What We Heard – July 26, 2021

Results of Landlord and Tenant Board consultations on upcoming amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act

In response to upcoming amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) consulted on changes and additions to its forms and instructions, interpretation guidelines and Rules of Procedure.

Consultations were open from January 19 - February 5, 2021. During the consultation period, the LTB received 24 written responses from landlord organizations, tenant organizations, legal representatives and individuals.

We read and carefully considered all the submissions. The feedback we received has helped us to make changes that will better meet the needs of tenants, landlords and their representatives.

Please note: The revisions described below are not reflected in the forms, instructions, Rules and guidelines currently posted on the LTB website. The changes will take effect on September 1, 2021, when the amendments to the RTA made by Bill 184, Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, 2020, are proclaimed.

Here is a summary of the changes we are making in response to submissions we received during the consultation:

Email added as a method of service

• We added email as an approved method for landlords to serve former tenants with the new Application to Collect Rent a Former Tenant Owes (L10 Application) and the Notice of Hearing (NOH). For the service to be valid, the tenant must have consented to use of email for service of documents during the tenancy and the landlord will have to prove that the email has been received.

Deadlines clarified

• The landlord will have to serve the former tenant with the L10 Application and NOH at least 30 days before the hearing. A landlord who has been unable to serve their former tenant with the L10 Application using an approved method will be able to submit a Request to use Alternative Service Method to the LTB. We changed the deadline for a landlord to make this request from 30 to 40 days before the hearing.
• On the Certificate of Service - Serving a Former Tenant, we added the deadlines for serving the former tenant and for submitting the certificate to the LTB.

Clearer definitions

• On the new L10 Application we will clarify the difference between unpaid rent owing during the tenancy and compensation.
• In Guideline 11: Eviction for Failure to Pay Rent, we will clarify that unpaid utilities are usually not considered rent arrears and cannot be claimed on a L1 or L9 Application. We also added a more detailed explanation of how rent arrears are calculated.
• In the L2 Application, we will add the definition of “immediate family members” (a spouse, their parents or their children) to the description of the reasons for ending a tenancy for landlord's own use.

More information and evidence to support L2 and L10 application

• On the L2 and L10 applications, we will add a requirement for the landlord to provide the period covered by the utility bill for unpaid utilities.
• On the L2 and L10 applications and instructions, we will add a requirement for a landlord who is claiming utilities costs from a tenant or former tenant to provide the tenant or former tenant and the LTB with the following documents before the hearing:
1. Copies of utility bills
2. A copy of the tenancy agreement which required the tenant to pay utilities (If an agreement was signed at the beginning of the tenancy.)
• We will add: “Attach additional sheets if necessary” above the space where landlords to fill in utility charges on the L2 application form.
• On the L2 and L10 applications and instructions, we will add a requirement for landlords who are asking to evict a tenant because they are doing renovations to provide the building permits to the tenant and the LTB before the hearing.
• The revised L2 Application will require the landlord to provide the date they paid compensation to a tenant whom they served with an N12 Notice or N13 Notice. It will also require the landlord to declare if they haven’t paid the compensation and that they understand they must do so before the termination date in the notice.

More information about tenants’ rights

• In Schedule A of the L2 Application and in the L2 Instructions, we will reiterate that a tenant who receives an N13 Notice based on renovation or repair may reoccupy the rental unit when the work is done at a rent that is no more than what the landlord could have lawfully charged if there was no interruption in the tenancy.
• In Guideline 12: Eviction for Personal Use, Demolition, Repairs and Conversion, we will reiterate that the landlord cannot refuse to allow the tenant to move back into the rental unit if the tenant has provided written notice that they intend to move back in after the renovation is complete.
• In the Instructions for the T5: Landlord Gave a Notice of Termination in Bad Faith and Guideline 12, we will add “Allowing the tenant to move back into the rental unit” as an example of a remedy the tenant can ask the LTB to order in the T5 Application.

Other forms changes

• We will improve our active offer of French language services by moving the option to request French language services to the top of the form.
• We will add reference to the fee waiver to the instructions.
• We will improve the user experience by including links to other LTB documents referenced in the guidelines, forms and instructions.
• We will correct typos, missing fields, formatting issues and removed extraneous information from the forms.

In conclusion

The LTB would like to thank everyone who provided comments and suggestions during our consultation process. While we may not have addressed all concerns or implemented all suggestions that have been submitted, we remain committed to providing fair, effective and timely dispute resolution services to the people of Ontario.