Answering a T2 in Ontario: What Landlords Face on a Tenant Rights Application

When an Ontario tenant, or a tenant who has moved out, believes the landlord, the superintendent or the landlord's agent violated their statutory rights under Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), the claim comes to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) on a T2. The usual allegations are an unlawful entry, a lockout, harassment, a vital service that was cut off, or substantial interference with reasonable enjoyment. More often than not, the landlord's own paperwork decides the result.

At a glance

What a T2 can allege

Under s. 29(1) of the RTA, a current or former tenant can ask for an order finding that the landlord, superintendent or agent did any of the following:

• cut off or deliberately disrupted a vital service, a care service or food the landlord must supply (s. 21);
• substantially interfered with how the tenant, or someone in the tenant's household, could reasonably enjoy the unit or complex (s. 22);
• harassed the tenant, or coerced, threatened, obstructed or interfered with them (s. 23);
• changed the locks without handing the tenant new keys (s. 24); or
• entered the unit unlawfully (ss. 26–27).

Two more grounds appear on the form itself. One is denying a tenant evicted by the Sheriff the 72 hours the Act allows to collect belongings (s. 41(3)). The other is failing to give a care home tenant a written tenancy agreement setting out the care services and meals (s. 140).

"Vital services" means hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas, and heat between September 1 and June 15. Complaints about maintenance and repairs under s. 20 are made on a T6 rather than a T2.

Where the T2 ends and other applications begin

A T2 is about conduct. Money taken or kept by the landlord is a T1 matter, disrepair is a T6 matter, and a former tenant's claim that an N12 or N13 was given in bad faith is a T5 matter. If you have brought an L1 (or an L9 or L10, which s. 87(2) treats the same way), the tenant may instead raise T2 issues at your hearing, provided the s. 82 conditions are met; when your rent application was filed on or after September 21, 2026, that includes paying half the arrears you claimed (Rule 19.4). See the page on the tenant's s. 82 issues form.

The entry rules your conduct is measured against

Without written notice (s. 26). Entry is permitted in an emergency; when the tenant consents at the time; for cleaning the tenancy agreement provides for; or, once a termination notice is out, to show the unit during daytime hours (8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) after a reasonable attempt to tell the tenant.

With written notice (s. 27). At least a day's written notice is required, for a purpose s. 27 permits, naming the reason, the date and an entry time no earlier than 8 a.m. and no later than 8 p.m.

Time limits

• The one-year limit (s. 29(2)). An application is out of time if made more than a year after the conduct. A one-off event such as a single unlawful entry starts the year on that day. Where conduct continues, such as heat withheld over several weeks, Guideline 6 starts the year on the day it stopped.
• How far back a remedy reaches. Even where conduct started earlier, an abatement cannot extend further back than one year before filing; Guideline 6 relies on the Vlahovich decision (Toronto Community Housing) for this.
• Expedited service. Under Rule 5.3, lockout applications are served 48 hours or more ahead of the hearing. Under Rule 5.4, a claim that the tenant was denied access to belongings after a Sheriff's eviction must be served 5 days or more ahead.
• Evidence. Each side must give its evidence to the others and to the LTB 7 days or more ahead of the hearing, and responding evidence 5 days or more ahead (Rules 19.1–19.2).

How the tenant completes the T2

The current version is dated 01/04/2022.

Part 1 gathers the basics: the unit address, the tenants and landlord, any superintendent or agent added as a respondent (on a Schedule of Parties), the dates the tenant moved in and out, and any related file numbers.

Part 2 sets out seven grounds the tenant can shade, mirroring the list above: unlawful entry, a lock change without keys, substantial interference, harassment and related conduct, withheld services or meals, the 72-hour property rule, and the care home agreement. Each reason has its own space for names, dates and a description, and approximate dates are acceptable if marked as such.

Part 3, Remedies offers eleven options:

1. a rent abatement;
2. an order to stop the conduct;
3. a fine payable to the LTB;
4. termination of the tenancy;
5. compensation for damaged property;
6. a year's worth of rent differential;
7. moving and storage costs;
8. other out-of-pocket expenses;
9. re-entry to the unit following a lockout;
10. getting belongings back after the Sheriff enforced an eviction;
11. anything else.

If the 72-hour rule is the only ground, the tenant is limited to remedies 2, 3, 5, 8, 10 and 11, and one resting only on the care home agreement can seek only an abatement.

Part 4 is the signature, after which come requests for accommodation or a French-language hearing, and payment.

How the tenant files

The tenant may use the Portal, mail, courier or a ServiceOntario location that accepts LTB filings, paying $48 online or $53 by other means unless a waiver is granted. Rule 5.1 has the Board serve you with the hearing notice and application; evidence, though, passes directly between the parties.

Building your defence

1. Measure every allegation against the one-year limit

Make a list of each incident alleged and its date. Conduct that ended more than a year before the application was filed is barred by s. 29(2).

2. Pull the records for each ground

• Entry: each written notice of entry and proof of when and how you delivered it, any work order or emergency call, and texts or emails in which the tenant consented.
• Locks: the date and reason for the change, and proof that keys were offered or given.
• Vital services: any disconnection notices and utility bills, your log of service calls, and contractor invoices proving how quickly things were fixed. During the heating season (September 1 to June 15), O. Reg. 516/06, s. 4 sets the minimum temperature.
• Harassment: every letter, email and text that you or your staff sent the tenant. The Board will look at context and tone.

3. If the complaint is about work in the building

Section 8 of O. Reg. 516/06 governs interference caused by maintenance, repairs or capital improvements. Satisfy all of the conditions in s. 8(4) and no abatement can be ordered. In outline, you need to show:

• advance notice of at least 60 days (or, for emergencies, whatever notice was reasonably possible) explaining what work would happen, how it would affect tenants and how long it would last, kept up to date as plans changed;
• that the work fell into a category the regulation lists, for example keeping the structure sound, complying with legal standards, keeping building systems running, or improving accessibility, security, or energy or water conservation;
• that you had any permit the work required;
• that work hours were reasonable or by-law compliant, the job did not drag on unreasonably, and you made reasonable efforts to limit noise.

Keep the notice, the permit and the contractor's schedule together; they are your evidence.

4. Disclose on time

The Board may exclude evidence that arrives late (Rule 19.7).

5. Understand what is at stake

Section 31(1) allows the LTB to:

• reduce the rent through an abatement;
• direct you to cease the conduct;
• compensate the tenant for property and expenses;
• fine you, up to $10,000 or the Small Claims Court limit if that is higher;
• terminate the tenancy;
• grant whatever other order it finds appropriate.

If your conduct pushed the tenant out, s. 31(2) allows a year's rent differential plus moving expenses on top. And s. 31(3) allows an order letting a locked-out tenant back into a unit that remains vacant.

6. Settle through the Board, not around it

Rule 17.2 prevents a tenant from withdrawing a filed harassment claim unless a Member or Dispute Resolution Officer agrees. Any settlement you reach should go before the LTB rather than depend on a private withdrawal.

Where T2 claims fall short

1. Stale conduct. Anything more than a year old is barred by s. 29(2), and an abatement cannot go back further than a year before filing.
2. The wrong application. Disrepair belongs on a T6 and money on a T1, so a T2 that describes nothing but repair problems may fail as framed.
3. Entry that was in fact lawful. Entering on proper 24-hour notice for a reason in s. 27, or without notice in a s. 26 situation, is not unlawful entry.
4. Normal friction. For disruption caused by a landlord's work, O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8(3)(b) treats interference as substantial only where it was unreasonable given the circumstances.
5. Missing specifics. Allegations with no dates, names or description give you nothing to respond to and are difficult for the tenant to prove.
6. No fee and no waiver. The LTB will not accept the application.

After the hearing

The LTB sets a hearing date, and mediation may come first. A successful tenant receives an order spelling out each remedy; ignoring a direction to cease prohibited conduct is itself an offence. Orders dated July 1, 2026 or later can be taken to review within 15 days by either party (Rule 26.5). A question of law can be appealed to the Divisional Court within 30 days (s. 210).

Recent changes

Neither the 2022 T2 form nor its August 2023 instructions has been reissued. From July 1, 2026, RTA s. 36.1 lets a tenant put in a portable or window air conditioning unit if its conditions are satisfied, and Guideline 6 has been updated to deal with this. The same date cut the review period to 15 days (from 30) for orders issued from then on.

Frequently asked questions

How does Ontario law define landlord harassment?

The RTA gives no definition. Section 23 lists the prohibited conduct (harassment, coercion, threats, obstruction, interference), Guideline 6 describes the Board's approach to these claims, and each case is decided on its own facts.

Could I be fined on a T2?

Yes. Under s. 31(1)(d), the Board can impose an administrative fine, paid to the LTB, of up to $10,000 or the Small Claims Court's monetary limit, whichever is higher.

Is it unlawful to enter a unit to make repairs?

No, so long as you gave proper written notice at least a day ahead, setting out why, which day, and a daytime entry window (s. 27), or the entry was in an emergency or with the tenant's consent at the time (s. 26).

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 20–27, 29, 31, 36.1, 41, 82, 87, 140, 207, 210
• O. Reg. 516/06, ss. 4, 8
• T2 Instructions
• T2 – Application about Tenant Rights (PDF)
• Interpretation Guideline 6: Tenant Rights
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5, 17, 19, 19.4, 26
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• LTB Operational Update, July 1, 2026