Can my landlord evict me if my roommate is caught doing something illegal but hasn't been convicted yet?

The situation

I live in an apartment in Ontario with a roommate I met through a local community programme. For the last six months, everything has been fine, and I have always paid my portion of the rent by bank transfer on the first of every month. However, two weeks ago, the police came to our unit because they suspected my roommate was running an illegal gambling ring out of our living room. The police took him away for questioning, and while he hasn't been formally charged or convicted of any crime in a court of law yet, the landlord found out about the incident yesterday. My landlord sent me a very scary letter stating that because an illegal activity occurred on the premises, he is starting the process to terminate our entire lease and kick us both out immediately. I have tried talking to him to explain that I had no idea about the gambling and that I am a law-abiding tenant, but he won't listen. I am terrified of losing my home. Does the landlord actually have the right to evict me and end my tenancy just because of what my roommate was doing, even if there is no official criminal conviction against him yet?

Detailed Analysis

Under the Residential Tenancies Act, your landlord has the right to issue a notice to terminate your tenancy if an illegal act is occurring in your unit. Specifically, a landlord may give notice if "the tenant or another occupant of the rental unit commits an illegal act or carries on an illegal trade, business or occupation"^[2]. This means that because your roommate was suspected of running an illegal gambling ring in your living room, the landlord has grounds to start the process^[2].

Crucially, the law does not require the police to finish their investigation or a court to find your roommate guilty before the landlord can act. The law states that the Board may issue an order to evict "whether or not the tenant or other person has been convicted of an offence relating to an illegal act, trade, business or occupation"^[1]. This means the legal standard for eviction is different from the criminal standard used in a courtroom; the landlord does not need a criminal conviction to pursue an eviction based on illegal activity^[1].

However, a landlord cannot simply "kick you out immediately." A tenancy can only be ended following the specific rules laid out in the Act^[3]. For an illegal act that does not involve drugs, the landlord must provide a notice of termination that gives you at least 20 days to move out^[2]. Even if the landlord issues this notice, they must still apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to get an official order to evict you. You have the right to attend a hearing at the Board to explain your side—for example, that you had no knowledge of the gambling and were not involved in the illegal activity.

State, provincial, or local laws may add further rules, so you should check with local tenant advocacy groups.

Statutory Citations

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