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Evicted to move in family, 2 weeks later evicted asap for negligence [Ontario]

Okay, so I'm a little bit destroyed right now. Our landlord gave us our 60 days notice to move in family, and we agreed for an oct 1st move out date. This was by email and we agreed to move because we were moving anyways. About 2 weeks later the landlord is now saying we have to be out Sept 1st or else she will sue us because leaks in our apartment has caused damage to the downstairs neighbours.

We live in Ontario, and we have not signed a lease. We do have a rent receipt for every month since move in, as well as pay our own hydro bill.

As for the leaks, the first one happened about 3 months ago. The toilet overflowed and we were in a different room so we didn't know about it until the downstairs tenants asked us if we had one. When we found it we unclogged the toilet and cleaned up the mess. We beive it was caused by our toilet always running when other water is run, as it has been since we moved in. We apologized to the neighbors and figured it was a one time accident. Everyone on the history of the planet has had toilets overflow and we didn't think anything of it. Maybe this was a mistake.

The second leak happened about a month after the first. I turned on the shower to wash something in it, and soon the neighbors were complaining of a leak. We emailed the landlord imediately, asking for a plumber. She said sure, and when we asked when a plumber would be coming she said she hadn't decided one was needed yet. We refrained from using our shower for over a week and never heard about it again. When we started using it again there was no leaks.

The third leak was the same day we received the message. Our washing machine drains into the sink and it overflowed. This has happened once before when we first moved in but that time caused no leaks. As soon as water hit the floor we turned the machine off and mopped up all of the water. About 15 minutes later we got a text from our neighbors saying there was a leak. We informed them of what happened and that it was dealt with. Ten minutes after that is when we got the email from the landlord.

She is saying that we have negligently caused damage to the building and that she is want's us out by september 1st with refunded last months rent, or she is going to sue us for the plumber she said she sent previously (which we were not told about, she later says we refused to open the door for the plumber), all the damage to the building, damage to the other tenants belongings, the cost of getting checked for mold and for getting the mold removed, as well as her legal fees.

When asked to clarify how we have been negligent, she says that we purposely clogged the toilet to cause damage, and should have told her it was running on (it was like that since move in, and I didn't know that it was cause for concern as it only runs when someone downstairs flushes the toilet or runs their washing), that we caused the tub to overflow (that is not what happened at all), and that we have another couple (??) living with us that caused the washer to flood as washers do not just overflow for no reason. She also says that we are breaking the landlord tenant rules by having another couple living with us and that is part of the reason she is kicking us out.

And that's what's happening. I don't know what to do, when we called the landlord tenant board they just said get legal advice. I am pretty sure this is not a legal eviction because we didn't receive the paper form. She has never visited the building and we were never given notice of a plumber so I don't think we did that wrong? But I am not sure.

To clarify we do NOT have another couple living with us. My friend and her 2 year old visit and stay over often (2-3 nights a week?) in our spare room, but there is not anyone living here. We didn't sign a lease saying when we could have visitors and how long they could stay so I'm not sure if we are breaking any rules. Maybe we are? I don't know. I just visit my friends and stay over whenever I want.

I just want to know how we should proceed. We are moving cities when we move and need Oct 1st. Before this second eviction she said we could use her as a ref for our applications and now I'm afraid of what she will say/has said.

Posted Aug 14, 2017, 6:55 PM UTC

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