A backlog of cases at Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board has nearly doubled to 38,000 and it’s taking an average of seven or eight months; sometimes up to two-years, to schedule a hearing.

Those findings are from a just released report from Ombudsman Paul Dube, who’s makes 61 recommendations aimed at the board’s ”excruciating delays” and improving the functioning of the board.

When the pandemic hit, the situation went from bad to worse.

”The result was not just a litany of bureaucratic failures, like adjudicator shortages, scheduling nightmares and dysfunctional technology,” according to Dube.

”What was most disturbing was how these delays affected real people on both sides of the landlord and tenant relationships.”

The ombudsman says tenants were stuck waiting while enduring harassment, unsafe living conditions and small landlords had to cope with tenants’ abuse and face financial ruin.

Dube says both the board and government have accepted his recommendations and pledge to report back on their progress in implementing them.