Hamilton landlord fined $100K for illegal renovictions that had 'devastating' impacts on tenants, court hears

Samantha Beattie · CBC News

· Posted: May 28, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

A Hamilton tenant says she's impressed with a "fantastic" judge's caller determination to good her erstwhile landlord $100,000 for illegally renovicting her and 3 different tenants, adjacent if they'll ne'er get their homes back. 

"That's a bully spot to commencement to amusement the landlords of Ontario they can't conscionable propulsion their tenants out," Darlene Wesley told CBC Hamilton. 

The elder had lived successful her downtown apartment for astir 20 years and ne'er missed a rent outgo when, successful February 2023, the building's proprietor Kevin Moniz evicted her in bid to carry out extensive renovations.

Wesley informed him successful penning and successful idiosyncratic she intended to determination backmost successful aft the enactment was done — arsenic is her close nether Ontario law. But wrong months, he'd rented it retired to idiosyncratic else. 

He did the aforesaid to 3 different tenants surviving successful the five-unit building, including Wesley's daughter. The tenants testified during a proceedings against Moniz and property management institution Cornerstone Select Properties astatine Hamilton's provincial offences courthouse connected May 12. 

Justice of the Peace Linda Crawford recovered Moniz blameworthy connected 4 counts of knowingly failing to springiness the tenants the close of archetypal refusal for their units and fined him $25,000 for each. 

"A wide deterrent successful my presumption is precise important successful these kinds of circumstances, wherever there's a landlord with a tiny gathering that was erstwhile affordable for people," Crawford told the court. 

Moniz was not contiguous for the proceedings and did not respond to requests for comment.

Crawford gave him 2 weeks to wage the $100,000 — a high amount for Residential Tenancy Act violations. 

The charges against Moniz were laid past twelvemonth by Ontario's Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU), which is mandated to uphold landlord and tenant rights and analyse complaints. It works independently from the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

By comparison, in all of 2022, fines stemming from charges laid by RHEU totalled $121,800. 

Tenant can't spend caller place

Crawford found Moniz acted deliberately and the impacts connected the tenants person been "devastating." 

"In my view, determination was rather a spot of foresight to renovate apartments and helium made a determination to fundamentally flip them and rent them retired much than treble what helium had been getting before," she said. 

Before being evicted, the four tenants said they each paid little than $700 a period successful rent. A caller tenant who moved into 1 of the units aft the renovations told the court she presently pays $1,500. 

The eviction process began for the 4 tenants successful March 2021, erstwhile they received N13 notices from Moniz. Their cases went to the LTB, which ruled successful Moniz's favour that the units did request to beryllium bare for him to implicit renovations.

Three of the tenants moved retired earlier Wesley. They all testified they told Moniz in penning that they'd determination backmost into their units erstwhile the enactment was done. 

Tenant Robert Jewel said helium had no other option.

He worked a minimum wage occupation and wanted to support the portion he'd been capable to spend for 25 years, helium testified. But 1 night, erstwhile renovations were expected to inactive beryllium happening, he walked by the gathering and done a window saw idiosyncratic successful his unit's surviving room, watching TV. He aboriginal learned it was a caller tenant. 

"And to beryllium honest, I cried that nighttime erstwhile I discovered my flat had been taken distant from me," Jewel said. "It's similar I'm a 2nd people national each of the abrupt conscionable due to the fact that this greedy idiosyncratic comes along." 

Unable to spend to rent a new place, Jewel said helium has been sofa surfing astatine friends and family's homes since helium was evicted. 

"I'm astir retired connected the thoroughfare and I don't person my ain spot anymore and that nonaccomplishment of freedom, I really, keenly feel," Jewel said.

Property absorption institution fined

Wesley and her girl had nary prime but to find a spot unneurotic and now pay $2,000 a month, an statement Wesley described arsenic a "nightmare." 

"Now I've got thing due to the fact that each my wealth goes to rent," she told the court. 

She said she near her spot successful 2023 thinking she'd decidedly beryllium coming backmost arsenic she took each the steps she was expected to. 

In the weeks earlier she moved, she had provided Moniz with respective copies of a signed missive stating her intentions, and verbally told him the aforesaid thing in beforehand of a typical from Cornerstone — the spot absorption institution Moniz had hired to find caller tenants.

Welsey testified that connected different juncture idiosyncratic from Cornerstone was showing a unit to prospective tenants. She told that person, "'all of the apartments ... person the close of archetypal refusal' and helium said, 'I know, I know, I know.'"

Company president Jeff Varcoe represented Cornerstone successful court. 

He denied the allegations, saying cipher astatine his institution knew astir the "entire gathering being renovicted" and helium hasn't been capable to substantiate Wesley's account. 

Crawford said she did not find Varcoe's grounds credible and fined Cornerstone $25,000, positive a $6,250 unfortunate surcharge, for not ensuring Wesley had the accidental to determination backmost into her unit. 

"That's not thing we person the fiscal quality to screen astatine all," Varcoe said. "This volition bankrupt us." 

Crawford gave the institution a twelvemonth to pay.