Frequently Asked Questions

Your first stop for self-help is a review of our FAQs. Take a look at the ever increasing collection of questions asked by Ontario’s small-scale landlords as well as the actual answers provided by Landlord’s Self-Help Centre.

Since there was a contractual obligation to get consent before installing an air conditioner, you can argue that failure to do this has substantially interfered with your reasonable enjoyment, lawful right or interest. This would mean serving an N5 notice. The N5 form must provide a termination date of at least 20 days after the notice is given and give detailed reasons for termination, such as specific dates and times of all the events that occurred. The N5 notice informs the tenant that if they correct the problem within 7 days of receiving the notice, the notice will be void and the tenant will not have to move out.

If the tenant fails to correct the situation, then you may file an L2 application with the Landlord and Tenant Board on or after the 8th day. The application must be filed within 30 days of the termination date on the N5. As a side note, when calculating the termination date for the N5, landlords must treat the day that they serve the notice to the tenant as day zero.

The forms and instructions are available here on the Board’s website: https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/

There is no provision in the Residential Tenancies Act that states the landlord is responsible to pay for the tenant’s lost food when the fridge malfunctions. The landlord has a duty to fulfill his maintenance obligations and deal with the situation as quickly as possible.

There is no specific way to prohibit a tenant from obtaining appliances. It can be stated in a lease agreement but even then it would be difficult to enforce. Basically unless the appliance has caused damage or is causing some electrical or plumbing problem the landlord does not really have much recourse.

Skip to content