The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency surrounding residential evictions. Evictions have the potential to disrupt the public health responses to COVID-19, magnify the associated recession, and disrupt tenants’ lives. All of these outcomes would have negative impacts on population health and well-being. Data shows that over 10 per cent of rental units in Toronto were in arrears (behind on rent payments), in October 2020. This opens the possibility of increased evictions as moratoriums lift.
While the majority of eviction filings in Toronto are related to non-payment of rent and arrears, these are not the only kind. Roughly one in four formal eviction applications filed in Toronto are unrelated to current rental arrears. These eviction applications are called ‘L2’ eviction applications. L2 eviction filings cover a range of reasons landlords seek to evict tenants, including renovation, demolition, landlord’s own use, and conflicts with landlords or other tenants.