguing because she wasn’t on the lease, she wasn’t a tenant and had to be out by Dec. 31, 2024.
Edgar continued to pay rent, set at $1,050, but the landlord returned any money she sent. Edgar appealed the eviction and got in touch with Anova, which was full. She said officials with the shelter wrote a letter to the City of London confirming Edgar and her child needed to be put on the priority waiting list for social housing. Edgar continues to wait for housing.
“I pay the rent, the landlord sends it back. I pay the rent, he sends it back. I’m just trying to keep a roof over our heads,” Edgar told CBC News.
The landlord also refused to write a letter confirming she was a tenant, which made it difficult to find child care for her toddler and resulted in her cheque from Ontario Works getting clawed back because she didn’t have a formal address, Edgar said. The provincial program helps eligible people with living expenses such as rent and foods.
On Thursday afternoon, LTB adjudicator Elle Venhola ordered the landlord to start accepting Edgar’s rent and allow her to keep living there. Venhola told Edgar to give a copy of the ruling to Ontario Works so she can get proper monthly payments.
Edgar’s case is an example of how vulnerable tenants can be especially impacted amid a housing crisis.
“Someone not being on the lease, that’s something we definitely see landlords use against tenants,” said Kristina Pagniello, executive director of Neighbourhood Legal Services of London and Middlesex.
“With the shortage in housing stock and with how valuable these properties have become for landlords, if they can get someone out, then they can set a whole new rent for the next person. That’s the reality of not having true rent control.”
An apartment that rented for $900 a month four or five years ago now goes for $2,000, Pagniello said.
“Once a unit is vacant for even one day, a whole new rent can be set, and that’s how we’re losing affordable housing stock. There’s nowhere for people to go that they can afford,” she added.
Rental prices have started to level off and more housing is being built, but that hasn’t yet trickled down to low-income tenants who are facing homelessness now, Rodger and Pagniello say.
“It’s not happening quick enough for the demand that we see,” Rodger said.
‘The law isn’t black and white’
Edgar represented herself at this week’s LTB hearing and was lucky to get an understanding adjudicator, Pagniello said.
“We see at tribunals, the outcome depends on the adjudicator you get, so sometimes you get someone who is more sympathetic to the landlord or to the tenant. The law isn’t black and white.”
For Edgar, the ruling is a big relief.
“I’m just trying my best as a mother. I just want to keep me and my kid safe,” said Edgar, who continues holding hope she’ll get a unit in social housing.
A paralegal for the landlord declined to comment about the case.
For anyone who has been assaulted, support is available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database.
