Ian S. Hennessey

The tenants appealed a decision of the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal that dismissed their request for an extension of time to file a Request for Review.

The Divisional Court found that the Tribunal failed to provide adequate reasons for its decision, which constituted a denial of procedural fairness and an error of law.

The appeal was allowed, the Tribunal's order was set aside, and the matter was remitted to a different Member for a new hearing.

The tenants appealed a decision regarding a rent decrease related to property taxes.

The Divisional Court dismissed the tenants' constitutional issue due to lack of an evidentiary record and failure to provide proper notice to the Minister of Justice under s. 109 of the Courts of Justice Act.

The Court also dismissed the appeal on the merits, finding that the Tribunal erred in initially dismissing the landlord's application based on a delay in filing evidence, as the delay was caused by the City and did not prejudice the tenants.

The appellant tenant brought a motion to admit fresh evidence on appeal.

The Divisional Court dismissed the motion, finding that the evidence was readily available at the time of the original hearing and that the tenant had chosen not to call available witnesses.

Furthermore, the court held that the fresh evidence would not have been conclusive of the issue, applying the test from Sengmueller v. Sengmueller.