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Your tenant has applied to the Board

Your tenant, or a former tenant, has applied to the Landlord and Tenant Board against you. The claim may be about money you collected, repairs, their rights in the unit, or a notice given in bad faith.

T1 · T2 · T5 · T6

What we do

  1. Read the application

    We check what the tenant claims and whether it was filed in time.

  2. Collect your records

    We gather repair requests, work orders, entry notices, receipts, messages and photos.

  3. Serve your evidence

    We give it to the tenant and the Board by the Rules' deadlines.

  4. Prepare witnesses

    We confirm who will speak and request a summons if needed.

  5. Mediation and hearing

    We take part in any mediation and represent you at the hearing.

The forms involved

How the timing works

  1. Application arrivesUsually sent by the Board with a Notice of Hearing.
  2. CMH noticeUsually at least 10 days before a CMH.
  3. Your evidenceAt least 7 days before the CMH or hearing.
  4. Responding evidenceAt least 5 days before the CMH or hearing.
  5. HearingCan go ahead if you do not attend.
  6. Review requestWithin 15 days of the order.

How the process runs

A T6 says you have not kept the unit or building in a good state of repair, fit to live in and up to health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. A T2 alleges illegal entry, changed locks without new keys, a withheld vital service, substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment, or harassment. A T1 seeks money back, such as rent above the lawful amount, an illegal charge or unpaid N12 or N13 compensation. A T5 comes from a former tenant who says an N12 or N13 was given in bad faith, or was refused the right to return after renovations.

The Board usually sends you a copy of the application and a Notice of Hearing. The tenant must give you their evidence directly. Your documents, photos and other evidence must be given to the tenant and the Board at least 7 days before the case management hearing (CMH) or hearing, by a permitted method of service. The Board may offer mediation, and what is said there is confidential. The tenant must prove a T2 claim. For some T5 claims, bad faith is presumed unless you prove otherwise.

For repairs, the Board can order the work done by a set date, an abatement of rent, payment for the tenant’s damaged property and out-of-pocket costs, or a stop on rent increases until serious problems are fixed. On a T2 it can also order you to stop the conduct and pay an administrative fine. If your conduct led the tenant to move, it can add a year of their higher rent and moving costs. A T5 can bring general compensation of up to 12 months’ rent, moving costs and a fine. Payment orders and fines are each capped at the greater of $10,000 and the Small Claims Court limit. Separately, offences such as knowingly harassing a tenant or ignoring a Board repair order carry fines on conviction of up to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation.

Where a response goes wrong

  • The claim is out of time. A T2 or T6 must be filed within one year of the conduct. The LTB counts an ongoing repair problem from the day it is fixed. A T1 has one year from when the money was collected or kept, and a T5 one year from the move-out, longer for a right-to-return claim. The Board cannot extend these deadlines.
  • Your evidence is late. The Board can refuse evidence that was not disclosed in time. Uploading it to the Tribunals Ontario Portal does not serve the tenant unless they agreed in writing.
  • No one attends the CMH. A respondent who misses it without exceptional circumstances may be taken to accept every fact and allegation in the application.
  • There is no repair record. The Board considers whether the tenant told you about the problem before applying. The LTB’s guideline says a timely repair that worked usually means no abatement.
  • The work notice was skipped. If work in the building disturbed the tenant, no abatement can be ordered if you met ten set conditions, including notice at least 60 days before the work began.

When the tenant raises issues at your L1 hearing

At an L1 hearing, the tenant can raise any issue they could have brought in their own application, such as repairs or harassment. For an L1 filed on or after September 21, 2026, they must, at least 7 days before the hearing, give you and the Board a written description of each issue and pay you half the arrears claimed. These steps cannot be waived unless the Human Rights Code requires it. The Board can then make any order it could have made on a tenant application.

Fees

The steps below are each priced on their own. Board filing fees are separate and are paid to the Board.

  • Hearing representation

    Preparation and representation at the Board or Divisional Court.

No two matters are alike, so we price yours once we know the facts. You will know the fee before any work starts.

Screening call: 15 minutes, complimentary. Full consultation: 45 minutes, $150 incl. HST.

Book the complimentary call

Questions

What happens if I miss the hearing?

The hearing can go ahead without you, and the Board can decide the application on the evidence it has. If the Board sets a case management hearing and you miss it without exceptional circumstances, you may be taken to accept all the facts and allegations in the application. A request to move a date normally needs every party’s consent and must reach the Board at least 5 business days before. Evidence you did not give the tenant and the Board on time may be refused.

How far back can my tenant's claim go?

Usually one year. A T2 or T6 must be filed within one year of the conduct. For an ongoing repair problem, the LTB counts from the repair, and an abatement can reach back a year before filing. A T1 must be filed within one year of the money being collected or kept, and rent charged for over a year without a challenge is deemed lawful. A T5 must be filed within one year of moving out, or later for a right-to-return claim. The Board cannot extend these deadlines.

Can my tenant pay rent to the Board instead of to me?

Only in set cases. On a maintenance application, the tenant can ask the Board’s permission to pay future rent into the Board until the application is resolved. A request made before the hearing is decided without hearing from you. If the Board allows it, those payments are not a default in rent. The money is paid out under the final order, or as a mediated settlement directs. The half-arrears payment a tenant makes to raise issues at your L1 hearing goes to you, not to the Board.

Sources (46)

Legal statements on this page come from Ontario's laws and regulations, the Landlord and Tenant Board's own forms, instructions and rules, and the other official sources listed below.

  1. T1: a tenant or former tenant may apply for an order that the landlord pay back money collected or retained in contravention of the Act (RTA s. 135(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  2. A landlord who fails to pay compensation required under s. 48.1, 49.1, 52, 54 or 55 is deemed to have retained money in contravention of the Act (RTA s. 135(1.1)). Ontario e-Laws
  3. T1 reasons include an illegal rent the tenant paid, an illegal charge, an unreturned rent deposit, deposit interest and unpaid N12 or N13 compensation (T1 instructions, Section A). Tribunals Ontario
  4. T6: a tenant or former tenant may apply for an order that the landlord breached s. 20(1): a good state of repair, fit for habitation and compliance with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards (RTA ss. 20(1), 29(1), para. 1). Ontario e-Laws
  5. T2: orders that the landlord, superintendent or agent withheld or interfered with a vital service, care service or food, substantially interfered with reasonable enjoyment, harassed, obstructed, coerced, threatened or interfered with the tenant, changed the locking system without replacement keys, or illegally entered the unit (RTA s. 29(1), paras. 2 to 6). Ontario e-Laws
  6. T5: a former tenant may apply where an N12 or N13 was given in bad faith and the tenant moved out because of it (RTA s. 57(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  7. T5: a former tenant may apply where the landlord was required to afford a right of first refusal under s. 53 and failed to do so (RTA s. 57.1(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  8. The Board gives the parties other than the applicant a copy of the application (RTA s. 188(1), para. 1). Ontario e-Laws
  9. The LTB serves the Notice of Hearing with the application; the applicant must give its evidence directly to the other parties (LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 5.1). Tribunals Ontario
  10. All parties must give the other parties and the LTB the evidence they intend to rely on at least 7 days before the CMH or hearing, by a method of service in the RTA or Rule 3 (Rule 19.1). Tribunals Ontario
  11. Responding evidence is due at least 5 days before the CMH or hearing (Rules 19.2 and 19.6.1). Tribunals Ontario
  12. The Board may attempt to settle a matter through mediation (RTA s. 194(1)); the LTB may offer mediation and parties may agree to mediate (Rule 13.1). Ontario e-Laws
  13. Anything said during a mediation, including an offer to settle, is confidential (Rule 13.5). Tribunals Ontario
  14. A party may ask the LTB to issue a summons for a witness; the requesting party serves it and pays the attendance money (Rules 7.5 and 7.6). Tribunals Ontario
  15. In a T2 application the tenant must prove that it is more likely than not that the allegations are true (LTB Interpretation Guideline 6). Tribunals Ontario
  16. For an own-use N12, bad faith is presumed unless the contrary is proven on a balance of probabilities in the situations set out in RTA s. 57(5) and (6.1). Ontario e-Laws
  17. Maintenance orders include an abatement of rent, ordering specified repairs within a specified time, payment for the tenant's damaged property and out-of-pocket expenses, and prohibiting rent increases until serious breaches are remedied (RTA s. 30(1), paras. 2, 4, 5, 7, 8). Ontario e-Laws
  18. T2 orders include an order not to engage in further such activities, payments, an abatement, an administrative fine and termination of the tenancy (RTA s. 31(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  19. If the tenant was induced by the conduct to vacate, the Board may order increased rent for a one-year period and moving, storage and like expenses (RTA s. 31(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  20. T5 orders include increased rent for one year, general compensation up to 12 months of the last rent charged, moving and storage expenses, an abatement and an administrative fine (RTA s. 57(3)). Ontario e-Laws
  21. Administrative fine not exceeding the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court (RTA s. 31(1)(d) and s. 57(3), para. 3; not amended by S.O. 2023, c. 10 or S.O. 2025, c. 14). Ontario e-Laws
  22. The Board may order payment of money up to the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court (RTA s. 207(1)). Ontario e-Laws
  23. Knowingly harassing a tenant is an offence (RTA s. 235(1)); contravening a Board order to do specified repairs is an offence (RTA s. 234(y)(i)). Ontario e-Laws
  24. Maximum fines on conviction: $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation (RTA s. 238, as amended by S.O. 2023, c. 10, Sched. 7, s. 9, in force 1 July 2026). Ontario e-Laws
  25. No T2 or T6 application more than one year after the day the alleged conduct occurred (RTA s. 29(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  26. Where a maintenance breach is ongoing, the limitation period runs from the date the repair is completed (LTB Interpretation Guideline 5). Tribunals Ontario
  27. No T1 order on an application filed more than one year after the money was collected or retained (RTA s. 135(4)). Ontario e-Laws
  28. No T5 application more than one year after the former tenant vacated (RTA s. 57(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  29. Right of first refusal claim: no application after the later of the second anniversary of vacating and six months after the work is completed (RTA s. 57.1(2), in force 21 September 2026). Ontario e-Laws
  30. The Board may not extend deadlines for filing applications, other than those listed in RTA s. 190(1) (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56, para. 2). Ontario e-Laws
  31. A party who does not comply with Rule 19 may not rely on the evidence not disclosed, unless otherwise ordered (Rule 19.7). Tribunals Ontario
  32. Uploading evidence to the Tribunals Ontario Portal is not a permitted method of providing it to a party unless that party consented in writing (Rule 19.1.1). Tribunals Ontario
  33. A respondent who fails to attend a CMH without exceptional circumstances may be deemed to accept all of the facts and allegations in the application (Rule 9.5). Tribunals Ontario
  34. In deciding the remedy, the Board shall consider whether the tenant advised the landlord of the alleged breaches before applying (RTA s. 30(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  35. If the landlord responded in a timely way and the repair was effective, no abatement or other remedy should generally be ordered (LTB Interpretation Guideline 5). Tribunals Ontario
  36. For substantial interference caused by work, no abatement may be ordered if all ten conditions are met, including notice to the tenant at least 60 days before the work began (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8(4)). Ontario e-Laws
  37. At a hearing of an L1 based on an N4, the tenant may raise any issue that could be the subject of a tenant application if the tenant gives advance written notice and pays half of the arrears claimed in the application (RTA s. 82(1), (2), as amended by S.O. 2025, c. 14, Sched. 12, s. 6, in force 21 September 2026). Ontario e-Laws
  38. The half-arrears payment is due no later than seven days before the hearing (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.3). Ontario e-Laws
  39. At least 7 days before the CMH or hearing the tenant must make the s. 82(2) payment and give a written description of each issue; this cannot be waived except where required by the Human Rights Code (Rules 19.4 and 19.5). Tribunals Ontario
  40. For a rent arrears application filed before September 21, 2026, the payment is not required and the tenant may raise issues if the LTB is satisfied they could not comply with the notice requirement (RTA s. 82(4), (5); Rule 19.5.1). Tribunals Ontario
  41. The Board may make any order on the issue it could have made had the tenant applied (RTA s. 82(3)). Ontario e-Laws
  42. The payment must be made directly to the landlord, not to the LTB in trust (LTB brochure, Issues a Tenant Can Raise at a Hearing about a Landlord's Application for Non-Payment of Rent). Tribunals Ontario
  43. Section 82 applies, with necessary modifications, to an application for arrears of rent (RTA s. 87(2)). Ontario e-Laws
  44. The LTB will usually give the Notice of a CMH at least 10 days before the CMH (LTB Practice Direction on Case Management Hearing). Tribunals Ontario
  45. If the respondent does not attend the hearing, the LTB may proceed in their absence (Rule 21.4). Tribunals Ontario
  46. A request to review a decision or order must be submitted within 15 days of its issuance, unless the Board extends the time (RTA s. 209(3), for orders made on or after 1 July 2026). Ontario e-Laws

Every month of delay is another month of rent.

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