Landlord and Tenant Issues

Questions clients ask about Landlord and Tenant

Money: rent, deposits and fees

• Learn how an above-guideline rent increase works and how tenants can take part in the hearing.
• Check which deposits and fees an Ontario landlord can legally charge, and how to get an illegal charge back.
• Learn what a landlord must do with your last month's rent deposit, including the yearly interest.
• Find out how a landlord recovers rent from a tenant who already moved out, and why the one-year L10 deadline matters.

Ending a tenancy: landlord's notices

• Understand how N11 agreements and cash-for-keys deals work, and what a tenant gives up by signing one.
• Learn what to do if a landlord evicted you in bad faith, including the T5 deadline and what the Board can order.
• Find out what happens to your tenancy when the landlord sells the house, and when a buyer can move in.
• Learn when a landlord can use an N12 to move in or house family, and when one month's rent is owed.
• See how an N13 for renovations or demolition works, including the 120-day notice and the right to move back.
• Learn how an N5 notice works and how a tenant can void it within seven days.
• See when paying rent late again and again can end a tenancy through an N8 notice, and why paying up does not cancel it.

Hearings, orders and timelines

• Learn what you can do if you disagree with a Landlord and Tenant Board order, including the new 15-day review deadline.
• Get a realistic picture of how long an eviction takes in Ontario, from the first notice to the Sheriff.
• Decide whether to agree to mediation at the Landlord and Tenant Board and what a signed agreement commits you to.

Repairs, services and tenant applications

• Learn what a tenant can do about landlord harassment or interference with a T2 application, and what the Board can order.
• See how a T6 maintenance application works and what the Board can order when repairs are ignored.
• Find out what to do if your landlord cuts off heat, water or electricity, including the City's role in Hamilton.

Starting and changing a tenancy

• Learn whether an Ontario landlord can evict you for having a pet, and the three situations where an animal can lead to an eviction.
• Find out whether your lease has to use Ontario's standard form and what you can do if it does not.
• See whether you can sublet or assign your apartment in Ontario, and what to do if the landlord refuses consent.

Serving Hamilton

• Not sure where your case goes? See which Hamilton court or tribunal will hear your case.
• See how a Landlord and Tenant Board case works for a Hamilton rental, and where City by-laws add to the provincial rules.
• Learn what Hamilton's renovation licence by-law means for an N13, including the 7-day licence and rent gap payments.