Repair Complaints at the LTB: How an Ontario Landlord Defends a T6

A T6 is a tenant's (or former tenant's) application to the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) alleging that the landlord has not kept the unit or complex in good repair and fit to live in, or has not met health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. Landlords win or lose these cases on records, not impressions: what the problem was, when you learned of it, and how promptly and effectively you fixed it.

Overview

The landlord's duty, and what the LTB can order

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) puts the obligation in s. 20(1): every unit and the complex as a whole must be provided and kept "in a good state of repair and fit for habitation", in compliance with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards. A tenant's awareness of a problem before moving in does not reduce that duty (s. 20(2)).

Section 29(1), para. 1 lets a tenant or former tenant apply for a finding that the landlord breached it. Where the LTB makes that finding, s. 30(1) offers a menu of remedies:

Items 6 to 8 are known collectively as the order prohibiting a rent increase. They are reserved for serious breaches and outstanding work orders, but they can have a lasting effect on a building's income, which is why a T6 deserves a careful response.

Is it really a maintenance claim?

The T6 is about repair and maintenance only. Other complaints belong elsewhere:

• for harassment, illegal entry, or interference from how the work was done, the tenant should file a T2;
• for a facility or service that was intentionally withdrawn, a T3;
• for unlawful charges, a T1.

A tenant already facing your L1, L9 or L10 does not need a T6 to raise maintenance; they can raise it at your hearing, provided they give written notice of the issues 7 or more days before. Where your application was filed from September 21, 2026 on, there is a second condition: payment to you of 50% of the claimed arrears (ss. 82, 87(2)). The notice itself goes on the Issues a Tenant Intends to Raise form.

The duty is not unlimited. Guideline 5 says a tenant cannot demand a particular preventive maintenance program, or repairs held to a "standard of perfection". And undue damage caused wilfully or negligently by the tenant, their occupants or guests is the tenant's responsibility (s. 34).

Time limits

The one-year rule (s. 29(2)). An application cannot be brought more than one year after the breach. Because a maintenance breach usually continues day to day, Guideline 5 explains that the year starts when the repair is done or the standard is met. Anything you fixed more than a year before the T6 was filed is out.

How far back a remedy goes. Abatements are confined to the twelve months preceding the application. A problem still unrepaired on the hearing date can, however, attract an order running forward until the repair is made; Guideline 5 relies on Toronto Community Housing Corp. v. Vlahovich and Goodman v. Menyhart for both points.

Worked example. A tenant files a T6 on March 1, 2027. A leak you repaired in January 2026 is beyond the one-year limit and cannot be included. A mould problem that began in 2025 and is still unresolved can be included, but any abatement for it starts no earlier than March 1, 2026, and may run until the repair is finished.

Evidence deadlines. Each side discloses to the other parties and the LTB: under Rules 19.1–19.2, the applicant 7 or more days ahead of the hearing and the respondent 5 or more days ahead.

What the tenant's T6 will contain

The form is version 01/04/2022. Knowing its structure helps you build a response that matches it item for item.

Part 1, General Information. The unit address; tenant names and contact details; your details; when the tenancy began; whether the tenant has moved out, and if so when; and any related files.

Part 2, Reasons. There is one ground: failure to repair or maintain, or to comply with standards. For each problem the tenant describes it in detail, when it began, whether it continues, when and by whom it was fixed, and its cause. Crucially, the tenant must also give the date they first told you.

Part 3, Remedies. Nine numbered options:

1. a rent abatement, with the current rent and the calculation;
2. the cost of damaged belongings;
3. out-of-pocket expenses;
4. approval of, and reimbursement for, repairs the tenant has already done;
5. permission to do repairs at your cost;
6. an order that you do the work;
7. a rent increase ban until serious problems are fixed;
8. termination of the tenancy;
9. anything else.

Part 4, Signature. After it come the payment page and a section for requesting accommodation or French-language service.

How the tenant files

The tenant can file online through the Portal, send it by courier or mail, or take it to a ServiceOntario centre that accepts LTB filings, for $48 on the Portal or $53 otherwise, with a fee waiver available. The LTB serves you with the application and Notice of Hearing (Rule 5.1). Each party then exchanges its own evidence directly.

With a T6 on file, a tenant may request permission to pay rent to the Board rather than to you until the case is decided (Rule 20.9; s. 195(1)(b)). Rent paid in that way with permission is not arrears (s. 195(5)), but Guideline 5 says these requests succeed only in special circumstances.

Building your response

Start with a chronology. Take each item in the application and set out its start date, the date it came to your attention, each step you took with dates, and its current status. Flag anything fixed more than a year before filing as out of time.

Focus on notice. Section 30(2) directs the LTB, in selecting a remedy, to look at whether the tenant reported the problem to you before filing. Guideline 5 goes further: a landlord is generally not liable for problems it did not know of and could not reasonably have known of. Your file of maintenance requests, with the date and channel of each, is central.

Prove a prompt, suitable response. According to Guideline 5, a landlord who acted within a reasonable time and took suitable steps should not ordinarily face an abatement or other remedy. The documents that prove it:

• contractor invoices and work orders;
• parts orders that account for any delay;
• before-and-after photos, dated;
• your 24-hour entry notices.

Document refused access. Section 27 lets you enter for repairs or inspection on 24 hours' written notice. Where the tenant blocked access or held up the work, write it down; Guideline 5 recognises that tenant conduct can shrink or wipe out an abatement.

Raise tenant-caused damage. Where the tenant's wilful or negligent conduct caused the problem, rely on s. 34 and bring evidence.

Show your maintenance program. Where major work was unavoidable, proof of routine inspections and preventive upkeep can bring an abatement down. Guideline 5 refers to Herbold v. Pajelle Investments: when common facilities are out of service briefly for needed repairs, an abatement is for exceptional cases only.

Think about quantum. Under Guideline 5, abatements are scaled to how much the problem disrupted the tenant's use of the unit, with the rent amount also a factor. If some liability looks likely, have a reasoned figure ready.

Meet the disclosure deadline. Evidence served late may be excluded (Rule 19.7).

Weak points in a T6

1. Old, repaired items. Section 29(2) bars anything repaired over a year before the filing date, so no remedy can rest on it.
2. An abatement reaching back more than a year. The remedy cannot go behind the limitation period.
3. The landlord was never told. Not a complete defence, but it narrows remedies unless you knew or ought to have known (Guideline 5; s. 30(2)).
4. Tenant-caused damage. The tenant must repair it under s. 34.
5. Access refused or work obstructed. This can mean no abatement even where a repair is ordered.
6. A conduct complaint dressed as maintenance. Complaints of harassment or illegal entry are for a T2; a T6 whose real subject is the landlord's behaviour can fail for that reason.
7. No fee and no fee waiver. The application is not accepted.

After the hearing

The hearing may include mediation. Possible outcomes include a deadline for specified work, an abatement, authority for the tenant to carry out repairs, and, for serious breaches, a ban on rent increases. Ignoring an order to do work is an offence. For orders issued on or after July 1, 2026, either side may ask for a review within 15 days (fee $58), and an appeal on a point of law lies to the Divisional Court within 30 days (s. 210). If you believe the LTB got the law wrong, that 30-day appeal window is the one to watch.

Landlord questions about T6 applications

Is there a set number of days to complete a repair in Ontario?

No. The RTA does not fix a deadline. Guideline 5 treats timeliness as mainly a function of how serious the problem is, how it affects the tenant, and whether materials and trades are available. A reasonable, appropriate response will usually mean no abatement.

Can the tenant stop paying rent until repairs are done?

Not unilaterally; rent the tenant simply withholds is arrears. A tenant with a T6 can ask the LTB for permission to pay rent into the LTB instead, and rent paid that way is not arrears (s. 195).

Can the tenant complain about problems that were there at move-in?

Yes. Under s. 20(2), the landlord's duty applies even where the tenant knew of the problem before renting.

What is the earliest period an abatement can cover?

One year before the T6 filing date. Where the problem is still unresolved at the hearing, the abatement can run until it is fixed.

Could I be barred from raising the rent?

Yes, if the breach is serious. Under s. 30(1), paras. 6–8, the LTB can block increases and limit a new tenant's rent until you have completed both the work it ordered and any work-order items that are past due.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 20, 27, 29, 30, 34, 82, 87, 195, 210
• T6 Instructions
• T6 – Tenant Application about Maintenance (PDF)
• Interpretation Guideline 5: Breach of Maintenance Obligations
• Request to Pay Rent to the Board on a Tenant Application About Maintenance (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5.1, 19.1–19.2, 19.7, 20.9, 26.5
• LTB Forms, filing and fees