Landlord and Tenant Board

The Landlord and Tenant Board (French: Commission de la location immobilière) is an adjudicative tribunal operating in the province of Ontario that provides dispute resolution of landlord and tenant matters under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. It is one of the 13 adjudicative tribunals overseen by the Ministry of the Attorney General that make up Tribunals Ontario.[1]

Landlord and Tenant Board
Commission de la location immobilière (French)
Agency overview
FormedJanuary 31, 2007
Preceding agency
  • Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal
TypeTribunal
JurisdictionProvince of Ontario
Headquarters25 Grosvenor Street Toronto, Ontario
Minister responsible
Parent agencyTribunals Ontario
Key document
Websitetribunalsontario.ca/ltb/

Process

Either landlords or tenants may file an application to the board. The parties can choose to first attempt to resolve the matter through mediation. If the mediation is unsuccessful or if the parties choose not to attempt mediation, then an adjudication hearing is held in which a board member hears evidence from both parties before issuing an order. The Statutory Powers Procedure Act provides a general framework for the conduct of hearings before Ontario's administrative tribunals including the LTB.

A landlord may apply to the board to increase a unit's rent above the province's rent control guidelines or to evict a tenant. Tenants can dispute evictions, apply for rent reductions or rebates due to a landlord's failure to meet maintenance obligations, apply for work orders or other orders, or grieve other violations of the Residential Tenancies Act. In Ontario, a landlord cannot evict a tenant without a hearing before the board.[2][3]

Ontario-based newspapers have published stories about landlords being months in arrears for rent with no options available to reduce their losses while they wait for hearings.[4] Continued delays in processing evictions has resulted in some landlords nearing bankruptcy[5] and becoming homeless.[6]

In Ontario, a person may be represented by an individual licensed by the Law Society of Ontario such as a lawyer or a paralegal.[7] There are other exemptions for unpaid representatives such as direct employees of the landlord or in the case of a tenant a friend or family member. It is the obligation of the individual claiming the representation exemption to provide proof to the board of their legal authorization to represent a person or company in front of the board. Prior to a board hearing tenants are offered the opportunity to speak to tenant duty counsel which is usually provided by a community legal aid clinic funded through Legal Aid Ontario.[8]

Jurisdiction

According to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), the LTB has the jurisdiction to resolve all matters between landlords and tenants, to mediate or adjudicate eviction applications from non-profit housing co-operatives, and provide information to landlords, tenants about their rights and responsibilities under the RTA as well as information about LTB’s practices and procedure.

Under the RTA, a tenant must be in possession of a rental unit prior to filing an application with the board.[9]

If a landlord would like to make a claim against a tenant after a tenant has vacated the rental unit, the landlord must file an L10 with the LTB.[10][11]

Some LTB decisions are published by CanLII. As of 2021, there were 19,621 decisions posted to CanLII.[12]

The LTB processes around 80,000 applications per year.[13][14] A majority of those applications are non-payment of rent applications.[14]

Publication of LTB decisions

Access to Adjudicative Records at the Landlord and Tenant Board is governed by the Tribunal Adjudicative Records Act, 2019, S.O. 2019, c. 7, Sched. 60,[15] and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31.[15]

According to Toronto Star v. AG Ontario, 2018 ONSC 2586 (CanLII)[16] decisions of the Ontario landlord and Tenant Board are not subject to the privacy considerations as personal information under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. F.31.[15]

References
  1. "Welcome to Tribunals Ontario". Tribunals Ontario. Queen's Printer for Ontario. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  2. "Frequently Asked Questions (About Evictions)". Riverview Legal Services. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  3. "A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act". Landlord and Tenant Board. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
  4. "Landlords must pay Cambridge tenant $4,770 for sewage backups in kitchen". therecord.com. Jun 2, 2016. Retrieved Dec 30, 2022.
  5. "This GTA condo owner says he's struggling 'to make ends meet' as tenant won't pay $20K in rent". ca.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2023-02-17.
  6. "Small landlords who became homeless during pandemic blame 'broken' system".
  7. "Practice Direction on Representation before Social Justice Tribunals Ontario". Landlord and Tenant Board. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  8. "Tenant duty counsel". Legal Aid Ontario. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  9. "SWL-00849-17-IN2 (Re), 2017 CanLII 48972 (ON LTB)". CanLII. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  10. "Hogg v McConnell, 2015 CanLII 31347 (ON SCSM)". CanLII. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  11. "Valles v Advantagewon Inc, 2015 CanLII 29533 (ON SCSM)". CanLII. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  12. "CanLII, Landlord and Tenant Board - Ontario, retrieved 2021-06-17". Retrieved Dec 30, 2022.
  13. "Caselaw.Ninja - LTB Statistics, retrieved 2021-06-17". Retrieved Dec 30, 2022.
  14. Tribunals Ontario 2019-20 Annual Report retrieved 2021-05-28
  15. "Law Document English View". www.ontario.ca. Jul 24, 2014. Retrieved Dec 30, 2022.
  16. "Toronto Star v. AG Ontario, 2018 ONSC 2586 (CanLII), retrieved on 2021-05-20". CanLII. Retrieved Dec 30, 2022.
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