A 92-year-old Toronto renter is taking his eviction fight to appeal, and his case has become the clearest example yet of what Ontario's bad-faith eviction rules are really for.

Isidoro Ventullo lived for years on Clinton Street in Little Italy, paying about $800 a month in rent. In July 2025, during a Toronto heat wave, he was evicted after George Demelo, the son of his former landlord, served notice saying the unit was needed for personal or family use. Ventullo, who was 91 at the time, contends the personal-use claim was a pretext to get him out of a high-demand area. Toronto Star, Oct 16, 2026 UL Lawyers summary

The detail that turned sympathy into a legal claim came a year later: a Star follow-up in June 2026 reported that his former home had been listed for sale after the eviction. Selling the unit you supposedly needed for your own use is close to textbook bad faith. The case also drew political attention, with NDP MPP Jessica Bell arguing in earlier coverage that the province needs tighter rules. Global News Ventullo filed a T5 application with the Landlord and Tenant Board seeking $34,800 in compensation. The Board dismissed it. He is now appealing. The LTB's reasoning in the dismissal is not detailed in the accessible coverage, so the appeal will be the part worth watching. UL Lawyers

What "bad faith" actually means in Ontario

A bad-faith eviction is when a landlord serves an N12 notice (landlord's own use or purchaser's use) or an N13 notice (demolition, extensive repairs, or conversion) for a reason they do not genuinely intend to carry out. The classic pattern is a tenant who gets an N12, moves out quietly, and then sees the unit back on the rental market weeks later at a much higher price.

Lawyers who fight these cases say the evidence that wins is usually simple and documentary: the unit re-listed for rent, someone other than the person named in the notice moving in, the unit being sold, or the unit sitting empty for an unreasonable stretch. Storeys, expert breakdown

The T5: how the compensation claim works

The T5 is the form a former tenant files when they moved out because of an N12 or N13 they believe was given in bad faith. Per the Landlord and Tenant Board's own instructions, the Board can order several kinds of relief:

  • Reasonable out-of-pocket moving, storage, and related expenses
  • Compensation for the rent difference between the old unit and the new one
  • General compensation of up to 12 months of the last rent charged, which can be claimed even without receipts for expenses
  • Any other order the Board considers appropriate, which can include letting the tenant move back in if the unit has not been re-rented

LTB T5 Instructions, Tribunals Ontario

Two practical points matter here. First, tenants who have already moved out and only later realize what happened have a filing deadline, so the calendar starts the day they vacate. Second, a tenant who is still in the unit does not have to leave just because an N12 arrived. You can wait for a hearing and make the landlord prove good faith under oath. Storeys

The rules changed in September 2026

Ventullo's eviction happened under the old rules, but the appeal is landing in a new landscape. Effective September 21, 2026, Ontario overhauled the N12 framework, and the changes cut both ways. Gowling WLG

For landlords, an N12 served on or after that date with at least 120 days' notice no longer requires the traditional one month's rent in compensation or an offer of an acceptable alternative unit. Shorter N12s still carry compensation, and the exemption does not apply to a purchaser's own-use N12.

For tenants, the safeguard got sharper. The landlord or named occupant must now normally move into the unit within 60 days of the termination date, or within 60 days of the actual move-out if the tenant left late. Miss that window, and if the former tenant files a T5, the Board presumes the N12 was given in bad faith. The landlord can try to rebut the presumption at the hearing, but the burden has visibly shifted. 101 Legalways

Old versions of the N12, N13, and T5 forms will no longer be accepted after November 30, 2026. JSR Legals

What landlords should take from this

If you are serving an N12 for your own use, the unit needs to be genuinely occupied by the named person, quickly. Keep records that prove it: a move-in date, the delay explained if there was one. A sale listing or a fresh rental ad in the months after a personal-use eviction is exactly the evidence a T5 hearing looks for, and the 60-day clock under the new rules makes the paper trail non-optional.

What tenants should take from this

Document everything while it is happening, not after. Save the notice, the landlord's messages, and rent receipts. Screenshot any re-listing with dates. If you moved out and something smelled wrong, check the filing deadline and talk to a local legal clinic or tenant association early.

Ventullo's appeal will not just decide one man's $34,800 claim. It will test how Ontario's new bad-faith machinery handles the oldest rental story there is.