Paying Rent Into Board

Question: Who can help me if I’m a tenant in Ontario and want to know whether I can withhold rent due to repair or maintenance problems?

Answer: In Ontario, a tenant generally cannot legally withhold rent simply to pressure a landlord to make repairs, because the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 does not allow rent withholding as a way to compel “specific performance” by a landlord.  Instead, if you have maintenance issues and need to dispute the landlord’s performance, you can file a Tenant Application About Maintenance (Form T6) with the Landlord Tenant Board and request that rent be paid into the Board while your dispute is pending, so the money is held back from the landlord until the matter is resolved.  Cases like Haran v. Westover, 2021 CanLII 101368 and O.C. v. J.M., 2018 CanLII 86120 confirm there is no justification for withholding rent, and the Board can provide relief through the T6 process.  If you want help choosing the right next step and filling out the correct Board application, 'Freed Legal Services' can assist, call '(800) 716-1897' to get started.

Add this website to Google Preferred Sources

Is a Tenant Allowed to Hold Rent Back From a Landlord Until Maintenance or Repair Issues Are Addressed By the Landlord?

A Tenant Acts Unlawfully By Withholding Rent From Landlord In An Attempt to Spur the Landlord Into Addressing Maintenance Issues. Instead, the Tenant May Apply to Landlord Tenant Board to Remit Due Rent to Board While Awaiting Resolution of the Dispute.

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

If a tenant has issues with the state of repair of the rental unit, the tenant should refrain from withholding rent from the landlord. Instead, the tenant should initiate proceedings at the Landlord Tenant Board and apply to pay the rent to the Landlord Tenant Board as a proper means to motivate the landlord to address the repair issues as complained of by the tenant.

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:

The process of applying to remit rent into the Landlord Tenant Board instead of the landlord, a tenant must commence a proceeding via the Tenant Application About Maintenance (Form T6) process and thereafter a 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.