Professional Tenants Avoid Professional Landlords!
Many attorneys who practice landlord-tenant law use the phrase “professional tenant” to label a landlord’s worst nightmare: the kind of tenant who will offer nothing but headaches, cause nothing but struggles, and leave nothing but unpaid rent and a trashed unit.
Privacy laws protect tenants from exposure, even if they have been evicted multiple times for the same actions. Misrepresentation is difficult to spot and requires exhaustive due diligence. “Professional tenants” have become incredibly knowledgeable of tenancy laws and have developed practices that allow them to live rent-free for prolonged periods of time.
It is also customary for bad tenants to secure a lease through a friend or relative’s name and application. Since the original applicant does not intend to reside on said property, the risk of property damage and criminal activity rise drastically.
The ease by which professional tenants can game the eviction process prompted a Superior Court Judge in Ontario to publicly decry the system that allows these tenants to take advantage of one landlord after another, living rent-free while enjoying continuing delays.
