01
Family Law
Separation, divorce, parenting and support — handled with clarity when things are hardest.
Learn more
Residential Tenant
The Board is procedural. Preparation is the whole game.
Overview
Landlord and Tenant Board matters, for landlords and for tenants.
Landlord and Tenant Board hearings are decided on evidence, notices and deadlines. A valid claim fails on a defective notice; a weak claim succeeds because nobody showed up prepared. We act for both landlords and tenants, and either way the work is the same: get the paperwork right and be ready on the day.
Residential TenantBuzi Law · Ontario
When to call
Any of these apply?
If one of these is true, the conversation is worth having now rather than after the next step is taken.
- You have been served with an N4, N5, N12 or L1
- Rent is unpaid and the arrears are growing
- Repairs have been requested repeatedly and ignored
- A landlord entered without proper notice
- You have a hearing date and no evidence package
- An above-guideline rent increase has been applied for
What we handle
The work, specifically.
01
Applications and notices
Preparing and serving the correct form, correctly — the point where most cases are quietly lost.
02
Rent arrears
Recovery of unpaid rent, payment agreements, and enforcement where an agreement is breached.
03
Terminations and evictions
Own-use terminations, persistent late payment, damage and interference with reasonable enjoyment.
04
Tenant applications
Maintenance and repair, illegal entry, harassment, and applications about rent that was unlawfully charged.
05
Above-guideline increases
Applications and responses, including reviewing whether the claimed capital work qualifies.
06
Hearing representation
Preparing the evidence package, witness preparation, and appearing at the hearing.
Who we act for
The people on this file.
01
Landlords
Small and mid-size landlords who need the notice served correctly the first time, and the arrears actually recovered.
02
Tenants
Facing eviction, living with unaddressed maintenance, or charged rent that was not lawfully increased.
03
Property managers
Where volume matters and a defective notice means the whole file restarts.
How it runs
From first call to closed file.
01
Check the notice
The single most common reason a case fails. Wrong form, wrong dates, wrong service — and the application is dismissed regardless of the merits.
02
Build the evidence
Ledgers, photographs, correspondence, witness statements — organised into a package the adjudicator can follow.
03
Try to resolve
Payment agreements and negotiated terminations are usually faster and cheaper than a contested hearing, for both sides.
04
Attend the hearing
Representation at the Landlord and Tenant Board, and — where an order is not complied with — the enforcement steps that follow.
Fees
What this costs
Straightforward applications and hearing representation are quoted as a fixed fee per matter so you can weigh it against what is at stake. Files involving multiple units, adjournments or enforcement are quoted in stages. Where the arrears are smaller than the cost of pursuing them, we will say so.
Get a written estimateQuestions
Answered plainly.
There is a process for it and it is available in defined circumstances, with compensation obligations attached and a good-faith requirement that the Board takes seriously. Doing it informally, or without the required notice, is what causes applications to fail.
A tenant application about maintenance can result in a rent abatement, an order requiring the work, and in some cases costs. Document everything in writing and keep a record of every request — that record is usually the case.
Scheduling delays at the LTB have been significant and vary by region and application type. That makes the initial filing more important, not less — a returned or defective application means starting the wait again.
It is not required. It tends to matter when there is money at stake, the facts are disputed, the other side is represented, or you have already had an application dismissed.
Faster than doing it wrong, and slower than you would like. The N4 notice period, the L1 application, the Board's scheduling backlog and the Sheriff's enforcement queue all add time. The one part you control is filing something that is not defective.
For most residential units the annual increase is capped by the provincial rent increase guideline, with limited exceptions and an application route for above-guideline increases tied to capital work. Units first occupied after the statutory cut-off date are treated differently — which unit you are in changes the answer.
Related
Other practice areas.
02
Real Estate Law
Purchases, sales, refinancing, title, mortgage enforcement and power of sale.
Learn more
03
Estate Law
Wills, powers of attorney, probate and the administration of an estate.
Learn more
Speak with a lawyer
Tell us what happened.
We will tell you where you stand.
A short conversation costs nothing and usually saves a great deal. You will get a straight answer about whether you have a matter, what it is likely to involve, and what it will cost.