The Residential Tenancies Act does not specifically give tenants the right to deduct amounts of money from the rent payments for any reason. However, if the tenant files an application with the Landlord and Tenant Board based on unattended maintenance or repairs in the rental unit to be carried out by the landlord, the Landlord and Tenant Board is allowed to order a rent abatement, or reimbursement for the reasonable costs that a tenant has incurred in repairing or replacing damaged, destroyed or disposed of property by the landlord’s breaching of their obligations. Further, a tenant may hold back a rent increase amount that may be in dispute, or because the landlord failed to pay the interest on the last month’s rent, or for an automatic rent reduction where the municipality has notified the parties of the rent reduction due to a decrease in municipal taxes and charges. In most cases, the board member will have to decide on the validity of the tenant unilaterally deducting any amounts from the rent payments.