Quick Answer
A landlord in Ontario must keep a rental unit in a good state of repair and fit for habitation, regardless of the lease or who the tenant is. When repairs are ignored — pests, mould, no heat, leaks, broken appliances — a tenant can file a Form T6 with the Landlord and Tenant Board to order the work done and recover a rent abatement for the period the problem went unaddressed.
Forcing a landlord to meet their repair obligations — pests, mould, broken heating, leaks, and disrepair — and recovering an abatement for the time you lived with it.
Section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act makes the landlord responsible for maintaining the rental unit and the building in a good state of repair, fit for habitation, and compliant with health, safety, housing, and maintenance standards. This duty applies even if the tenant knew about the problem before moving in, and even if the lease tries to shift responsibility. A T6 is how a tenant enforces it when reasonable requests have gone unanswered.
The Board can order the landlord to do the repairs by a deadline, order a rent abatement for the period the tenant lived with the problem, order the landlord to pay for damaged or destroyed property, authorize the tenant to arrange the work and deduct the cost, and in some cases prohibit a rent increase until repairs are done. For ongoing problems, the Board can keep jurisdiction until the work is complete.
Put repair requests in writing and keep evidence of the conditions and the landlord's response (or silence). Municipal property-standards complaints and work orders strengthen the file. File the T6 with the Board, which schedules a hearing where the tenant shows the disrepair, the notice given to the landlord, and the impact — then asks for repairs and an abatement.
T6 files reward documentation gathered over time: a dated photo log and written requests turn a 'he said, she said' dispute into a provable one. The hearing itself follows the Board's ordinary schedule, typically a few months out from filing.
LTB matters turn on notices, service, and filing dates as much as the facts. Talk it through before a deadline passes — the first call is free, confidential, and without obligation.
