I have a friend who went to jail and then came back to her apartment (which she was still paying), but she was locked

Good Morning. I will be the Attorney assisting you today. Please note that this discussion is for guidance only and does not constitute an Attorney-Client Relationship.

Please feel free to ignore any phone service request unless you feel you would like to discuss directly with me as those are sent by the site automatically - otherwise I am happy to continue texting.

One moment while I review.

How long did she vacate apartment for?

where are you located?

Sorry I am in US I will opt out.

Hello - My name is ***** ***** I'm happy to assist you today. I am an Ontario lawyer who can answer tenancy law questions.

I am sorry to hear about your friend's situation. I am reviewing your question and will reply shortly.

Can you tell me whether your friend continued to pay rent while she was in jail ?

I will review the legal avenues she may have for this difficult situation and post back with my reply in approximately 35 minutes as I will be offline for the next half an hour.

Your patience is appreciated.

Thanks for your understanding !

Assuming that you and your friend's landlord did not get an eviction order and just changed the locks and go rid of her possessions, your friend can file a T2 Application about Tenants Rights with the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board. If she does not know how to complete the form or what remedies to ask for, she should contact the Brantford Community Legal Clinic for help since her case is complicated

Here is the link to the Clinic's website http://www.bhnlegalclinic.ca/contact-us/

In the T2, your friend has to indicate that her landlord changed her locks without giving her a replacement key. She has to explain the facts of what happened. She has ask the Board to order that the landlord compensate her for her belongings, as well as other expenses incurred for the unlawful eviction as well as order that she be allowed to move back in. However, if her unit has been re-rented or there are no vacancies in your building, the Board cannot order this. Your friend as one year to file the T2 from the date of the actual eviction.

The T2 can be efiled which I recommend and your friend should ask for an urgent hearing. The Board is currently holding hearings by telephone due to COVID 19 but normal processing should be resuming shortly.

Here is the link from the Board's website for the T2 Application and instructions on how to file

http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/documents/ltb/Tenant%20Applications%20&%20Instructions/T2.pdf

http://www.sjto.gov.on.ca/ltb/forms/

Your landlord cannot threaten you or other tenants to scare you into compliance and not helping your friend. A landlord also cannot evict a tenant or change the locks if a tenant is in jail for offenses that did not occur in the rental property as long as the tenant is paying rent.

Here is a link to a helpful fact sheet from the Advocacy Centre for Tenants in Ontario on what remedies to ask for on a T2 application. https://www.acto.ca/production/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/1-Tip-Sheet-My-Landlord-Evicted-Me-Without-Following-the-Law_ENG.pdf

Hope this answers your question.

You are very welcome !

It would be appreciated if you could submit a rating for my service because that is how I get credit for helping you.

A 5 star rating would be great if you were fully satisfied !

Take care