Windowless bedrooms are illegal
The Landlord and Tenant Board may require Centurion to compensate you for renting you a windowless bedroom.
Both the Ontario Building Code and London’s Property Standards By-law require bedrooms to have windows. Section 4.8.8 of the By-law reads as follows:
“Living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms shall be provided with one or more windows and/or skylights that have a total light transmitting area of 5% of the floor area in the case of living and dining rooms and 2.5% of the floor area in the case of bedrooms.”
Centurion has recognized the problem
According to a letter delivered from their lawyer after the City issued an order to remedy the windowless situation, Centurion bought the building from a company called Varsity Commons Housing Inc. on February 27th, 2012. At that time, Centurion claims that the City found “…no outstanding orders under the Building Code, Property Standards By-law, and no outstanding permits.” They do not claim that the City inspected and signed off on the building at the time of purchase, nor do they contest that work needs to be done to bring many “interior bedrooms” up to London’s municipal standard.
While they may not have known windowless bedrooms are illegal when they bought the building, Centurion does have an obligation to its residents to provide them units that satisfy municipal property standards legislation. This is codified in section 224 of the Residential Tenancies Act.
You can read the City’s order for yourself. You can also read Centurion’s response (the lawyer’s letter) here.
What should I do about my windowless room?
When it comes to landlord-tenant disputes, legal advice (which this site is not) is always a good idea. If you’re concerned about affordability, consider contacting Community Legal Services for assistance, or finding a local lawyer or paralegal through the Law Society of Ontario’s referral service.
If you would like to move out of your apartment, a good first step is reaching out to management and asking them sign an N11 form. The N11 is a mutual agreement to terminate a tenancy. If you’d like to get out of your lease without applying to the Board, the N11 is a good option. The windowless bedrooms are obviously illegal, and Centurion may be looking to empty them in advance of major renovations to bring them into compliance.
If this doesn’t work, consider filing with the Landlord Tenant Board (LTB). This might be the right approach if 1) you’d like the Board to award a rent rebate, 2) you’d like to move out of your apartment and management won’t sign an N11 form, or 3) you’d like the Board to order another remedy such as an administrative fine or rent differential.
Filing with the LTB
The LTB is one of Ontario’s eight administrative tribunals. It is tasked with adjudicating disputes between landlords and tenants and issuing orders under the Residential Tenancies Act. If you are a tenant at 75 Ann Street (that is, if you’ve signed a lease with Centurion) you are entitled to file with the Board for redress. You cannot be evicted for exercising your rights, and your immigration status is irrelevant in the Board’s eyes.
International students and other new Canadians are equally protected under the RTA, and are encouraged to file with the Board where necessary.
If your primary concern is with your windowless apartment, you may be entitled to a rent abatement (though this has not yet been tested). To pursue this, file a T6 form with the LTB. You can do so online at this address. (There is a $45 fee—if this is a hurdle, contact the Association for assistance.)
The form will require you to explain the reason for your application. Consider using the following language in part 2 of the T6 form:
“My unit, a bedroom in a suite-style apartment complex, does not have any natural light. It does not have any windows or skylights—all light is artificial. It is therefore not compliant with London’s Property Standards By-law, section 4.8.8 of which reads: “Living rooms, dining rooms and bedrooms shall be provided with one or more windows and/or skylights that have a total light transmitting area of 5% of the floor area in the case of living and dining rooms and 2.5% of the floor area in the case of bedrooms.”
“The unit has been this way since I moved in. It has never had windows, and according to the landlord, Centurion Property Management, it is one of possibly a great number of windowless units that have been rented out primarily to students for at least seven years at this address.
“The City of London has ordered Centurion to fix the problem, but they have appealed, arguing that they need until August 2020 to make appropriate repairs. They have not clarified how they plan on adding windows to interior bedrooms. It may not be possible to bring the units into compliance with London property standards.
“Centurion is aware of the problem, but to my knowledge has not offered any compensation to affected tenants who may number in the dozens or even hundreds. The matter is before the City, but in the meantime, I have been subject to months of substandard housing, and may be subject to many additional months.”
Seeking a remedy
The Board can award any combination of nine specific remedies if it finds a T6 application to be valid. You are entitled to request any remedy you feel is appropriate, though a rent abatement may be easiest to justify.
What is a rent abatement?
The LTB may order the landlord to accept less than typical rent for a period of time (this may also apply retroactively) if the landlord is found to be out of compliance with the RTA. If you file a T6 form and request an abatement, you’ll be required to suggest and justify an abatement amount. It should be calculated as a percentage of your total rent, and should reflect your loss of enjoyment of the unit.
The logic of an abatement, per one LTB ruling, is that if you pay 100% of rent for a service, you should receive 100% of that service. Any abatement ordered will reflect, insofar as the adjudicator can quantify it, the impact of the landlord’s failure to maintain the unit. If you have any evidence of harm caused by a lack of windows or other problem with the unit, make sure to provide it to the LTB.
While the LTB is not bound by precedent, other cases may be illustrative. In one case a landlord was required to pay a rent abatement of 25% for failing to maintain its tenants’ yard, and interfering with their reasonable enjoyment. In another, the LTB awarded an abatement of $100 for an apartment complex’s intercom failing to work and the resultant difficult the Tenant had receiving mail from Canada Post.
So how much should you request? A lawyer or paralegal with experience before the Board will be able to answer this question better than this website (which is not legal advice) can. That said, a lack of a window is a substantial departure from London’s housing standards. Consider filing for a 40-50% abatement due to the egregiousness and duration of the violation. The LTB adjudicator may award you your requested abatement, no abatement at all, or determine that you are due an abatement smaller or larger than you have proposed.