Toronto landlord says she is working four jobs after tenants refuse to pay rent

A Toronto woman says she is owed thousands of dollars from tenants who have not paid rent for several months and that she is working day and night to cover costs.

The woman, who asked blogTO to use the name Lori, says she bought a home in North York in May 2021 but that soon after she bought it, she got transferred to work in Stouffville.

She decided to rent out the home to a young family who moved in a few days before Aug. 1. They had a new baby, so Lori says she didn't charge them to move in early.

Then the family told her they couldn't pay rent because a family member had died in another country and that they had to pay funeral costs. She gave them a 14-day extension.

But since Sept. 1, the tenants haven't paid any rent and now owe about $14,000. When Lori goes to the home to ask for rent, they argue that it is their home and call the police.

The family has posted photos on TikTok and Instagram of new purchases such as cell phones and shots from family trips, she says.

Lori has meanwhile taken four jobs — working in an office, teaching on weekends and at night school, in addition to a fulltime teaching job — to cover the mortgage payments.

"These are all the side jobs that I have to do just to maintain their survival," she tells blogTO.

She says the family has done this at least two times before, and that they were ordered to pay more than $5,000 in rent in one case. 

For Lori, the case has been delayed.

"I haven't even been able to present my case, because I know for a fact they would have gotten the boot a long time ago. And that's the frustrating part," she says.

She wants to sell the home but is now stuck paying bills. She knows that other landlords have dealt with this — and, in fact, some small landlords have horror stories to tell.

"It's just not right, that these people can get away with it," she says.