Saudi renters have found themselves in a “legal nightmare” trying to break their leases after their government ordered them to leave Canada, according to a Toronto tenants’ rights advocate.

“Almost everyone I’ve talked to so far wants to follow their obligations, but they’re caught between an extremist government giving them one month to completely tear down their lives and a landlord,” said Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations. “It’s not a great situation.”

The Saudi government severed diplomatic ties with Ottawa earlier this month after the Global Affairs Ministry issued a tweet calling for the release of jailed human rights activists. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia then recalled Saudi students from Canadian schools and cancelled the state airline’s operations in Canada.

The Saudi students have been given weeks to leave the country.

Two tenants from Saudi Arabia have reached out to the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Association, Dent said — a “very good” indication there are others facing similar challenges.

One tenant is having trouble getting out of his lease, Dent said. The other has found a replacement to take over his contract, but the landlord is refusing to give back his payment for last month’s rent.

“(The tenant is) telling me, ‘This is an order by my government that’s beyond my control’,” Dent recalled. “He doesn’t want to leave, wants to continue his studies, but he’s lost his scholarship and has been asked to leave the country by Aug. 31.”

Tenants who break a lease early in Ontario must either pay out the remainder of their contract, or find another tenant to take over the lease, Dent said, adding that both sides have a duty under the law to try to minimize losses.

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The landlord is “supposed to try to find a way to ensure that you don’t owe six months’ rent,” Dent said. “They can’t sit there for six months drinking pina coladas thinking that in six months, they’ll be able to cash in. They’re supposed to work to try and ensure everyone’s made whole.”

Dent estimated that in the current Toronto rental market, the Saudi renter will lose between $1,500 and $2,000 dollars.

It’s common for tenants to have to break a lease, Dent said, when they get jobs outside of the city or have to move suddenly.

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“What’s particularly damning about this scenario is for all of these people, it’s no fault of their own,” Dent said. “This is a decision being (made) by their government.”

London’s Western University created an online checklist for students who have been ordered to leave Canada. The school has about 75 undergraduate and graduate students from Saudi Arabia.

The checklist advises students to:

Give notice to your landlord as per your lease or rental agreement.

Cancel utilities and disconnect/transfer cellphone or internet service.

Sell or donate furniture, vehicles and belongings you don’t want to take with you.

Julie McMullin, Western University’s vice-provost and associate vice-president International, said she and her colleagues have also been meeting with students to help them navigate the transition.

Over the last week to 10 days, McMullin said students have had the “big jobs” of breaking their housing and car leases and selling their furniture.

“To the best of my knowledge, I haven’t personally heard of any problems with (breaking leases),” she said, “but we’ve put up legal services on our website for students who run into difficulties.”

The University of Toronto said it has 77 students from Saudi Arabia for the 2018-2019 school year and 216 Saudi postgraduate medical residents and fellows.

“The issue of leases is not something that students are raising with us,” a university spokesperson said in an email. “We are working to support our students in continuing their education and the work (they) have done at U of T.”