The Landlord and Tenant Board (formerly the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal) is an adjudicative tribunal operated by the government of Ontario that provides dispute resolution of landlord and tenant matters under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.
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History
Historically, landlord and tenant relations in Ontario were governed by the Landlord and Tenant Act. Disputes between landlords and tenants could only be formally addressed through the court system. In 1998, the Conservative government of Mike Harris enacted the Tenant Protection Act which created a new regime governing residential tenancies and established the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal as a quasi-judicial body to adjudicate disputes thus largely removing landlord-tenant law from the court system. The act and the tribunal were criticized as being biased in favour of landlords and in 2006, the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty repealed the act and replaced it with the current Residential Tenancies Act which also restructured and altered the rules of the tribunal and also gave it its current name.
Process
Either landlords or tenants may file an application to the Board. The parties can choose to first attempt to resolve the matter through mediation. If the mediation is unsuccessful or if the parties choose not to attempt mediation then an adjudication hearing is held in which a Board member hears evidence from both parties before issuing an order. A landlord may also apply to the Board to increase a unit's rent above the province's rent control guidelines or to evict a tenant. Tenants can dispute evictions, apply for rent reductions or rebates due to a landlord's failure to meet maintenance obligations, apply for work or other orders or grieve other violations of the Residential Tenancies Act.
According to Whitney Miller of Social Justice Tribunals Ontario the LTB hears landlord applications for non-payment of rent within 25 days of filing the application and a decision is issued within five days of the hearing.