A Toronto landlord recently left a handwritten note to their tenant begging them to pay their rent after months of failing to do so. 

Sameer Singhania, who lives in an apartment building in South Riverdale, told blogTO that he noticed the letter attached to his neighbour's door, who allegedly moved in last September. 

"You are $9000 behind in rent now," the letter reads. "The landlord cannot afford to pay the mortgages, taxes, maintenance, etc. without your rent." 

The letter from the landlord to the tenant. Credit: Sameer Singhania

"The landlord is on the verge of bankruptcy. Please do the right thing by paying your rent or moving out. I am not an evil landlord," the letter continues. "I'm just trying to make my ends meet. Let's work together to find a solution." 

Singhania told blogTO that after speaking to his neighbour, he suspects them to be someone "who rents out units and then plays the system." 

"It sounded to me like he wants to live there rent-free and knows how to do it legally as there is a long backlog at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) tribunal," he explained. 

"He seemed almost confident and cocky that he cannot be evicted without the court order which can [take] up to a year apparently these days," Singhania said. "He did not look scared." 

Last year, a member of the Small Ownership Landlords of Ontario (SOLO), Varun Sriskanda, told blogTO that many small landlords can't afford to pay mortgage, property taxes, and utilities due to unpaid rent. 

According to Sriskanda, most of these disputes are resolved by way of eviction at the LTB for non-payment of rent, but with endless backlogs and long wait times, this means financial ruin for many small landlords who have to survive without rent.