A summons is a document that requires a person to attend a hearing as a witness. It can also require the witness to bring certain documents with them.
The Landlord and Tenant Board may decide to issue a summons on its own or at the request of a party.
If you want someone to go to a hearing as a witness, you should ask them if they are willing to go.
If the person agrees and you believe that they will go to the hearing, you do not need to request a summons. However, if the person does not want to go to the hearing, or if they need an official document in order to get time off from work, you can request a summons.
You should request a summons as soon as you become aware that one is needed.
If you want the LTB to issue a summons, you should complete a Request for the Board to Issue a Summons form and file it with the LTB. There is no fee for this request.
You must explain in your request why it is important for that person to attend the hearing as a witness. You must also provide a brief summary of what information you expect that person to give at the hearing, and any documents you would like them to bring to the hearing.
If you are a lawyer or paralegal or a law student working at a legal clinic, you must file a completed summons with your request. You can use the LTB's Summons Form.
When you file a request for a summons, a member of the LTB will decide whether or not to grant the request. The member will only issue a summons if they believe that what the witness will say or the documents they will bring to the hearing are relevant and necessary to decide the issues in the application.
The summons must be handed directly to the witness. It cannot be mailed or faxed to the witness or left with any other person at the witness' address.
You can give the summons to the witness or you can have someone else give it to them. However, whoever gives the summons may be asked to prove to the LTB that it was given directly to the witness.
The summons should be given to the witness as soon as possible so that they can arrange to come to the hearing.
If a witness does not attend a hearing, you may need to prove the summons was given directly to the witness.
The person who gave the summons to the witness should prepare an affidavit. The affidavit confirms that a copy of the summons was personally handed to the witness. A copy of the summons should be attached to the affidavit.
Once the affidavit has been completed, it must be sworn before a Commissioner of Oaths or a notary public by the person who gave the summons to the witness. You can get an affidavit form from the LTB.
A Commissioner of Oaths is available at most LTB offices to administer oaths for affidavits related to LTB applications.
If your witness agrees to come to your hearing voluntarily, then you don't need a summons and you don't have to pay them. If you think the witness may not attend the hearing and you decide to summons them, they are entitled to the same fees or allowances that would be paid to a person who was summoned in the Superior Court of Justice.
Tariff A of the Rules of Civil Procedure requires you to pay a witness $50 a day for going to a hearing plus the travel costs listed below:
| If the hearing is held... | Then you must also pay the witness a travel allowance of... |
|---|---|
| in a city or town where the witness lives | $3.00/day. |
| within 300 kilometers of where the witness lives | 24 cents/kilometer each way, from where the witness lives to where the hearing is held. |
| more than 300 kilometers from where the witness lives |
the cost of return air fare, plus 24 cents/kilometer each way from where the witness lives, to the airport and from the airport to the hearing location. |
| If the witness lives in a different city or town from where the hearing is held and has to stay overnight, you must also pay the witness an allowance of $75 a night for their accommodation and meals. | |
If the witness does not show up for the hearing, you can:
If the LTB is satisfied that the witness was properly served and has failed to appear without a lawful excuse, you or the LTB may ask the police to arrest the witness and require them to attend.
You may also consider filing an application with the court to force the witness to obey the summons. Before filing an application of this type, you should seek legal advice. These applications can be expensive and take a long time to resolve.
Last updated: January 2017