Even royals can face eviction. What to do when it happens to you

In the latest royal family drama, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were kicked out of their U.K. home.

The BBC reported last week that the Duke and Duchess were asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their place on the grounds of Windsor Castle in England. As described in his explosive memoir “Spare,” the cottage was a gift to the couple from the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The timing of the eviction conspicuously coincided with the tell-all book. According to the BBC, notice from the royal family came just days after its publication. But according to Carolyn Harris, a historian and royal commentator based in Toronto, this eviction is unlikely to be mere retaliation.

The property is prime royal real estate. “Under the circumstances, it makes little sense for Frogmore Cottage to remain vacant for much of the year,” she said in an email. “There is demand for living space near Windsor Castle from members of Charles III’s family who are full-time residents of the United Kingdom.”

It’s a good soap opera story line. But, back in the real world, it might also cut close to home for a lot of people dealing the reality of a very tough housing market and runaway rents.

This situation falls under what, in Ontario, might be called an own-use eviction, where a landlord takes back a property to use for themselves or family. They have been used with increasingly frequency lately.

The royal couple will be OK. They’ve long since relocated to Southern California with their children, and since their departure from the royal family, the couple has inked a number of multimillion-dollar media deals.

Non-royals may not be so lucky. Here’s some advice, if not for the Duke and Duchess, then at least for anyone who finds themselves in a similar, tough situation of an own-use eviction demand.

What are your rights if you’re served with a notice of eviction?

The most important thing a tenant can do when served a notice of eviction is “to get informed and really know their rights inside and out,” says Bahar Shadpour, director of policy and communications for the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights.

“Anyone who lives in Ontario can reach out to their community legal clinic,” she said. “There are options available. The most important thing is to get informed and get legal support.”

According to Shadpour, a notice of eviction does not immediately mean you’re evicted. After the notice is served, the landlord then has to apply for an eviction at the Landlord and Tenant Board. The tenant can then dispute the eviction during a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board, especially if they believe their landlord is acting in bad faith, or not really intending to occupy the unit in question themselves.

“An eviction notice is not the same as an eviction order,” agreed Geordie Dent, executive director of the Federation of Metro Tenants’ Associations. “The big thing to know is that you don’t have to move right away.”

“An eviction can be quite disruptive in a person’s life,” said Shadpour. “They need to know they have the opportunity to make their case at the Landlord and Tenant Board.”

There’s been a spike in own-use evictions in Ontario — are they legitimate?

“The number of applications for own-use evictions are just increasing year over year,” said Shadpour.

According to Dent, the Landlord and Tenant Board has seen a spike in fraudulent own-use evictions. Landlords will sometimes file N12 evictions to disguise ‘renovictions’, or other types of evictions which would allow the landlord to jack up the rent.

In data shared with the Star, an increase in number of L2 applications filed with N12 notices can be seen, from 3,578 in 2020 to 5,562 in 2022. Dent says the increase is cause for concern. Dent says landlords may use evictions to illegally increase rent prices.

“You can fight it,” said Dent. “And we encourage everyone to do so. Eviction fraud is so rampant.” And if you’re not able to win a hearing, your landlord still has to compensate you — either financially, or by offering another unit.

According to Harris, it’s unlikely the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will fight their own-use eviction from Frogmore Cottage.

“Their lives are now based in California,” she said. “It seems unlikely that they will express an interest in moving into a royal residence in the United Kingdom in the future.”

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