How to claw back rent arrears after getting an LTB order

[Michael C.]

Hi, newbie to the forum, was hoping I could get some advice on how to claw back rent arrears after getting an Ontario LTB order. Had a bad tenant who took advantage of Covid and ended up owing me approximately $15000 in rent, $2000 in utilities and left lots of garbage/furniture left in my property. The tenant doesn't seem to be the type who would pay and he didn't show up in the LTB meeting, should I try a collections agency or go straight to the legal route using small claims court and garnishment of wages? I know his phone number, email and where he works, but I don't know his current address. I also read online about tracers and paralegals, would those services be useful?

I'm also thinking of filing an L10 with the LTB to claw back the utilities and cleaning fees, if this order gets converted to a judgement, can it be combined into a single wage garnishment procedure? Is clawing back this sum worth it?