Determined to end her tenants’ lease at all costs, a landlord claimed their dog had bitten her. But the tenants managed to prove to Quebec’s housing court that the bite never happened and that their landlord acted in bad faith. How? Thanks to footage captured by their front-door doorbell camera.
The case began in May 2022, when the landlords filed an application with Quebec’s housing court, the Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL). Their goal? To end the lease and evict a family that had been living in one of their rental units since 2008.
If that wasn’t possible, the landlords asked the housing court to order the tenants to respect the lease.
The situation got worse and the tenants filed their own application two years later. They described the landlords’ actions as abusive and asked to be reimbursed for damages and legal fees.
The housing court joined both applications so that the whole situation could be covered in one judgment.
One dog too many
The landlords wanted to end the lease for several reasons, including the presence of two “large” Labrador dogs in the unit. According to the lease, the tenants were only allowed one dog, on the condition that they quickly cleaned up after it in the backyard.
To show that this condition wasn’t being respected, the landlords showed pictures of dog waste found in the backyard.
They also brought up complaints from the couple living in the unit below the tenants. But it turns out that this couple is part of the landlords’ family. Other than the dogs’ barking, the couple complained about bad smells. However, it became clear during their testimony that the couple rarely stayed in the unit below the tenants since their main residence was in Calgary.
In 2024, barely two weeks after the tenants filed their own application with the housing court, a dramatic twist happened: one of the landlords claimed she had been bitten by one of the tenants’ dogs!
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Ending a lease with the housing court’s permission If tenants don’t respect their obligations under the lease and no agreement can be reached, a landlord can ask the housing court to end the lease. For example, a landlord can do this if tenants don’t pay rent or often pay it late, cause serious disturbances to neighbours or don’t respect the lease. |
An attempted repossession
The tenants said they used to have a good relationship with the landlords, even if they had two dogs in the unit since 2017.
The tenants explained to the housing court that problems began in 2021, when the landlords sent them a notice of repossession. They said they wanted to repossess the unit so that their daughter could live in it. In response, the tenants offered to move into the ground-floor unit, which was empty at the time. But this didn’t seem to make the landlords happy.
On June 11, 2024, the day the landlord claimed she was bitten, the tenants admitted that their dog, Honey, jumped up when the landlord entered the backyard.
According to testimony by the tenants and their friend who saw what happened, the landlord raised her arms when she saw the dog come towards her, but she never mentioned being bitten.
To support their version of events and show that the dog didn’t bite the landlord, the tenants’ lawyer showed six video clips recorded by their doorbell camera. The videos show the landlord entering and leaving the building and doing various tasks after the alleged bite, with no visible injuries.
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You must prove what you claim Anyone who files an application with the housing court must prove what they are claiming. Concrete evidence like photos, videos, emails, invoices, and witness testimony can be crucial to the outcome of a case. |
Acting out of spite
The housing court was convinced that the landlords’ failed attempt to repossess the unit for their daughter started the dispute. After the failed attempt, the landlords acted out of spite toward the tenants and evicting them from the unit became their main goal.
Although bad faith is not always easy to prove, the housing court found that it was clear in this case.
The court also mentioned that the alleged dog bite caused the landlord to “lose all credibility” since it was contradicted by a witness and video evidence.
Anxiety, insomnia, and depression
One of the tenants testified that, starting in 2022, she became anxious, suffered from insomnia, and developed depression because of the landlords’ actions.
The housing court ordered the landlords to pay her $5,000 to compensate these problems and for the stress linked to the fear of losing her home and being forced to give up her dogs.
The housing court also ordered the landlords to pay the tenants an additional $2,000 for abuse and harassment, to discourage similar behaviour by the landlords. They were also ordered to pay $5,000 to reimburse part of the tenants’ legal fees.
In total, the landlords were ordered to pay $12,000, as well as the tenants’ court costs.