r/OntarioTenants

I’m in Ontario and had a standard lease agreement with my landlord. After the fixed term ended, the tenancy continued month-to-month. I did not share kitchen or bathroom with the landlord.

My advance/last month deposit was $2200 and after moving out I only received $1100 back. My landlord is still holding around $1100.

I vacated on Feb 28. For around 2.5 months after moving out, he kept saying he would return the remaining money. Only later did he start giving different reasons for deductions.

The lease says utilities are landlord responsibility. There is no written clause about me paying utilities above $100. Now he is claiming there was a verbal understanding from the beginning that I had to pay overages above $100, even though:

- no monthly overages were ever billed to me,
- no pending balances were discussed during the tenancy,
- and this was only raised after I moved out.

Other points:

- Lease mentions rent as $2250, but we mutually agreed to $2200 and I paid that amount consistently for ~1.5 years without issue.
- I informed them in November that I may move out in January. They asked me to stay longer because of holidays and difficulty finding tenants.
- They involved a realtor and we mutually coordinated the move-out timeline based on finding a replacement tenant.
- Move-out dates kept changing based on their tenant search and my travel plans.
- They are now also bringing up additional reasons for deductions that were never previously discussed.

Do I realistically have grounds to challenge this through the LTB or Small Claims Court? Or would this likely be considered too informal/verbal to succeed?

Hi everyone,

Not sure if I’m overthinking this (I probably am) but I need some guidance.

Our neighbouring unit has gone up for rent (under same landlord) and we have some good friends who are interested in it. Would messaging my landlord and giving a recommendation for them help the process, or is this something pushy of a tenant to do that would hinder the process?

I apologize if this is a stupid question, just need help rationalizing!

My building in Toronto has been refusing to switch on the AC despite indoor temperatures hitting 27-28°C in my unit. I’ve emailed building management twice and both times got the same copy pasted response saying they won’t switch it on until end of month due to “single digit overnight temperatures.”

The 10-day forecast shows overnight lows of 6-9°C (well above freezing) and daytime highs of 27-28°C. Last year they switched it on May 15th under similar conditions. I also have a pet cat in the unit who is visibly heat stressed.

I’ve tried everything they suggested. I’ve closed blinds, opened windows, fans — and it’s still 27-28°C inside while it’s 24°C outside.

Has anyone dealt with this? Is calling 311 worth it? Any advice appreciated!

On a throwaway account as I’m seeking advice and in a rough situation.

I (f21) and my boyfriend (m21) signed into a lease with a building and after a few months, our incomes really took a hit due to outside factors and I’ve asked to be let out of said lease to move back home and regain some finances. The answer was no, a lease transfer is my only option (expectedly) but I’m wondering what my other options could be, as I don’t believe my leasing office is completely understanding our predicament.

My mental and physical health have taken a massive toll due to the stress and anxiety, making it even more difficult to work. We don’t want to leave due to a better opportunity, we want to leave because we cannot afford to stay.

Ive asked if I can rent my place out on other sites such as Airbnb to regain some of my loss on this place, (no one is biting our lease transfer) and they’re saying that isn’t allowed but how can they pick and choose when I’m the one paying the bills?

Thanks in advance for any advice, anything helps.

Pretty sure the changes do not apply till july 1st so what should i do?

https://preview.redd.it/k3lsqjrrjw1h1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f571b1d63bb3120d5fcef040f3f210fcbf77fd22

Looking for any information regarding what happens to the tenant if they're building is deemed unsafe and they have to leave

there's been consistent issues since I moved in and now I'm noticing some serious structural issues with the building that are visible from outside.

very worried about either my safety while I'm here or what's going to happen if it is reported in the city inspects.

At this current time I am not financially able to up and move to a different place I wish that I could but unfortunately in this day and age that's not the easiest thing to do, though I am consistently looking for something reasonably priced.

The only information I found online is links to shelters for if you have a 24-hour notice for evacuation.

I can't be the only support out there for tenants if this is the case... can it?

Desr friend has a landlord that sent a fake N4, then a fake L1 (court date, zoom info included) has charged interest rates and late fees. What are the 1st steps? Her REAL L1 is scheduled for May 28th. I offered to help not knowing what Iwas walking into.TIA

This morning, my landlord (who is the daughter of the elderly owner of my unit) blindsided me by informing me that due to failing health, they will be putting the unit up for sale next week. Cash for keys hasn't come up yet, but I would love some advice on how it works, what is a fair amount, etc.

I have a good relationship with my landlord - I've been here for just over a year and a half, keep the place clean and have always paid my rent early.

This is my first time being a tenant in over 20 years, so this stuff is new to me - what I do know, is that a property shows better and sells faster when it is vacant and staged.

I am meeting with the landlord in a few days so they can have a look around and discuss some things. Frankly, I don't want to spend my summer having to vacate the apartment - which could be mulitple times a day.

I think the best option for all involved is for me to move out as soon as possilbe, which is where cash for keys would come in. I would love to get some opinions/feedback on what a fair amount would be to expedite moving out of the unit - my move in anniversary is October 1, so my initial thought was asking for 5 months rent - this would provide me with first and last on a place, plus some extra for my compliance and hardship.

Look forward to your thoughts! Thanks everyone!!

The property management company that runs my building has been increasingly limiting tenants’ access to/making it difficult to use the amenities in our building that are included in our rent.

There is a pool, party room, and media room that tenants used to be able to access anytime. In the past years, they have limited the pool to only certain hours. Most recently, they told us in order to use the media or party room they require a certified cheque in advance for $250 and lengthy signed contract.

Most residents in the building are retired and elderly and getting together with the building community is important to them. It is overly arduous for most of them to go to this effort, so these amenities are sitting empty. It does not seem reasonable for tenants to be forced to leave their residence to go to the bank any time they want to use the amenities in their building.

My question is, A) is it legal for the landlord to start asking for a deposit to use amenities we pay for as past of our rent? B) Is it legal for the landlord to reduce our access to these amenities? TAI for your insight.

I filed for a T5 application in January 2023.

So far I had 3 hearings scheduled and adjourned doe to lack of time.

I have lost hope. Recent adjournment was just this week.

How long it will take to finally address my case.

Share your stories!

Just looking for some general advice here. I just started renting a condo in Toronto and have only been in the unit about 2 months. Since living there I have already had a handful of issues including smoke detectors, landlords being unresponsive, HVAC not working, etc. The building is marketed as a “luxury” condo and is only a few years old so I was not expecting to have so many problems so quickly and unfortunately majority of the repair/maintenance responsibilities fall on the owner (LL) of each unit and not the building management. For context, the owners are a married couple and I was told the husband is a trades worker.

Most recently was the HVAC, I had tried to turn on the AC (included in my rent) and discovered it was not working. Since letting the landlord know immediately about a week ago, my landlord and a “technician” who I believe to be a friend of his have spent approximately 12 hours across 4 separate visits in my unit attempting to repair it. This has been incredibly disruptive as I work from home most of the time, and I have been getting increasingly frustrated as I believe they could have just hired an HVAC company to have the problem diagnosed on the first visit and resolved very quickly. As disruptive as this has been I prefer to be home while they are in the unit as the idea of them being in my space when I’m not there, especially as a woman, makes me uncomfortable.

During the last visit I was working in my office and heard a clanging noise and looked up to see the technician using a cast iron pan that I had left out from breakfast that morning. I got up to see what was going on and he had put it back on the stovetop, stating that he needed to use it for water. I was immediately annoyed because a) cast iron pans really shouldn’t be submerged in water and b) I was sitting right there and he didn’t ask if he could use my personal property, but I was busy and just returned to what I was doing. This was not the first time I had witnessed them being careless with my stuff: they were standing on my barstools to access vents and hanging things off of my TV mount, all without asking.

They leave again that day with the unit still not being fixed. Later that night as I was using the stovetop to cook dinner, I heard a cracking noise and discovered the glass stovetop had a large crack in it running all across the bottom. I immediately turned the stove off and took photo/video for my landlord. I then went to the sink to clean the dishes and discovered that when I went to drain the sink that had been plugged, the plumbing below was leaking a ton of water (only when draining, not while running water normally). I immediately took photo/video again and started cleaning up with towels to try to prevent damage to the cupboards. I sent my landlord all of the photo/video from the stove and the sink and explained that I was feeling very stressed due to the amount of issues I had experienced in such a short time. I made sure to mention that the technician had also been using a very heavy pan on my stovetop, which may not have been smart since they seem to know him personally, but I was trying to think of any reason this would possibly have happened when I’ve been using it with no issues for two months. All power was turned off for the stovetop and I have not used the kitchen sink since, despite there not being an active leak.

My landlord responded and was apologetic about the issues and about the AC still not being fixed. She requested that they come look at the kitchen today to inspect the damage, to which I responded I had to go into the office but they were welcome to come when I got home that afternoon. She requested permission to come while I wasn’t home, to which I responded I would be more comfortable if they came while I was there (I considered letting them go briefly but given the circumstances I felt uncomfortable with it - if I hadn’t been home yesterday I wouldn’t have even known that the technician was touching my pan/stovetop).

I am still at work now and my landlord just emailed me a “friendly reminder” with maintenance tips for all of the appliances in the unit. I understand the sentiment but I am getting nervous that they are going to try to blame any of these issues on me, and if that’s the case I’m not sure what to do, as I can’t prove the technician actually did anything to the stovetop.

I am also curious about the timelines for repairs. It has now been 10 days since I reported the AC was not working; the weather is not quite hot enough yet for it to be an issue but it will be soon. At what point is it unreasonable for them to keep bringing the same person over who doesn’t seem to be able to fix the problem? And given how long this has taken I am expecting the stovetop to not be repaired quickly, but at what point do I have recourse to be able to file against them if it becomes an issue? I am really stressed about this, I have never had an issue with a landlord before and I don’t want to cause a bad relationship but I feel they are trying to cut corners and I pay a lot of money to live here.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Hello all

I live in a house with a garage that has a garage door opener and the landlord says it was installed by the previous tenant. There isn’t any man door access and the garage door is the only way to access the garage. It recently died and I reached out to some garage door repair people and they advised me that it was too old and not worth fixing. One garage door repair person mentioned there was a sale going on and to grab that one before the sale was over. I purchased the garage door opener and requested my landlord to cover the coast of the garage door opener but they denied the reimbursement saying they weren’t the ones who installed in the first place so they’re not responsible.

My question is should the landlord be responsible for the repairs or replacement because it was a fixed feature apart of the home before I moved in.

Update may 12 2026 1:01am

Ps

I’m sorry I didn’t add this information originally.

Many months before prior before the old garage door opener died, I asked other questions relating to the garage door open like having a dedicated electrical outlet installed to power it but was denied and was told the same thing hinge ( the previous tenant installed it and it not their responsibility ) one of the reason why I tried to take advantage of the sale so it would be less money and didn’t want to have anyone try to break into my garage and stealing stuff.

Looking for advice for a friend.

Backstory: Tenant gave 30 day notice they are out at the end of May paid both May and June rent in full. They have a month to month lease. Normally no pets on lease landlord made exception though as tenant is leaving come May, tenant got kitten last week.
Landlord is now stating the kitten must go as it is causing a disturbance to other tenants in other units however no other tenants are in the unit. Landlord uses unit directly above my friend unit. Landlord does not have allergies, but is claiming that the new potential person renting does.

Seeking advice on what her rights as a tenant are. Can the landlord kick my friend out even though she has already paid last month’s rent and is moving out in 3 weeks.

Thank you!

I'm experiencing extreme prolonged harassment from my landlord but unfortunately not able to obtain evidence due to her making sure it's quiet enough to not be recorded. She has also hacked my phone

What should I do?

Here's the important info:

- standalone unit

- separate leases

- Niagara area

My roommate has let her bf stay the night when she wasn't there. I did talk with the roommate about this and stated that I do not feel comfortable with that as I do not know the boyfriend that well and it essentially feels like a stranger staying here and that it makes me quite uncomfortable.

Now my roommate is leaving for a week and just told me that her bf is going to stay the whole time to watch her pets while she is gone. I understand if the bf stops by during the day to check on the pets, but I do not feel comfortable at all with the bf staying here the whole time. I know that in my lease there is a section that states "the tenant agrees not to do anything or omit to do anything in the premises or its environs which impairs the safety or other bona fide and lawful right, privilege or interest of any other tenants, nor permit any persons allowed in the premises by the tenants to do anything or omit to do anything".

I am thinking about emailing my landlords about this issue. What should I do?

Hi all! I'll try and layout the situation as best I can.

In May or June of 2024 (I don't remember exactly when), my husband was outside of our buidling with our dog who suddenly pulled on his leash causing my husband to lose his balance. Husband ended up falling into one of the balcony support legs and the whole leg broke in half. He immediately notified the landlord who had all the balconies inspected. As it turns out, the wood in that particular leg was rotten and many of the other balconies were found to be rotten as well. This lead to all the balconies on the front of the building being replaced entirely in June 2025 (4 in total) and they decided to redo the flooring on the back balconies at the same time.

The same year (2024), the landlord began a process with the LTB as the calculation used to account for the reduction in property taxes was incorrect meaning the rent increase needed to be changed. This went through, their request was approved, and we paid as requested.

In September 2025, the landlord submitted to the LTB again for a larger rent increase to account for the capital expenditure of repairing the balconies. A virtual hearing was held earlier this year, which neither my husband nor I were able to attend. All of the paperwork surrounding this hearing indicated that the work that was done was "necessary to protect or restore the physical integrity" of the building and that the front balconies were "at the end of their useful life" with the flooring on the back balconies also being "at the end of their useful life". Everything was "replaced due to unreliability." This leads me to believe that all the work needed to be done regardless, it was just unfortunately my husband who sped up the timeline.

Now in current time. We ran into a neighbour (another tenant, not the landlord) who told us that as a result of that hearing, if the requested rent increase is not approved by the LTB then the landlord plans to hold us liable. We do not have tenant insurance. But before anyone says it, we're getting some now. We know it won't help us with this, but it will protect us in the future. All of this was just told to us by the other tenant, not the landlord.

After all that, I'm just wondering if anyone can help us understand whether or not we could actually be held liable for the repair costs to all the balconies?

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

I’m in a bit of a weird situation and I’m not sure what to do.

My 3 person household informed my landlord in April that we needed to end the lease early as jobs have changed/people graduated and it’s no longer viable to be in the university area we live in. 2 of us have been living here for 5 years and he has drafted a new lease every year (preventing month to month). This is stupid on our parts, but 3rd roommates have come and gone and my landlord was ‘unfamiliar’ with adding a tenant.

I requested for him to sign an N11 to end the lease early and he sent back an AI written email saying we can either assign or stay on the lease. When I spoke to him in person about this, he did not seem to know what assigning a lease actually meant (did not know he cannot jack up the rent for the assigned tenants).

I have been advertising the apartment for lease takeover and had several viewings. I sent him a woman that was very interested in the apartment but he said he only wants student tenants and wants multiple applicants to choose from. From my understanding, he cannot arbitrarily deny an assignment and I can submit an N9 to terminate the lease if he does not respond to an application within 7 days but he never actually got to the point of receiving an application from the potential tenant. He never denied or accepted her, just said he wants multiple applicants-specifically students. He also wants the assignee to front first/last as a deposit-I have no idea what the common practice is for this but it seems a bit unreasonable for a 5/6 month lease.

My landlord doesn’t speak the best English so communication has been difficult. Some of his responses are clearly AI so I’m not sure what he actually knows about the assignment process etc.. He has also neglected to fix several things in the apartment over the years (we had no lights in the living room, a few in the kitchen/bathroom went out, there is paint peeling from the bathroom from a vent issue). He is fixing them now that we have been essentially harassing him about it but is trying to charge us/the condominium management for it. The rent is also higher than market value although he insists it is not and he tried to suddenly increase the rent by $450/month during one of our lease changes (third roommate informed him he was moving out and therefore broke the lease). He has also been illegally charging us for pet fee/key deposit (we were young and naive when we first signed and it has not been worth the uphill battle since).

Any help would be appreciated! I would love to send an N9 and move out to my new place without worrying about any of this, but I’m unsure if I actually have the grounds to do so.

tldr: landlord wants multiple applicants for lease assignment, hasn’t actually denied any applicants

Hi! I am wondering if it is worth filing with the LTB to get partial rent refund because I lived in a place that had bed bugs for 8 months. We noticed them around a month or two after we moved in and had them until the day we moved out(thankfully they let us move out early). The property manager set up treatments but the issue was never resolved.

From memory, probably like 5 individual apartment chemical treatments and 3 full building ones.

At one point an employee/ our down stairs neighbour mentioned to us that there was bed bugs in the unit before we moved in but we don’t have that in writing.

We moved out less than a year ago.

Even though there was treatments, do we still have a case for partial rent return?