Last week, Ian blogged on the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority, financial abuse of the elderly, and the competency of elderly individuals to make financial decisions. As stated last week, it is unclear what the responsibilities are of a retirement home in cases where there have been loans between a resident and the licensee.
The recent Licence Appeal Tribunal decision of 2138658 Ontario Ltd. ola Seeley’s Bay Retirement Home v. Registrar, Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority is the first case to look at financial abuse in the context of the Retirement Homes Act, 2010, S.O. 2010 Chapter 11 (the “Act”). This case involved the Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority’s revocation of Seeley’s Bay Retirement Home’s licence on the basis of the alleged financial abuse of three residents, and a former resident.
The Tribunal determined that the former resident offered to grant the licensee a second mortgage, however, the resident had independent legal advice and a proper written mortgage, and as such, no financial abuse was found.
The Tribunal found financial abuse of one out of the three residents. For the first two residents, the Tribunal did not find financial abuse as they were a couple that had a long-term 25-30 year relationship with the licensee. The couple offered a loan to the licensee but he had counted the loan toward the couple’s rent and had paid off the loan at the time of the hearing. The Tribunal found that this was a trade-off, and that people who are competent to manage their own affairs ought to be allowed to make independent financial decisions, and found the loan to be “a matter of friendship and faith”.
The Tribunal found financial abuse of the third resident. Resident three lived in the home for 6 years prior to her death, and was determined to be capable. She managed her own finances and had no close family. The licensee began approaching her for money, which he applied to her rent, yet continued to borrow money beyond the amount paid of rent. There was nothing in writing, no records of the payment, and the resident had no independent legal advice. In 2016, the resident’s health began to deteriorate and she was worried that she would not be able to cover her expenses due to the amount of money she had lent to the licensee. She approached the licensee about repayment and the licensee took no action. The loans were outstanding upon the resident’s death. The Tribunal found this amounted to financial abuse as it was found to be “misappropriation” of resident money under the Act, pursuant to Regulation 166/11 and section 67.
In considering all of the claims against the residence, the Tribunal found that the loans raised concerns about the licensee’s ability to operate the home with honesty and integrity. This was exemplified due to the third resident’s dependency on the home. Moreover, the Tribunal noted that in the third case, there was harm to the resident’s peace of mind along with a risk that she would not be able to pay for her own long-term care.
Thanks for reading,