Today I was at the Landlord and Tenant Board for a contested hearing. Before my hearing, the Board heard an eviction application. The adjudicator asked whether the parties were ready to proceed. Both sides said yes, and the hearing began.
The tenant was self-represented and wasn’t doing very well. As the hearing progressed, the tenant sensed that the hearing wasn’t going in his direction. After being badgered on the witness stand, he started to lose his temper by shouting profanities in the hearing room. (Always a bad sign.)
Several times the tenant interrupted the landlord’s submission and was corrected by the adjudicator. When his opportunity arrived, the tenant’s submission was so incoherent that the adjudicator had to cut him off and ask him whether there was anything relevant to the case he would like to say. (Another bad sign.) Finally, at the end of his submission he decided that he needed legal representation and asked for an adjournment.
Of course, with the evidence already presented and cross-examined, the adjudicator could not grant an adjournment. To do so would have been a serious error in law because it would have seriously prejudiced the landlord’s claim, given that the tenant had seen all the landlord’s evidence.
If you think you need more time to prepare your case or to seek legal representation, tell the adjudicator or the judge that you are not ready to proceed. More likely than not, you’ll get what you wish for.
