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The Legal Implications of Selling a Tenanted Property (Part Two)
Taimoor Qureshi
August 4, 2022
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In one of our recent blogs, we had outlined some issues to consider prior to selling your property if the property is occupied by a tenant (https://www.kormans.ca/legal-implications-of-selling-a-property-that-is-currently-occupied-by-a-tenant-part-one/)
In this blog post, we will provide further insight on some of the situations landlords find themselves in when they have entered into a firm Agreement of Purchase and Sale (the “APS”) to sell their property with vacant possession but their tenant refuses to vacate.
As a landlord you could have followed all the legal procedures perfectly. Issued adequate notice using the correct forms and in a timely manner. However, despite all of this, if your tenant still refuses to vacate, the one thing you absolutely SHOULD NOT DO UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES is use physical force to evict them from the premises.
So, barring this, you may ask, ‘What options do I have as landlord in this case?’
The legal recourse is to seek an eviction order via a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board (the “LTB”). However, as the LTB is backed up with so many cases at this point, getting a hearing could take months. If a real estate transaction is pending on you providing vacant possession to a purchaser, the luxury of time may not be available to you.
A more practical options that some individuals opt for is to reach a ‘cash for keys’ solution with their tenant. You may offer your tenant cash incentives to provide vacant possession or offer to cover their rent payments for certain number of months at their next place of residence should they decide to vacate your property in time for your real estate transaction to close.
Of course, any such agreements reached with a tenant should be put in writing and conditional on certain timelines being met.
Please feel free to contact one of our lawyers should you have questions about this topic.
Taimoor’s practice areas include Commercial law; Commercial Leasing; Corporate law; Mortgages; Residential Real Estate; and Wills and Estates.Taimoor was called to the Bar of Ontario and joined Kormans LLP in January 2019.Prior to joining Kormans LLP, Taimoor articled and clerked for boutique law firms where his exposure to residential and commercial matters from beginning to end helped develop his knowledge and skills in the aforementioned areas of la.
Taimoor is a strong believer in efficient client communication and does his best to keep clients as up to date as possible along all steps of a transaction.In his spare time, Taimoor is an avid follower of all major sports and enjoying the outdoors during the summer months.
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