When Your Landlord Won't Make Repairs: Tenant Rights in Ontario
If you have asked your landlord — again and again — to fix something and nothing happens, you are not powerless. Ontario law puts the responsibility for keeping a rental in good shape squarely on the landlord, and it gives tenants a specific route to a remedy through the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). Knowing how that route works, and how to document your problem properly, makes all the difference.
What Your Landlord Is Required to Do
Under section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, a landlord is responsible for providing and maintaining the rental unit and the residential complex in a good state of repair and fit for habitation, and for complying with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.
Crucially, this obligation applies even if you knew about the problem before you moved in. A landlord cannot point to a defect you saw at the viewing and say you accepted it — the duty to repair is set by statute and cannot simply be waived by signing a lease.
This covers a wide range of issues: heating and hot water, plumbing leaks, electrical problems, pest infestations, broken locks and windows, mould, and the general upkeep of common areas.
First Steps: Tell the Landlord, in Writing
Before going to the Board, create a clear record. The goal is to be able to show, later, exactly what was wrong, when you reported it, and that the landlord had a fair chance to fix it.
- Put your request in writing — text, email, or a dated letter — even if you have already asked in person. Keep copies.
- Take photos and video, with dates, of the problem and any damage it causes.
- Keep a log of when the issue started, each time you reported it, and what (if anything) the landlord did.
- Save receipts for anything you had to spend because of the problem.
A written trail is the single most useful thing you can build, because at a hearing the Board decides on evidence, not on who sounds more convincing.
The T6: A Tenant Application About Maintenance
If the landlord still will not act, a tenant can file a Form T6 (Tenant Application about Maintenance) with the Landlord and Tenant Board. You can use the T6 to ask the LTB to decide whether your landlord has failed to repair or maintain the unit or complex, or has not met health, safety, housing or maintenance standards. The application is filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal.
There is a timing rule worth noting: if the problem has already been fixed, you must apply within one year of the date it was fixed. Both current and former tenants can apply.
What the Board Can Order
If the Board agrees with you, the remedies available on a T6 include:
- A rent abatement — an order that the landlord repay or reduce a portion of your rent to reflect the time you went without proper conditions
- An order that the landlord do the repairs by a set date
- An order prohibiting a rent increase until serious maintenance problems are fixed
- Compensation for losses, and other orders the Board considers appropriate
What Not to Do: Withholding Rent
It is tempting, when a landlord ignores you, to simply stop paying rent until they fix the problem. In Ontario this is risky. Withholding rent does not legally excuse you from paying it, and it can expose you to an eviction application for arrears — turning your repair complaint into a fight to keep your home. The safer path is to keep paying rent and pursue the proper remedy through a T6, where the Board can order an abatement after the fact.
If You Need Help
Maintenance disputes are won on preparation: the right form, the right evidence, and a clear explanation of the impact on you. A licensed paralegal can help you decide whether a T6 is the right step, organize your documentation, and present your case at the hearing — which the LTB now holds primarily by video.
This article is general information only and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts.
Landlord and Tenant Representation at WP Legal Professional
When repairs go unaddressed, you should not have to navigate the LTB alone. At WP Legal Professional, our licensed paralegals represent tenants and small landlords before the Landlord and Tenant Board across the Greater Toronto Area, in English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Korean.
Get help. Contact us for a confidential consultation, or learn more about our landlord and tenant services.