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.

All parties must provide the other parties with a complete copy of the evidence they intend to rely upon at least 7 days before the hearing or 5 days in the case of responding evidence. Evidence should be emailed to the LTB at LTB.Evidence@ontario.ca and to the tenant.  If email is not possible it can be mailed or courier it to the address identified in the Notice of Hearing. Files emailed to the LTB must be in one of the following formats: PDF, Word, Excel, JPG, MP3, MP4 or MOV.  For more information on Evidence visit the LTB’s Practice Direction on Evidence –https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Practice%20Directions/Practice%20Direction%20on%20Evidence.html#filetype

This is a link to a Landlord and Tenant Board case from CanLII that makes reference to text message as a usual means of communication between the landlord and (applying) tenant, for your reference:

https://www.canlii.org/en/on/onltb/doc/2015/2015canlii77278/2015canlii77278.html?searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAVdGV4dCBtZXNzYWdlIGV2aWRlbmNlAAAAAAE&resultIndex=5

You do not need to fill out the bottom part of the affidavit as this must be done by the commissioner or notary. Only the top part and the statements listed in numbered paragraphs inside the large box need to be completed by you. The commissioner will ask you to verify your statements.

You can have an affidavit sworn for free by a commissioner of oaths on staff at the Landlord and Tenant Board. To have one sworn in advance of going to the Board, you would likely have to use a lawyer, paralegal or notary public at your own cost.

Instead of an affidavit, the LTB will also accept a signed and dated declaration containing the same information. The person who makes the declaration must confirm the truth of the information or statement and acknowledge that making a false declaration is an offense. Declaration forms are available on the LTB’s website-https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/

For reference, here is a link to our Town Hall slides on the topic of Agreements to Terminate Tenancy. You will find more information near the bottom of the document under the heading “Landlord and Tenant Board”.
http://landlordselfhelp.com/media/2016/01/TownHall_-Agreement-Notice_public.pdf

There is no standard form or format for a letter of authorization to be used at the Landlord and Tenant Board, nor does Landlord’s Self-Help Centre have a template for client use at this time. We suggest simply writing a letter specifying the person that will be representing the landlord at the hearing and having the same letter signed by the landlord. For more information on who can represent a landlord at the LTB –https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Brochures/Who%20Can%20be%20a%20Representative%20Before%20the%20Landlord%20and%20Tenant%20Board%20%28EN%29.html

The Landlord and Tenant Board has introduced a new method of filing applications through the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Landlords and Tenants can now submit L1,L2, L3,L4,L9, L10, T1 T2, T5, and T6 applications using the Portal. Currently these applications are the main applications that can be filed on the Portal, either on its own or combined. For more information on filing applications- please visit https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/filing-and-fees/

Reading the Landlord and Tenant Board’s Interpretation Guideline 16 in the linked information will give you a good sense of when the Landlord and Tenant Board will typically issue a fine: https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Interpretation%20Guidelines/16%20-%20Administrative%20Fines.html

As you can see, it says, “This remedy is not normally imposed unless a landlord has shown a blatant disregard for the RTA and other remedies will not provide adequate deterrence and compliance.” Typically the Board member must be satisfied that the landlord knowingly disregarded the law for their own ends, before issuing a fine of any kind.

Since there is no certainty about you even getting a fine, I also suggest that you do not focus on the amount of fines available, as they are very rarely the maximum amount, and are simply impossible to predict.

Past cases from the Landlord and Tenant Board can be found on CanLii.org (you can narrow your search by using specific keywords or document text in your search).

You can visit https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/contact/ for a complete list of Regional Office locations. You’ll also find a listing of ServiceOntario Centres where documents can be filed.

According to the Landlord and Tenant Board’s website, the role of the Board is to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants through either mediation or adjudication, regulate rent increases in most residential rental units, and educate landlords and tenants about their rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act. The Board is an independent agency. Any decision which the Board makes about the rights or responsibilities of individual landlords or tenants cannot be influenced by any Member of Provincial Parliament or Minister of the Crown.

The Board will schedule a hearing to listen to what the landlord and the tenant have to say, and to consider any evidence they have to present. For most applications hearings are being held by video conference using Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Parties can also participate in video conference hearings by telephone. If you have a scheduled hearing, the LTB will send you the details of your hearing as soon as possible. Each party presents any evidence they have and they tell the Member about the situation. In an electronic hearing the parties must file email evidence before the hearing and then they tell the Member about the situation over the telephone or by video conference. Sometimes the Board will schedule a written hearing. In a written hearing the parties provide information about the situation by filing written documents by the deadlines set out in the Notice of Hearing. The Member uses these documents to make their decision.  For more information visit – https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/operational-updates/

The Simcoe County Housing office that provided the tenant’s income is not under any obligation to release personal information about their clients to any third party. All businesses in Canada, even landlords, are subject to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). Personal information may be stored and disclosed only by fair and lawful means, with the individuals consent, and only for purposes that are stated between the parties. The other problem you have is that even if you find out the employer information on your own, and begin to garnish the wages by taking the employer to Small Claims Court, the tenant could quit their job. If this happens, the garnishment payment to court and to you would stop, and you would have to start again once you find out who their new employer is.

The Board does not provide an interpreter unless it is for French Language services. Information from the Landlord and Tenant Board website, https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/language-services/, appears below: “Does the Board supply an interpreter at hearings?” The Board will only supply an interpreter at a hearing for two reasons: 1. to provide French language service to a party if: • the rental unit in the application is in an area of the province designated by the French Languages Services Act; or, • the party making the request for French languages services lives in a designated area. 2. to provide a sign language interpreter for a party who is hearing impaired. If you need an interpreter for one of these reasons, you should let the Board know as soon as possible. If these reasons do not apply to you but you would prefer to have an interpreter with you at the hearing, then you will have to get someone to interpret for you at your hearing. This may be: • someone you know that speaks both your native language and English, who would be willing to help you at your hearing, or • it could be an interpreter that you hire to interpret for you at your hearing.” I suggest you contact a community agency through 211.ca or by calling 211 to help you find an interpreter.

The Landlord and Tenant Board is similar to a court and they basically provide information about the law and resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. It is not an organization that you would join.

First, gather any evidence that you want to present at the hearing such as the Affidavit/Declaration you filed with the Board, maps of the rental unit, pictures or any other evidence that would be relevant to your hearing. You must provide a copy of your evidence to the tenant and the Board. A copy of all evidence you intend to use for your hearing can be emailed to the Board at LTB Evidence@ontario.ca or you can mail or courier it to the address identified in the Notice of Hearing. For more information on how to submit evidence visit-https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Practice%20Directions/Practice%20Direction%20on%20Evidence.html#filetype

If the hearing is for a family member’s own use (i.e., your spouse, child or parent) you should arrange for them to come to the hearing as a witness. This can help in case the adjudicator wants to clarify matters by questioning the person who wishes to occupy the unit in good faith.

Members of the public are welcome to attend LTB video conference hearings using Zoom and may contact the LTB to inquire about access to hearings. Observers are not permitted to disrupt a hearing in any way, and the LTB has the authority to issue directions or orders necessary to control the hearing process. This will give you a general understanding of how a hearing is held and if you find that you are not comfortable representing yourself in front of the Tribunal Member, you can then look into hiring a agent (i.e. paralegal or lawyer) to represent you.

At this point, what you should do is serve a new N5 as a first N5 with a 20 day termination date. If the problems are not corrected within 7 days, you would not serve a 2nd N5, you would just simply proceed with the next step which is to file the L2 application with the Board. The only time you serve a 2nd N5 with a fourteen day notice period is when the first N5 was corrected within the seven days and then the problems started again.

You can still attend the LTB hearing to obtain an Order for the month that is still outstanding as long as the tenants received the Notice of Hearing before they moved out.

If the application is based on a notice given to the tenant, you first need to determine if there are any mistakes on the actual notice.  If the termination notice is perfect and does not have any errors, then you should be able to re-file an amended application or ask the adjudicator at the hearing to correct the error on the application (if you do not have time to submit one before the hearing).

You can file more than one application with the Board. If you’re serving the N5 and you have already served the N4, you can wait until the termination date on the N4 and file both applications together so that you will only pay the filing fee once.

When an application can be filed depends on which notice you served on the tenant. If the notice is based on nonpayment of rent, then you can apply to the Board anytime after the termination date. If you’ve served a different notice, visit www.landlordselfhelp.com or the Landlord and Tenant Board https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/ for more information about the different notices.  

To contact the Landlord and Tenant Board by phone, call 416-645-8080 from within the Toronto calling area, or toll-free at 1-888-332-3234 from outside Toronto. Customer Service Representatives are available Monday to Friday, except holidays, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Representatives provide information about the Residential Tenancies Act; they cannot provide you with legal advice. You can also access the Board’s automated information menu at the same numbers listed above 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Visit https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/ for more details.

We cannot provide any kind of in-depth preparation for your hearing. Going to similar hearings would be the best way to prepare if you have time for that. The Landlord and Tenant Board offers a publication that provides an overview of the hearing process, https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/brochures-videos/.  For information on how to submit evidence visit-https://tribunalsontario.ca/documents/ltb/Practice%20Directions/Practice%20Direction%20on%20Evidence.html#filetype.

Based on what you have described, it does seem that the Member was being biased in pushing the tenants to obtain legal counsel when they had already been advised and chose not to. However, the only suggestion we have for you is to file a complaint about the Member’s conduct. I’ve included the link below to the Board’s Complaints procedure which explains how to file a complaint, https://tribunalsontario.ca/en/complaints/

Mediation is voluntary, you are not required to mediate your dispute if you do not wish to do so. You may have an adjudicator decide on the issue.

The Landlord and Tenant Board should have sent you a copy of the Application and the Notice of Hearing at least ten days before the hearing. The Application will have details on the reasons for the application, and the Notice of Hearing will contain details on the time and location of the hearing. If you have not received anything, you should contact the Board and ask them to provide you with that information. You can call us when you have more information on the basis of the application, we could then tell you whether you require a lawyer or paralegal.

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