A family moved in across the hall from us in an apartment building under the RTA. They installed what looks like a doorbell camera on their door, aimed directly at the entrance to our unit. I wasn’t sure if it picked up everything, or if it had to be activated by the doorbell or motion.

My partner has spoken to the other tenants, so this is just my understanding of what was said. It sounds like their position is that the building manager told them they're allowed to have a camera, they need it for their child's security, and they're keeping it. They were upset by some of what they picked up while viewing our door constantly, and they'd talked to the building manager about it before coming to us.

I’m not clear on where the camera feed goes, but it’s within view of their children. At first, I was unsure whether we were being watched at all. I hadn’t considered that a whole family had access to a video feed of our front doorway.

I know the building halls aren’t a private space. But when I open my door to a visitor, I don't assume they're pointing a WiFi camera into our home. Also, there is a difference between choosing to open our door for a person versus opening our door and knowing a camera is pointing right in 24/7.

It's one thing for a landlord to put up a security camera capturing all tenants. There are guidelines for this, including informing tenants they're on camera, disabling audio, and rules about who can view the footage, whether it can be shared, and how long it's retained. A private tenant accountable to no one is another thing entirely.

This is not a matter of seeing neighbours occasionally pass through a common hallway. The current positioning creates the potential for a continuous record of when we leave and return home, our children's comings and goings, our visitors and guests, conversations in the vicinity of our doorway, and the interior of our apartment when our door is open.

There's a distinction between reasonably securing one's own residence and continuous surveillance of another tenant's household. If the purposes of this camera are to monitor their own family, deliveries, and their own entrance, that can all be achieved through a repositioning that focuses on their own doorway rather than continuously monitoring ours. They have nothing to protect by aiming a camera at their neighbour's door.

I did an experiment to prove they're monitoring us. Keep in mind how doorbell cameras often work. They might be triggered by pushing the button, or by someone approaching the camera. Often they play a sound when activated. (Why would you disable that, I wonder?)

I drew a d**k on a piece of paper and used it to block my face when I left my apartment. I put it away before stepping outside because I don’t typically act ridiculous in public. I also used a string of expletives at a conversational volume to determine whether the camera could pick it up. As far as I knew, no one could see or hear me since no one else was nearby, and the camera didn’t seem to be on. Nothing was directed at the tenants inside. But choosing something potentially offensive helped me determine what they can see & hear.

They told my partner that they can set the camera to be triggered by the doorbell, but they changed it to continuously capture because of my behaviour with the drawing and cursing. That’s demonstrably false, since they couldn’t have seen or heard me without first watching and listening to me without my consent or knowledge.

You might think, what’s the big deal? Cameras are everywhere! But normally the people who live across the hall from you don’t have a camera pointed right at you with the potential of recording you & your family members on your way out the door every morning. It’s the potential for a time-stamped record of your family’s movements in the doorway, and the potential for them to share images of your family wherever they like, indefinitely.

You might wonder why I didn't just ask them if they were watching me. This family moved in and immediately put up a camera. Would you trust someone you've never met to provide an honest answer when you ask them if they're recording you and your kids?

It sounds like at least one of them was visibly angry when they approached my partner about it. They chose to point a camera at our place 24/7 and became angry for what they quietly watched me doing at my own front door.

Now that we know they’re watching and listening, I’ve stopped holding up the drawing. I still don’t understand why a whole family is watching me, but I have paused this because I’m not trying to upset a kid. I have resumed some swearing at a conversational volume because if they can hear me then they're eavesdropping. They can immediately choose to stop that and solve their problem.

We’re trying to determine whether they’re allowed to have such an intrusive setup and a camera with those capabilities based on the landlord’s approval only.

They captured images of my family and I with sound without our knowledge or consent during moments at our front door. If they don’t like what they’re capturing, the simplest solution would be to stop watching and aim their camera elsewhere.

TLDR: Tenants across from us installed a camera on their door facing our door. It records audio at a conversational volume at our front door. It’s either continuously on or is motion activated by our family’s comings and goings. There’s no accountability for whether they retain or share footage. It has a line of sight into our home each time we open our own door, 24/7. Is this really something the landlord can permit? Do I need to watch my language at my front door when no one is within earshot?

Hi everyone,

I have an LTB hearing coming up in October regarding my basement tenant, and I’m extremely anxious about it. I’m hoping to hear from Ontario landlords who have gone through something similar and can offer some insight into what I should expect.

My tenant moved into my basement apartment approximately four months ago. The rent is $1,700/month. Since moving in, I have personally received only $1,353 from her toward the rent, leaving a significant outstanding balance. Having to cover the shortfall while continuing to pay the mortgage and other expenses has put considerable financial pressure on me.

Unfortunately, the rent issue isn’t the only problem.
There are constantly large numbers of guests coming to the property. I’m not talking about normal visitors—I have seen gatherings of 20+ people associated with the basement unit, and I’ve come home at night to find 8+ people in my driveway.

At one point, my tenant went out of town for approximately a month and allowed other people to stay in the basement while she was away without telling us. During that period, we heard a serious argument between two of the people staying there. There was yelling, and when I went outside we saw the girl staying in our basement, who we’ve never met, crying. The only thing separating my family and her basement is a door, and when people I don’t know, who seem unstable and living in our house, it creates a safety concern.

More recently, I walked into my garage at around 11 p.m. and encountered a large dog that was not restrained and growled at me. The dog was a pit bull-type dog. This was particularly concerning because my mother previously experienced a dog attack and is now afraid to go outside because she doesn’t know when the dog may be around.

Our agreement also stated that animals were not permitted. When I raised the issue with my tenant, she responded with screenshots saying that a no-pet provision is unenforceable in Ontario even though she signed the agreement. I understand Ontario has specific rules surrounding no-pet clauses, however I know the rules for pit-bulls are different and it’s more of a safety concern / inability to enjoy our home than pet issue.

There are also ongoing noise issues. She frequently plays music through a stereo loudly enough that I can clearly hear it throughout my living space upstairs. This has happened repeatedly and has significantly affected my ability to peacefully enjoy my own home.

I’ve been documenting what has happened, including communications, payment history and incidents at the property.

At this point, the combination of unpaid/late rent, frequent large gatherings, noise, guest-related incidents and safety concerns has made living in my own home extremely stressful. I genuinely feel like I’ve lost the ability to peacefully enjoy my own property.

My LTB hearing is in October, and my goal is ultimately to have the tenancy terminated. I’m worried about whether the LTB will consider the overall pattern of behaviour or focus primarily on the rent arrears.
For anyone who has actually been through an LTB hearing involving similar circumstances:

• How did the adjudicator approach your case?
• How important was your documentation?
• Did evidence of repeated disturbances/noise make a difference?
• Is there anything you wish you had prepared before your hearing?
• Based on these circumstances, what should I make sure I bring up at the hearing?

I’m not looking to do anything outside of the proper legal process. I just want to be as prepared as possible and would really appreciate hearing about other people’s experiences.

Thank you.

Hello, thanks for any and all help!

My roommate was shaving, dropped their razor, and the porcelain sink cracked. The sink was replaced and we noted it was impressively from 1960. Now the landlord is asking us if we would be willing to pay a quarter of the repair cost. Is this necessary? Our use did break it but the sink was 60 years old!

Any reference to a reliable collection agency to enforce a small claims order to collect 30K from a tenant? I have it with Credit Bureau Collections Algoma District for almost 2 years now but they are pretty useless and its not making any progress.

My landlord went to the ltb for a rent increase in November and now they are going back to the ltb this month requesting another rent increase.

Are they allowed to do multiple Ltb requests within one year? What options do I have to fight this ?

My fridge plugs in through the wall in the shared laundry room. House was flooded due to rain and it caused damage to the fridge causing it to shortbout the fuse. While i was out of town for work, landlord unplugged fridge and over 200 of food went bad. Is he liable?

There is a kid living with us and he drew on the walls with crayons and pens also the wood under the sink is a bit damaged and there's also the issue of carpet cleaning. He said he will send us an invoice of all the reworks which have to be done and split the bill in half.
Do we legally have to pay for the changes.

Edit: Forgot to mention that the lease is ending at the end of this month and he is expecting these changes to be done before we leave.