Alana Miriam Abells

The Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) applied for an order requiring the respondent tenant, Bryant Didier, to vacate a rental unit (Unit B3) and for related relief.

The court determined that Unit B3 was a commercial tenancy governed by the Commercial Tenancies Act, not the Residential Tenancies Act, as previously affirmed by the Landlord and Tenant Board and the Divisional Court.

The TCHC had served valid Notices to Quit, and the tenant's subsequent "Agreement to Vacate" was found to be valid and not entered into under duress.

The court also found that the TCHC's acceptance of rent payments after the termination date did not create a new tenancy due to a lack of mutual intent.

The application for possession was granted, and the tenant was ordered to pay costs.

The plaintiffs sought an extension of time to serve a statement of claim on a contractor nearly nine years after the action was commenced, and the defendants moved to dismiss the entire action for delay.

The court found the plaintiffs’ efforts to locate and serve the contractor were lackadaisical and that significant prejudice resulted from the lengthy delay, including loss of records, faded memory, and the death of a witness.

Accordingly, the court refused to extend time for service on that defendant.

However, although the court found a period of “inexcusable delay” in prosecuting the action, it held that the remaining defendants had not demonstrated prejudice sufficient to create a substantial risk that a fair trial was no longer possible.

The motion to dismiss the entire action for delay was therefore refused.