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Housing Law

Our Tenant Rights Legal Services

The law that deals with most landlord and tenant disputes is the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006. If you live in subsidized housing (social housing) the Housing Services Act also applies to you. The law is very different for members of housing co-ops. It is called the Cooperative Corporations Act.

Tenants most frequently have problems with the following:

  • Non-payment of rent
  • Landlord, landlords family member, or purchaser wants to move into the rental unit
  • Someone’s behavior substantially interfering with other Tenants enjoyment of unit or rights
  • Willful or negligent damage in the rental unit
  • Landlord wants to demolish the rental unit
  • Maintenance and repairs

Our Clinic offers information, advice, and representation to eligible tenant clients. However, representation is not always readily available. We can also help explain your rights and obligations under the law and how to take legal action to deal with your issue if you have problems with your rental unit or landlord.

We can also advise you when to get help from another service. There are many other resources available in Niagara to help you.

What to do if I have a problem as a Tenant

A tenant or a landlord can go to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) if they have a dispute. The LTB is like a court. This involves filling out forms and it can cost money to file the forms, depending on the issue. The tenant and landlord can try to settle the case using a mediator at the LTB. If it does not settle, the tenant and landlord both speak with an adjudicator who will listen to both sides and make a decision. This is called a hearing. It is possible to appeal the decision to court, but legal advice is necessary to take that step.

Members of our staff are at the LTB to give advice and information to Niagara tenants on the day of their hearing. Members of our staff in this capacity are called “Tenant Duty Counsels” or "TDC." To receive legal advice and information on your day of hearing then you can sign up for this service here: Client Sign Up Form (acto.ca)

Social housing tenants deal with rent subsidy disputes directly with their landlord. The process is called a “review.” The tenant asks for the review and explains why the decision is wrong. There is no appeal to the court. Tenants should get legal advice when faced with subsidy problems.

Landlords cannot take action against you unless they have given you the proper paperwork. Landlord provides notices to tenants that lists the problems and the actions the landlord wants the tenant to stop or start doing. Often you can do something to stop any further action.

If the landlord wants to evict you, immediately call us for information and advice.

If you need to get repairs done, first ask the landlord to fix the problem. If nothing is done, write a letter and ask the landlord to do the repair by a certain date. Keep a copy of the letter. If nothing is done, call the City and ask them to send an inspector to your rental unit. The City may be able to get the landlord to make the repair. If nothing happens, you will have to take the landlord to the LTB. Call us if you are having repairs problems.

Need help?

Call the Clinic for an appointment, or consult the resources below:

Landlord and Tenant Board

Note: Landlord and Tenant Board Applications can be filed by fax, mail, email or at the ServiceOntario counter at the following address:

ServiceOntario
301 St. Paul Street
St. Catharines, ON
L2R 7R4
1-800-267-8097
For inquiries, call 1-888-332-3234.

For more information on how to file a Landlord Tenant Board Application please visit: LTB: Contact the LTB | Tribunals Ontario

Rental Housing Enforcement Unit

You can also contact the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU). The RHEU do not provide legal services but can provide information and investigate issues pertaining to offences under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA).

If the person is convicted of an offence under the RTA, you may have to pay a fine up to:

  • $50,000 for an individual
  • $250,000 for a corporation

If you have a dispute with your landlord related to the offences, you can work with the RHEU to solve the problem. The RHEU first assess whether your issue is an offence under the RTA.

Some common offences:

  • Eviction
    • Offence to take back possession of a rental unit following the process set out in the act
    • Offence to take a tenant’s belongings without following the rules
    • Offence make a tenant move out of a rental unit by giving a notice of termination to a tenant for a reason known to be untrue
    • Offence to change the locks to a rental unit or building without giving the tenant a new key
  • Offence to withhold or interfere with Vital Services (water, fuel, electricity, natural gas, and heat)
  • Suite Meters
    • Offence to charge a tenant a portion of the utility cost without their consent
  • Entering a Rental Unit
    • Offence if landlord entered the rental unit without a reason that is not allowed in the act
    • Offence if landlord entered the rental unit without giving the tenant the required notice
    • Offence if landlord entered the rental unit at a time that is not allowed under the act
  • Harassment
  • Mobile Home parks and land lease communities
    • Offence to stop a tenant from buying goods or services from any person
    • force a tenant to sign an agency agreement for selling or leasing their mobile home or land lease home
  • non-profit housing co-operative member units
    • offence to prevent a member from belonging to, taking part in or forming a members’ association
    • offence to stop a member from filing an application under the act or from taking part in a hearing
    • offence to take possession of a member unit without following the rules under the act or the Co-operative Corporations Act(illegal lock out)
  • ending tenancy due to domestic or sexual violence

For the list of all offences please visit: Rental housing offences | ontario.ca

How to file a complaint at the RHEU