Canada Case Law

Carew (Estate of) v. Carew

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

The Estate is the recorded owner and qualifies as landlord under the OTA; the respondent occupies 23 Railroad Street without legal title or rent and is overholding; the Complaint under the OTA was proved and an Order for Possession was properly granted, subject to a reasonable vacate period and without extinguishing any separate probate or proprietary claims the respondent may bring.

Source excerpt

• Order for possession
• Overholding tenants act
• Estate administration
• Occupancy disputes
• Constructive trust
• Unjust enrichment

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Kumar v. Flores

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The statutory ten-day filing requirement in s.12A is mandatory and jurisdictional; failure to file within ten days bars the landlord from retaining the deposit and the Small Claims Court cannot adjudicate a damages claim that was not filed with the Director, therefore the Director's order returning the deposit is confirmed and the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Security deposit
• Statutory deadline
• Jurisdiction
• Appealability
• Claims procedure

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Bellefontaine v. Westphal Court Limited

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

A tenant of a manufactured home space is entitled to exclusive possession of a defined manufactured home space, but where a longstanding factual configuration (atypical door placement and unusable land) has resulted in historical shared use, the court will not order structural renovation of a neighbouring unit; instead the landlord must fulfill its obligation to specify and fix boundaries and to enforce good behaviour—here by specifying the Appellant's exclusive area, demarcating the boundary, and erecting a fence within 45 days to protect exclusive possession and quiet enjoyment.

Source excerpt

• Exclusive possession
• Quiet enjoyment
• Lease interpretation
• Enforcement of community guidelines
• Boundary demarcation
• Statutory conditions

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Munir v. Garg

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The STR bylaw was within the Town’s authority under the Municipal Act and was not inconsistent with the Residential Tenancies Act; the enforcement actions by the Town and Milton Fire Services did not infringe the appellant’s Charter ss.7 or 15; the application judge’s factual findings and exercise of discretion on costs were not erroneous; the appeal is dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Short‑term rental bylaw
• Ultra vires
• Statutory interpretation
• Charter s.7
• Charter s.15
• Residential tenancies act conflict

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Kalinin v. Arnold

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The court found the tenant was responsible for maintaining electrical service under the lease; the tenant allowed a two-month loss of power which interfered with the landlord's possession and posed safety and property risk, thereby breaching the statutory condition against interfering with possession under s 9(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act; accordingly the Director's termination order was upheld, with a limited modification to the vacate date.

Source excerpt

• Termination of tenancy
• Maintenance of utilities
• Interference with possession
• Lease interpretation
• Remedy - eviction

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Tan v. British Columbia (House Management Commission)

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Most tenancy-related claims were remitted to the RTB, while a defamation claim was severed and kept in BCSC. Several pleaded claims and requests for relief were struck or dismissed.

• Remittal to administrative tribunal
• Jurisdictional exceptions s.58(2)
• Quiet enjoyment
• Illegal entry/right of entry
• Severance of claims
• Striking pleadings

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Safeguard Property Management & Services Inc. v. Chambers

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The Director’s order was set aside and replaced: the tenants are entitled to a 35% rent abatement for the period November 2023 through March 2024 totaling $2,975, together with return of April 2024 rent ($1,700), security deposit ($800), application fee ($31.15) and environmental inspection cost ($747.50); the tenants’ later-advanced claim for $100,000 in medical damages was disallowed as procedurally inappropriate and unsubstantiated.

Source excerpt

• Rent abatement
• Habitability
• Mould remediation
• Compensation
• Procedural fairness

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Parsons v. Yablonskyi

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The Appellant failed to prove on a balance of probabilities that the Respondents caused the mold damage; absent expert evidence and given indications of pre-existing deficiencies and prior notice of mold, the claim for remediation costs fails, the damage deposit must be returned, and the Respondents are entitled to abatements for loss of use as awarded by the Director.

Source excerpt

• Mold damage
• Abatement
• Damage deposit
• Quiet enjoyment
• Causation
• Burden of proof

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Bou-Nassif v. Green

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

The appeal is allowed because the landlord established good faith need to occupy the property for family residence and, balancing the relevant factors (tenant produced no evidence of relocation efforts, limited community connections, landlord's long notice and non‑financial motive), it was appropriate to order vacant possession effective by noon December 31, 2024.

Source excerpt

• Landlord personal occupancy
• Good faith
• Vacant possession
• Renoviction (s.10ab)
• Appropriateness of order under s.10(8)(f)

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Dalton v. Young

Court

Nova Scotia Small Claims Court

Appellants failed to comply with s.12 by neither returning the security deposit within ten days nor applying to the Director to retain it; there was no arrears or proven damage to justify retention; unjust enrichment principles require reimbursement of prepaid rent for the period the tenant did not occupy; moving and storage costs were not proved, therefore award tenant security deposit and prorated rent but not moving costs.

Source excerpt

• Security deposit
• Eviction
• Rent refund/proration
• Moving and storage expenses
• Statutory compliance

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