Why You Need to File With the Landlord and Tenant Board For a Dispute

This will seem obvious to landlords who have been managing tenants for a long time, but new landlords may not know that you have to file with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to solve important disputes with tenants. This can be anything from unpaid rent to collecting funds for damages after they’ve moved out of the unit. 

What happens if you don’t file with the LTB 

If you don’t file with the LTB and bypass it to take your tenant to small claims court, technically the court doesn’t have to hear the matter because it is outside of its jurisdiction. You would only apply to a small claims court to start collections after your judgement from the LTB is in-hand. 

Similarly, you can’t jump over these two hurdles and just put your tenant in collections. They will be able to successfully argue that it isn’t a legitimate debt because the matter hasn’t been heard by the LTB. They can even argue this if you have an LTB judgement, but haven’t gone to small claims to have the order enforced. We wrote this guide to help you navigate what happens after you obtain a successful LTB judgement. 

Essentially, if you do not file with the LTB, you don’t have a legal way of collecting any funds from the tenant. This can be frustrating, since the matter can take a few months to move through the LTB process, but absolutely necessary if you want a good outcome. 

What don’t you have to file with the LTB? 

The best gauge for what you have to file and not file with the LTB is if there are funds that need to be collected or the tenant needs to be evicted. Any personal disputes that fall below that threshold should be mediated amicably to forge a good tenant relationship. 

That being said, there are certain things that are more likely to be successful with the LTB than others. Eviction for unpaid rent, for instance, is very straightforward. Eviction to perform renovations on the unit is less likely to be successful, especially if you are located in the cities of Toronto or Hamilton, where restrictive bylaws all but prevent this reason for eviction due to its past misuse. 

Filing for unpaid rent 

The N4 form, available on this page with instructions for filing, is what you would use for the most common reason for an eviction – unpaid rent. It’s important to file with the LTB at the first sign of unpaid rent due to the amount of time it takes for evictions to actually happen. By the time you get your order from the LTB and the sheriff is contacted to evict a tenant that won’t leave, it can be anywhere from a few months to a year. 

All other matters are represented on this page. Generally, if there isn’t a form for it, it isn’t covered by the LTB. If you think your matter should be covered by the LTB and it isn’t, consult a legal professional to get more guidance. 

Damages during tenancy and after move-out: Still an LTB issue

This is where even experienced landlords can forget that the LTB has to be involved. If you’ve been on any kind of social media, you’ve probably seen stories of how landlords are trying to charge tenants for damages that fall under the definition of normal wear and tear. The LTB does define these types of damages very narrowly, and it generally only works as an LTB matter for a trashed unit or things like holes in walls, rather than scuffed floors or worn carpets. 

Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board dealt with over 100,000 matters in 2024, far more than it ever has in its history. Filing with them to start a matter is relatively easy and can be done by anyone with a computer. Most hearings are virtual, and the process will generally take from a few hours to a few days of your time, depending on the complexity of the situation. 

If you need some help with the trickier aspects of being a landlord, consider giving our property management services a try. It’s more affordable than you may think.