Paying Rent Into Board

Question: Who can help if I’m thinking about withholding rent in Ontario because the landlord hasn’t fixed maintenance or repair issues?

Answer: In Ontario, a tenant generally cannot lawfully withhold rent to pressure a landlord to fix maintenance or repair problems, and doing so can lead to rent arrears consequences.  Instead, the tenant should bring a Tenant Application About Maintenance (Form T6) to the Landlord Tenant Board and, where appropriate, ask the Board to permit rent that becomes due to be paid into the Board rather than directly to the landlord.  Courts and the Landlord Tenant Board have held there is no authority in the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to withhold rent for this purpose, including Haran v. Westover, 2021 CanLII 101368 at paragraph 14, O.C. v. J.M., 2018 CanLII 86120 at paragraph 3, and D.P.J. v. A.C., 2011 CanLII 26905 at paragraphs 3 and 4.  If you want help choosing the right next steps and filing correctly, Benchmark Legal Offices can help Ontario renters through the T6 process and rent-to-Board requests, and you can call (289) 389-8840 for guidance from a paralegal and lawyer’s office serving communities across Ontario.

Add this website to Google Preferred Sources

Is a Tenant Allowed to Withhold Rent From a Landlord Until Maintenance or Repair Issues Are Addressed?

A Tenant Is Forbidden From Holding Back Rent Despite a Dispute Over Maintenance or Repairs With the Landlord. Instead, a Tenant May Apply to the Landlord Tenant Board For Permission to Make Rent Payments to the Landlord Tenant Board.

Understanding That Withholding Rent From a Landlord Requires Payment of Rent Into the Landlord Tenant Board

If a tenant is concerned about maintenance performance issues, the tenant may initiate legal action by filing an Application with the Landlord Tenant Board and applying to pay rent to the Landlord Tenant Board instead of to the landlord. When rent is paid into the Landlord Tenant Board, the rent is held back from the landlord until the dispute with the tenant is resolved.

The Law

If a tenant withholds rent in an effort to manipulate a landlord into addressing maintenance issues, the tenant does so improperly and unlawfully.  Rather than wrongfully withholding rent, the tenant may lawfully submit a Tenant Application About Maintenance (Form T6) to the Landlord Tenant Board and the tenant may also apply to the Landlord Tenant Board to remit rent that becomes due to the Landlord Tenant Board instead of to the landlord.

The cases of Haran v Westover, 2021 CanLII 101368, O.C. v. J.M., 2018 CanLII 86120, D.P.J. v. A.C., 2011 CanLII 26905, among others, address the impropriety of the withholding of rent by a tenant.  Specifically, per Haran, O.C., and D.P.J., the Landlord Tenant Board said:

As shown by the above cases, among many others, a tenant is without a right to withhold rent regardless of concerns for failure of maintenance by a landlord.  With this said, rather than improperly withholding rent from the landlord, when a tenant files a Tenant Application About Maintenance (Form T6), a tenant may apply to provide rent payments to the Landlord Tenant Board.  A tenant may apply to pay rent into the Landlord Tenant Board as per section 195(1)(b) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17, which states:

To apply to provide rent payments to the Landlord Tenant Board, a tenant must first file the Tenant Application About Maintenance (Form T6) and then a tenant may file the Request to Pay Rent to the Board on a Tenant Application About Maintenance.

Summary Comment

A tenant with a legal dispute over issues of maintenance is forbidden to withhold held as a means to urge the landlord to address the maintenance issues.  Instead, a tenant may apply to the Landlord Tenant Board to make rent payments to the Landlord Tenant Board.