As part of a series, the Star is answering common questions about renting in Toronto. Do you have questions that you want us to answer? Email the Star at renterFAQ@thestar.ca.

The question:

It’s a new month and you haven’t made rent.

In a city where rents are exceedingly eating up incomes — Torontonians say they spend 36 per cent of their monthly income on rent, the highest in Canada, according to a recent Forum poll — there’s a good chance you’ve got company.

Your landlord isn’t happy about it and is threatening you with an eviction.

What are your options?

The answer:

“First thing that we recommend, don’t panic. Don’t move out,” says Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations.

Your landlord can’t evict you whenever they please, first they have to give you a chance to pay what you owe, Dent says. If you’re late on rent, your landlord can issue you an N4 form, which is a notice of eviction for nonpayment of rent. Think of an N4 form as a “warning,” it is not an eviction order, Dent says.

If your landlord threatens to evict you through letters, texts and emails, you can ignore them, “they have no weight under the law,” Dent says.

The N4 notice will ask you to pay rent within 14 days, with less time allotted to those who pay on a weekly or daily basis. If you can’t pay what you owe in time, you can agree to end the lease, but you aren’t forced to. You can also choose to stay and fight the eviction through a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), according to Dent.

Cole Webber, a legal clinic worker at Parkdale Community Legal Services, said if you need help paying rent, the City of Toronto offers loans to some residents. Low-income tenants can apply for interest-free loans with the Toronto Rent Bank. Those receiving financial assistance through the Ontario Works or Disability Support Program can also apply for loans through the city’s housing stabilization fund.

You could also be sent an N8 form, which can be issued if you consistently fail to pay your rent on time and can lead to an eviction. However, being issued that form also doesn’t mean your landlord has the power to evict you.

To evict you, your landlord has to bring you to a hearing with the LTB, where the board will have the final say on your eviction.

“A lot of tenants feel like their landlord can just change the locks or just throw their stuff out of the apartment, but that’s not legal in Ontario,” Dent says. “If you get an eviction notice, that is step one in a lengthy eviction process that can take months.”

If you pay before the date of your hearing, your hearing and eviction may be cancelled, but make sure to show up when it’s scheduled either way to be safe, Dent says. The board may want to see a receipt confirming you’ve paid.

Dent says tenants should know their rights and what their landlords are not legally allowed to do, such as cut off water, electricity or change the locks on the doors.

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If this happens, “call city inspectors who can enforce the city’s vital services bylaw. You would also be able to report the landlord to the Residential Housing Enforcement unit,” Dent says.

Correction — Oct. 11, 2019: This article was updated from a previous version that misattributed the advice of tenants advocate Georgie Dent. In fact is was Dent, not Cole Webber, who said to call city inspectors if a landlord does something they are not legally allowed to do. Webber told the Star low-income tenants can apply for interest-free loans through the Toronto Rent Bank and those receiving assistance through the Ontario Works or Disability Support Program can apply for loans through the city’s housing stabilization fund.

With files from Margaryta Ignatenko and Osobe Waberi

Miriam Lafontaine is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @mirilafontaine