Landlord’s Guide to Skip Tracing and Examination Hearing in Ontario
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When I heard about the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) of Ontario, I was completely shell shocked. I didn’t know what it was and what I had to do. Everything was foreign to me. I kept asking around: "what happens when you go to the landlord and tenant board?".
Having had battle scars now, I learned so much throughout my journey going to the LTB alongside my paralegal, Jordan Nieuwhof, that I jotted down notes every step of the way to share it with others one day.
Now that Openroom exists to build transparency in the rental ecosystem, it’s time that I put my chicken scratch notes into a formal guide to help people make more informed decisions when, and if, you have to go to the Ontario LTB.
This guide aims to give you some insights on what happens at the LTB from the perspective of a housing provider, not a legal professional. Whether you are a tenant or a landlord, this is what I wish I had known when I was in trouble and needed help understanding how it all works. When it comes to the specifics of your situation, you should always consult with a legal professional who can guide you further.
In 2022-2023 Tribunals Ontario Annual Report [1], the LTB had received 73,208 applications with 52,986 of them resolved. At the end of the year, there were 53,057 cases still left active, which is a combination of 2022-2023 and prior year’s application submissions.
As of June 2024, there are a total of 139 individuals, from Executive Chair to Adjudicator, who work for the LTB. Each person’s biography, position, term length, and their location is posted publicly for all to view. Some work part-time while others are full-time. Occasionally, there are even open positions for the public to apply for.
Since 2020, the time to a hearing has dramatically reduced. Improvements can be seen in the L1 Application - Evict a Tenant for Non-Payment of Rent and to Collect Rent the Tenant Owes. It used to be about 7 months and now, it’s closer to 5.
From my perspective, working at the scale of thousands of filings every single year is going to be difficult. The LTB delays and backlogs can happen because the Adjudicators, administrators, and executive board members want to make sure that each person gets their matters heard.
For anyone who has worked at scale on very complex issues, you know that it is not a walk in the park. I encourage everyone to do your own part by learning more about how the LTB functions so you can empathize with those who are working hard behind the scenes to get matters heard, orders issued, and disputes resolved.
In 2022-2023, there were 64,450 applications filed by, or on behalf of, the Landlord party. The top 3 most common Landlord applications filed into the LTB are:
In 2022-2023, there were 8,455 applications filed by, or on behalf of, the Tenant party. The top 3 most common Tenant applications filed into the LTB are:
Step 1: Notice - the paper given to the other party to notify them of the fact you may be filing with the LTB for said matter
Step 2: Application - the paperwork filed to the LTB to await a hearing or a decision from the Adjudicator
Step 3: Order - the actual decision that comes from the Adjudicator who heard your matter or who reviewed your matter offline (i.e. an Ex Parte)
There are an abundance of forms and filings with the Tribunals Ontario for Landlords and Tenants.
When a date to your hearing has been decided, you’ll get an email to let you know about the Notice of Video Hearing. It’s the day that you would have waited several weeks (or months) for so make sure it doesn’t land in your junk box.
I made sure the other party knew about the hearing date so there is no excuse on the day of the hearing for “not knowing today was the hearing date” or “not receiving this notice of hearing”. Many choose to email this AGAIN to the other party or physically mailing it to the party.
There are some attachments in each email. One of which will be the actual NOTICE OF HEARING documentation. It lists out who needs to be at the hearing, when it is, and how to log in via Zoom. It also details administrative elements that either party may need to be aware of.
When you get this notice, mark it in your calendar and be ready to go on that day. Yes, the entire day may be needed because while there is a time listed on the document, it doesn’t always guarantee that you will be heard at that exact time. Depending on other matters before you, there may be delays to get to your matter. Oftentimes, it can lead to an adjournment of your matter.
7 days leading up to your hearing, you have the opportunity to submit any last evidence to the LTB for consideration. Depending on your matter, you might send the evidence through email back to the LTB or you might have to upload it into the portal.
When I submitted this in 2022, it was via email but I know that the LTB has made changes and it’s way more advanced now. While the LTB may have received my evidence, I made sure that the other party got a copy of my entire evidence package too. When I did it, I had sent a physical mailed version of my evidence to the other party.
My evidence document was actually 1 PDF document with appendices labeled. This way, when my case was heard, it was easy for me to reference what I needed to show by saying: “please refer to Appendix B in the evidence package”. There is only 1 package and 1 document they need to open to do a CONTROL + F to find the section they are looking for.
The last thing you want to tell the Adjudicator at your hearing is: “it’s the picture that’s titled screen shot 2024-02-04” when you’ve got 50 files submitted as evidence.
Ain’t nobody has time for this! You’ll frustrate the other side when you want to put your best foot forward.
This is my redacted version of my evidence package I had sent in. It has a title page that references my case, a summary of the events, and then a table of contents of all of my exhibits.
Contact us at hello@openroom.ca if you want to learn more about how to put together an evidence package cleanly.
When you enter your Zoom hearing link, you’ll be in the main room with the Moderator(s). Their main job is to take attendance and “check you in”.
You do not have to turn on your camera but your microphone needs to work.
You need to let the Moderators know your file number(s), your name, and whether you are the Landlord or Tenant. You’ll then be given a new Zoom profile name.
The Adjudicators are the appointed individuals who will hear your matter and make a decision thereafter. They are to be treated with respect.
You can address them by:
Usually, they will have their cameras on, with an LTB background graphic.
The TDC is present at the hearings to give some advice to the Tenant party. While they are present and Tenant party has a right to get legal help, TDC isn’t there to help only 1 Tenant. They are there to provide general advice at ~30 minutes and are not actually your representative to speak on behalf of you at the hearing. As the Tenant party, you would usually go into a breakout room to discuss with TDC.
There are many outcomes after a hearing that include, but are not limited to: mediation, consent, standard orders, dismissals, adjournment, and more. This is best discussed with your legal professional to make sure what your situation outcomes could look like.
Sometimes, the hearings might have a morning block and an afternoon block. Some hearings might take 10 minutes while others might take 2 hours. It depends on the matter being heard.
People usually book off the entire day to attend the hearing because one can never really know when you’ll be called up.
As you enter the Zoom link, you’ll be put into a MAIN ROOM. This is where the Moderator will check you in and rename you if you haven’t already been named correctly.
The Moderator will then put you into the room with the Adjudicator along with the other matters that are being held in your room. You have to wait for your turn. The Adjudicator will call on you to speak up when it’s your docket number.
Each matter is recorded by the Adjudicator. Whatever you say is going to be recorded and members of the public can request a copy of it later through Freedom of Information Request (FOIR), so please make sure to put your best foot forward.
All members of the public can attend a hearing. That’s the beauty of the Open Court Principle in Canada!
Depending on the number of people in the room and the time of the day, you might get asked to give your initials and confirm that you are truly observing the hearing.
In those cases, you will be named as such:
When you go in as Observer, you need to make sure you mute your microphone and turn off your camera. Do not interrupt as you are only there to observe.
Many Landlord and/or Tenant groups will have the latest set of Zoom links that you can join. An example of what they look like is below.
#ltb_hearings TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 2024
Links to some LTB hearings today
(Most rooms are active around 9 am - 4:30 pm. If you are an observer, please remember to keep your mic on mute and not to use the chat function.)
Room 101 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo101 (Motions, direct to hearing)
Room 102 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo102 (Reviews, direct to hearing)
Room 103 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo103 (Reviews, direct to hearing)
Room 105 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo105 (Urgent hearings, direct to hearing)
Room 107 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo107 (L1 / L9)
Room 108 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo108 (N12)
Room 109 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo109 (FLS (Fr/En) block, direct to hearing)
Room 111 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo111 (Motions, direct to hearing)
Room 112 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo112 (L10, direct to hearing)
Room 113 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo113 (L1 / L9)
Room 114 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo114 (L1 / L9)
Room 115 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo115 (L1 / L9)
Room 116 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo116 (L1 / L9)
Room 117 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo117 (L2)
Room 118 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo118 (L2)
Room 119 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo119 (L2)
Room 124 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo124 (L2)
Room 125 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo125 (L2)
Room 126 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo126 (Tenant block)
Room 127 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo127 (Tenant block)
Room 128 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo128 (Tenant block)
Room 129 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo129 (Tenant block)
Room 131 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo131 (Tenant block)
Room 132 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo132 (Tenant block)
Room 133 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo133 (N12)
Room 135 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo135 (Tenant block)
Room 136 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo136 (Tenant block)
Room 137 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo137 (Tenant block)
Room 138 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo138 (Adjourned block, direct to hearing)
Room 139 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo139 (Adjourned block, direct to hearing)
Room 140 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo140 (Adjourned block, direct to hearing)
Room 143 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo143 (In-person block, direct to hearing)
Room 144 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo144 (Tenant case conference block, direct to hearing)
Room 149 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo149 (RBD block, direct to hearing)
Room 150 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo150 (RBD block, direct to hearing)
Room 151 bit.ly/ZLTBVideo151 (RBD block, direct to hearing)
Oftentimes, you will see adjourned meetings. This means that your matter can’t be heard today, mainly because there wasn’t enough time. While it’s frustrating to not be heard after waiting several months to present your matter and get it resolved, it means you have to wait for a new date to get a hearing.
The good news is that there are Adjourned meeting blocks whereby the Adjudicator ONLY listens to matters that have been adjourned.
The Adjudicator usually will not state what the decision will be online in that virtual Zoom call - but sometimes they might. They’ll usually say they will “reserve” their decision and the decision will come in the paper order they issue.
You can view many different types of LTB orders inside the Openroom Court Order System. You can search by the names of adjudicator, paralegal, landlord, or tenant; or just search by address of the rental unit.
The order that comes out will detail specifics such as who the parties involved were, what were the matters at hand, what evidence was submitted, and the final set of decisions that one can enforce on.
Going to the LTB is a convoluted process. Many people end up hiring a legal representative to go on behalf of them. But, that doesn’t mean you don’t do any work to make sure your get good representation.
One way of making informed decisions is to check out Openroom’s list of Paralegals and their profiles to make sure you are making a good decision about who you work with.
Weiting's entrepreneurial journey began with a costly lesson in rental property management, where she experienced losses exceeding $35,000 due to non-paying tenants. Determined to prevent others from facing similar challenges, she built Openroom to pave a future towards a transparent and connected rental ecosystem.
Drawing from her extensive background in software product management spanning education, telecommunications, insurance, and artificial intelligence, Weiting has become a trusted advisor to founders of venture-backed companies. Beyond the tech sphere, Weiting managed properties for over a decade and made significant contributions to community leadership. She’s served on the Board of Rotary District 7070 and chaired various organizational committees.
Weiting balances her professional endeavours with being a parent of two kids under two. Alongside thousands of other parents, she was awarded participation trophies in innovative improvisation, ever-changing expectations management, daily roadmap planning, and hardcore patience!
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