In Ontario, a tenant (current, former or prospective) who believes a landlord took or held on to money contrary to the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) files a T1 with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to get it back. As a landlord you meet the T1 as the respondent, and in practice most of these claims are won or lost on dates and records rather than argument.
At a glance
| Who files | Current or former tenants; would-be tenants charged illegally or denied a deposit refund; subtenants claiming against their tenant |
| Time limit | One year from when the money was collected or retained |
| Prior notice | The tenant need not warn the landlord before filing |
| How it reaches you | The tenant files on the Tribunals Ontario Portal, by mail or courier, or at ServiceOntario, and the LTB serves you with the Notice of Hearing |
| Fee (paid by tenant) | $53, reduced to $48 on the Tribunals Ontario Portal |
| After the order | Either side may file a Request to Review an Order (15 days) |
The grounds a T1 can raise
Under RTA s. 135(1), a tenant or former tenant may ask for an order that the landlord, superintendent or agent refund money taken or held back contrary to the Act. Section 135(2) extends this to prospective tenants and s. 135(3) to subtenants. The form sets out eight reasons:
| # | Ground |
|---|---|
| 1 | Illegal rent the tenant paid |
| 2 | A prohibited charge under s. 134 (key money, premiums, penalties, fees) |
| 3 | A last month's rent deposit neither applied to the final rental period nor refunded |
| 4 | A deposit held back after the landlord failed to let the tenant take possession (s. 107) |
| 5 | Interest owing on the last month's rent deposit that was never paid |
| 6 | Compensation owed on an N12 or N13 that was still unpaid when the tenancy ended (ss. 55.1, 135(1.1)) |
| 7 | Money from the sale of a former tenant's belongings that was never paid over (ss. 41, 42) |
| 8 | No notice given of an Order Prohibiting a Rent Increase, as required |
Repayment can be ordered up to the Board's monetary limit (s. 207). According to the instructions, that limit is $50,000, and a tenant who files waives anything above it.
How the T1 differs from other tenant applications
The T1 deals only with money paid or held back. Conduct complaints use the T2 application. Disrepair goes in a T6 application. Bad-faith N12 and N13 allegations go in a T5 application, and that T5 can also award unpaid compensation if the tenant claims it clearly.
Time limits that protect landlords
- The one-year bar. Under s. 135(4), the Board has no power to order repayment of money taken or kept more than a year before the T1 was filed. Every payment has its own date, so the window is assessed payment by payment.
- Rent that becomes lawful with time. If rent has been charged for a year or more and no application challenging it was made within a year after it was first charged, it is deemed lawful (s. 136(1)). Rent increases are treated the same way (s. 136(2)).
- Increases given without proper notice. Section 135.1 cures an increase that lacked 90 days' notice once the tenant has paid it for a full 12 consecutive months and not applied within that year.
- Compensation. The deadline for paying N12 or N13 compensation is the notice's termination date (s. 55.1); the tenant's year starts from that due date.
Example: a T1 filed February 10, 2027 targets a $100 monthly "amenity fee" charged since January 2025. Only the payments taken on or after February 10, 2026 are within reach.
What the tenant fills in
The current T1 (version 01/04/2022) has three parts and a payment page:
- Part 1, General Information. Unit address, the parties, any superintendent or agent added as a respondent (listed on a Schedule of Parties), and related file numbers.
- Part 2, Reasons. Each reason relied on is shaded and an amount claimed. Reason 1 calls for a rent history covering 12 months; Reason 2 for the particulars of each charge; Reason 3 for the move-out date and the amount of the deposit. Each reason comes with a text box where the tenant sets out dates and arithmetic.
- Part 3, Signature, followed by the accommodation and French-language request and then the payment page.
Read these sections closely: they show exactly which payments and dates you must answer.
How the tenant files
Filing options are the Portal, mail, courier or a ServiceOntario location handling LTB documents, and the tenant must pay the fee ($48 on the Portal, $53 otherwise) unless it is waived. You will be served by the LTB, not the tenant (Rule 5.1).
Preparing your response as the landlord
Step 1: test every amount against the clock. Write down each amount claimed beside the date you received it, or the date it fell due. Amounts older than a year are barred by s. 135(4), and older rent or increases may be protected by ss. 135.1 and 136.
Step 2: assemble the records for each ground.
- Rent: the lease, every N1 or N2 rent increase notice with proof it was served, and the guideline that applied.
- Charges: receipts and what each payment was for. Section 17 of O. Reg. 516/06 takes certain payments outside s. 134: a refundable deposit for a key or fob that does not exceed its replacement cost; the direct cost of additional or replacement keys (unless you were the one who changed the locks); bank charges for NSF cheques; and an NSF administration charge of no more than $20.
- Deposits and interest: the date the deposit was taken, how you applied it to the last rental period, and the yearly interest you paid, calculated at whatever guideline rate applied on each due date.
- Compensation: evidence it was paid on or before termination, or evidence that nothing was due. Beginning September 21, 2026, an own-use N12 with at least 120 days' notice and a termination date at the end of a period or term carries no compensation obligation (s. 48.1(2)).
Step 3: disclose on time. Your evidence must reach the tenant and the LTB no later than 7 days before the hearing, with reply evidence due 5 days ahead (Rules 19.1–19.2).
Where T1 claims fail
- Too late. Money collected or retained more than a year before filing is statute-barred (s. 135(4)).
- Attacking long-standing rent or increases. Absent a challenge in the first year, ss. 135.1 and 136 treat them as lawful.
- The wrong person applying. Sale proceeds under Reason 7 can be claimed only by a former tenant or a deceased tenant's estate, and a prospective tenant may rely only on Reasons 2 and 4.
- No fee paid or waived. The LTB will not accept the application.
- No numbers. Without the rent history or a breakdown the form requires, the claim is hard to prove and can fail on the evidence.
- Claiming compensation that was never owed. Two examples: an own-use N12 served September 21, 2026 or later with 120-plus days' notice, and an N13 where a statutory authority ordered the repairs (s. 54).
After the hearing
Following the hearing, the Board issues its order. If you think it is wrong, the options are a review request, due 15 days after any order dated July 1, 2026 or later ($58; RTA s. 209(3), Rule 26.5), or a Divisional Court appeal on a point of law, due within 30 days (RTA s. 210).
Recent changes
Neither the 2022 form nor the 2023 instructions reflect Bill 60, which narrowed Reason 6. Since September 21, 2026, an own-use N12 giving at least 120 days' notice, with a termination date at the end of a period or term, triggers no compensation (s. 48.1(2)). A purchaser's N12 still does.
Frequently asked questions
What is the look-back period for an illegal rent claim?
Only one year before the T1 was filed. Rent that has been charged for a year with no timely challenge is deemed lawful.
Are key deposits allowed?
Yes, if refundable and capped at what it would directly cost to replace the key, card or fob; O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17 takes such a deposit outside s. 134. That section also lets you recover your direct cost for spare keys a tenant asks for, or for replacements, except where you chose to change the locks. A tenant can use a T1 to recover a non-refundable key fee or any deposit above replacement cost.
Can a tenant raise these money issues at my L1 hearing instead of filing a T1?
Yes, if the s. 82 conditions are met; for arrears applications (L1, L9, L10) filed from September 21, 2026, that includes paying you half the claimed arrears. The tenant's issues form page explains the process.
Official sources
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 41, 42, 48.1, 55.1, 106, 107, 134, 135, 135.1, 136, 207, 210
- O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17
- T1 Instructions
- T1 – Tenant Application for a Rebate (PDF)
- LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5.1, 19, 26
- LTB Forms, filing and fees
- LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026