In an effort to provide greater transparency in Ontario's rental ecosystem, a new registry lets you browse court orders to help you make "informed decisions on who you rent to and who you rent from." 

The platform, Openroom, was co-founded by mother and rental housing advocate Weiting Bollu, who says she dealt with a tenant who stopped paying rent in early 2021. 

"I was mentally and physically distressed. After a two-year battle, it finally ended with a sheriff eviction, and it cost me over $35,000." 

In late 2022, the platform was built by a team consisting of software engineers, production managers, and operations specialists to crowdsource court orders from Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). 

"Landlords and tenants are frustrated that the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) does not upload orders issued by the LTB/Residential Tenancy Boards (RTB) across Canada onto their site in a timely fashion, sometimes never at all. This results in the parties who are in the wrong to continuously harm their next victims without any repercussions," the platform's website reads.

By 2024, approximately 120,000 users had conducted over two million searches in the database, which contains roughly 10,000 documents. While most of the documents concern problematic tenants, those looking to rent can also seek information on prospective landlords. 

"All of us have either been on the tenant and/or landlord side of the ecosystem over the last 10 years," the platform's website reads. "Our vision is that one day, there will be a transparent and connected rental ecosystem that appropriately incentivizes responsible members." 

To use the platform, all you have to do is search a potential tenant or landlord's name to find out if the LTB has issued a court order against this person. Documents reveal further information about the alleged issues involved, as well as the tribunal's decision. 

Both tenants and landlords are also able to submit court orders and applications to the platform. After each submission, the registry's team reviews the information's accuracy and publishes it to the database. 

Despite its advocates, the platform has been met with some backlash, with critics expressing concern for tenants who may be arbitrarily blacklisted as a result of the public database.