Landlord and Tenant Board of Ontario

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is a specialized adjudicative tribunal in the province of Ontario, Canada. Its primary function is to mediate and resolve disputes between landlords and tenants, ensuring compliance with the province's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA).

Functions and Responsibilities

The LTB operates under the jurisdiction of the RTA, which provides the legal framework for renting residential property in Ontario. The board’s responsibilities include:

Resolving disputes between landlords and tenants through adjudication or mediation.
Providing information to landlords and tenants about their rights and responsibilities.
Adjudicating eviction applications from non-profit housing cooperatives.
Offering tenant duty counsel prior to board hearings, often facilitated by community legal aid clinics funded through Legal Aid Ontario.

Eviction Process

In Ontario, a landlord cannot unilaterally evict a tenant without a hearing before the LTB. The board hears cases related to eviction, typically due to non-payment of rent, which constitutes the majority of the approximately 80,000 applications the board processes annually.

Access to Adjudicative Records

The Tribunal Adjudicative Records Act, 2019 governs access to adjudicative records at the LTB. Decisions are publicly accessible, with over 19,000 recorded on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) as of 2021.

Operational Challenges

The LTB has faced criticism for delays in processing eviction applications, causing significant financial strain on landlords who remain obligated to cover costs while awaiting hearings. Such delays have, in some cases, driven landlords towards bankruptcy.

Historical Context

The establishment of the LTB followed the repeal of the Tenant Protection Act, 1997, with the RTA coming into effect on January 31, 2007. This act aimed to strengthen tenant protections and create a more balanced framework for landlord-tenant relations.