I can’t just pay my rent and expect to live in peace? 

What’s the RTA? LTB? RHEU? SCC? 

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In this video, I tell you what you need to know to ensure you are protecting yourself as a tenant in Ontario.

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Hi - I’m Weiting Bollu. I’m the CEO of Openroom.ca where we aggregate tenancy court orders across Ontario and make that information accessible across the financial ecosystem to support accountability and transparency. You should know who your renting from - like does that landlord take care of maintenance? That’s what you’d search for on Openroom. 

The thing is, I purchased my first property at 23. But prior to that, I lived in student housing at York University and I rented from private landlords over the summer during internship days. I didn’t know about these acronyms or why it was even needed. 

Now with Openroom University, I’m bringing you knowledge of I wish I knew so that you don’t make mistakes like I did. 

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Ontario’s residential tenancy compliance is based on the Residential Tenancies Act also known as the RTA for short. (RTA). It’s a provincial law that governs rental housing, defining rights and responsibilities for tenants and landlords. 

In Ontario, the lease is just the beginning. Once the keys are handed over to you, the landlord is now governed by everything that’s written in the RTA. On your side, it also specifies what is your responsibility vs. what’s the landlord’s responsibility. 

If they write clauses in your lease that contradicts what’s in the RTA, the RTA is king. For example, many will write clauses such as “you can’t have pets in the unit” but if you move in and later on want a pet, then you’re allowed per the RTA to have one. 

Two caveats: 

1. Your landlord may be upset and you’ve ruined what may have been a relationship built on trust. 
2. If you’re in a condo building and the condo specifies no more pets. They have their own rules.

When landlords are unhinged and do weird things that you might find as crossing boundary lines, your job is to stay calm, factual, and boring.

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The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is an administrative tribunal that resolves disputes between residential landlords and tenants, handling issues like evictions, rent payment problems, and maintenance complaints, governed by the Residential Tenancies Act.

They are similar to court with the ability to issue decisions or judgements, but they are not an official “court”.

When your landlord is threatening you with eviction or lockouts, remember that “boring” style from earlier? It can help you win at the LTB. Do we see a lot of very emotional cases, yes. The last thing you want is to be labelled and known as a “professional tenant” for taking advantage of the system.

If behaviour escalates into further threats or harassment, call the police. 

Will they solve the tenancy issue? Rarely. 

Will they create a paper trail that shows you acted responsibly? Absolutely—and that paper trail can be gold later. You want evidence showing that you acted professionally when you bring the dispute to the LTB.

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Another underused resource is the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU). You can contact them to try to resolve issues before you take matters to the LTB. They won’t rush in like superheroes, but occasionally, they do show up.

Because often times, we don’t want issues to escalate into the tribunals or courts. Going further may have potential consequences such as court orders being publicly accessible under Canada’s Open Court Principle.This means others can see your dispute.

When you file a complaint with the RHEU, have these pieces of information ready:

• your name and contact information — they do not take anonymous complaints
• the name and contact information of the landlord you’re complaining about
• details of the complaint, for example the date and what happened
• supporting documentation, for example notice of entry or relevant emails

If you call in, you may also want to write a letter OR an email so you have it on record.
You should also:

• keep a copy of your written requests and any responses
• note how long it took your landlord to address your concerns, if at all
• check the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 to see if your concern is an offence

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The Small Claims Court comes in handy as it handles post-tenancy financial claims (e.g. win of bad faith evictions, win of rent abatements) and enforces LTB orders for money. 

Yes that's right, the paper you got from the LTB doesn't actually do much just yet....

unless you're using Openroom's rental debt ledger to negatively impact the credit history of your landlords (the Debtors). Yup, my team can help you connect into Equifax!

More on that in the description below. But I sidebar. Let’s get back.

Sometimes, you want to go further so you’d go for enforcement methods such as seizure of property after an LTB order to try to get money back.

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Okay, it’s time for our rental trio: the top 3 takeaways of this video.

1. Law over ego. The RTA outlines the responsibilities of parties involved in a tenancy.
2. Boring pays off. Being labelled as a “professional tenant” who takes advantage of the legal system is NOT your goal.
3. Paper trails pay off. “He said / she said” helps nobody.
   
   

Speaking of which, I’ve got a template on what an evidence package could look like. Download it for free to prepare for the LTB if you end up there.

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If you found this helpful - please share with another renter to make sure they know the basics. Send me some questions in the comments, or hit subscribe to this channel to stay in the loop. 

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Thanks for watching and I’ll see you next week!

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA): Ontario's provincial law that governs rental housing and defines the rights and responsibilities for both tenants and landlords in residential properties.
• Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB): An administrative tribunal that resolves disputes between residential landlords and tenants, handling issues like evictions, rent payment problems, and maintenance complaints under the Residential Tenancies Act.
• Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (RHEU): A provincial government service that investigates complaints about violations of the Residential Tenancies Act, mediates disputes, and can impose fines on landlords or tenants who break the law.
• RHEU Contact Information: Phone: 1-888-772-9277 - The toll-free number and email to contact the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit to file complaints about landlord or tenant violations of the RTA.
• Small Claims Court - Ontario: The court that handles post-tenancy financial claims up to $50,000 and enforces LTB orders for money owed through methods like garnishment and writs of seizure.
• Canada's Open Court Principle: A fundamental constitutional principle that court proceedings and records are generally accessible to the public to ensure transparency and confidence in the justice system.
• Tribunals Ontario Access to Records Policy: The policy that explains how the public can access LTB decisions, orders, and case files in accordance with the open court principle and privacy considerations.
• Equifax Credit Reporting via Openroom: Information about Openroom's official partnership with Equifax as a Data Furnisher to report rental debt to credit bureaus and negatively impact debtors' credit scores.