A Toronto landlord who discovered her condo unit was being rented out repeatedly on Airbnb — behind her back by someone tied to a property management company — has won her case at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The recent decision follows a March CBC Toronto investigation that exposed how multiple condo owners’ units were being listed on the home sharing website by a “host” who claimed she worked for a local property management company, which prompted calls for more regulations.

“Justice is slow but sure,” said condo owner Sanda Jovasevic.

Jovasevic spent thousands of dollars fighting for compensation for damages she believes were caused by at least 70 Airbnb guests — and to evict a tenant she believes never actually moved in.

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The Landlord and Tenant board has ordered the tenant to pay Jovasevic roughly $4,400, and she confirmed her legal team has since received the money.

That decision also stated the tenant’s agent was not “credible” on the witness stand and provided testimony that was “demonstrably untrue” during the hearing in May.

The whole ordeal started back in 2016.

Jovasevic and her husband agreed to find a long-term tenant in May for the downtown condo she had purchased as an investment for their retirement. She used a real estate agent in the hope of finding the ideal renter for the unit at 300 Front Street West, a highrise near Toronto’s iconic CN Tower.

The couple never met the tenant, allowing the real estate agent to broker the deal instead, but the man seemed like a safe bet: He provided a reference letter saying he worked as an accountant for a Toronto property management company called Zahra Properties.

And, for the next year, the pair was worry-free as monthly rent payments of $2,100 kept coming in.

Keep reading on CBC News

 

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