Frustrated Tenancies:

Question: When a residential rental unit in Ontario becomes uninhabitable due to a fire, flood, or municipal condemnation, when does the doctrine of frustration end the tenancy and what should a tenant do next?

Answer: If a landlord’s rental unit in Ontario becomes impossible to live in because of an unforeseeable outside event (like major fire or water damage) or because the municipality condemns the premises, the tenancy may be deemed frustrated and end by operation of law under section 19 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17. In practice, SFG Paralegal Services LLP helps Ontario tenants confirm whether the situation meets the frustration threshold, gather key documents (municipal orders, repair timelines, notices), and assess what recourse may still be available, including negotiating practical steps and verifying whether any return rights apply if repairs take only a reasonable time (as discussed in Y.Y. v. A.T. and L.W., 2013 CanLII 51226). If you are dealing with an uninhabitable unit or a termination notice tied to frustration, call (888) 398-0121 to discuss your next steps with a paralegal at SFG Paralegal Services LLP. 

Understanding When the Doctrine of Frustration Applies to a Residential Tenancy and What Recourse Does a Tenant Have?

Incidents that cause serious damage such as a fire, a tornado, a flood, a major water leak, or another catastrophic circumstance, may occur and cause impossibility of occupancy of a residential unit.  Even a change in law may occur in such a way as to make compliance impossible. When a tenancy is made impossible due to unforeseeable outside forces, such is referred to as a force majeure event, and the legal result is that the statutory obligations as well as the contractual obligations of the landlord and the tenant come to an end as per section 19 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17. This ending of the tenancy relationship due to the frustrating event occurs regardless of whether the frustrating event happens within a lease period or happens afterwards when the lease is expired and the tenure is converted into a month-to-month arrangement. Specifically, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 says:

Condemnation

In some circumstances, premises may become unoccupiable when ordered condemned by the local municipality such as occurred in the case of AS v. CJM, TSL-05808-10 (Re), 2010 CanLII 58985 wherein it was stated:

Accordingly, and apparently, despite that premises may become condemned due to the neglect of the landlord, as a matter of law, frustration of the tenancy agreement, and thereby termination of the tenancy agreement with corresponding termination of the tenancy, results when the premises are officially condemned.

Ceasing of Security of Tenure

Where a tenancy agreement is deemed frustrated, such as in circumstances where a fire requires restorative work that will be extensive and take considerable time, the security of tenure, including first right of refusal to return following restorative work, is absent.  Only where the restorative work can be done in a reasonable amount of time will the tenancy agreement be without frustration and therefore with security of tenure protected as per the case of Y.Y. v. A.T. and L.W., TEL-32649-12 (Re), 2013 CanLII 51226 where it was said:

Summary Comment

An unforeseeable destructive event, often referred to as a force majeure, that renders a rental unit unoccupiable for an unknown length of time, generally, results in a frustration of the tenancy agreement, regardless of whether the event occurs during a lease period or during a month-to-month period. When such an event rises to the level of a frustration, the obligations of both landlord and tenant end and the tenancy arrangement, including the security of tenure, end.