Withholding Rent (LTB)

Caselaw.Ninja, Riverview Group Publishing 2021 ©
Date Retrieved:	2024-04-28
CLNP Page ID:	2263
Page Categories:	[Payment of Rent (LTB)], [Maintenance Abatements (LTB)]
Citation:	Withholding Rent (LTB), CLNP 2263, <https://rvt.link/7z>, retrieved on 2024-04-28
Editor:	Sharvey
Last Updated:	2023/08/25

Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17

2 (1) Every written tenancy agreement entered into on or after June 17, 1998 shall set out the legal name and address of the landlord to be used for the purpose of giving notices or other documents under this Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 12 (1).

Copy of tenancy agreement

(2) If a tenancy agreement entered into on or after June 17, 1998 is in writing, the landlord shall give a copy of the agreement, signed by the landlord and the tenant, to the tenant within 21 days after the tenant signs it and gives it to the landlord. 2006, c. 17, s. 12 (2).

Notice if agreement not in writing

(3) If a tenancy agreement entered into on or after June 17, 1998 is not in writing, the landlord shall, within 21 days after the tenancy begins, give to the tenant written notice of the legal name and address of the landlord to be used for giving notices and other documents under this Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 12 (3).

Failure to comply

(4) Until a landlord has complied with subsections (1) and (2), or with subsection (3), as the case may be,

(a) the tenant’s obligation to pay rent is suspended; and

(b) the landlord shall not require the tenant to pay rent. 2006, c. 17, s. 12 (4).

After compliance

(5) After the landlord has complied with subsections (1) and (2), or with subsection (3), as the case may be, the landlord may require the tenant to pay any rent withheld by the tenant under subsection (4). 2006, c. 17, s. 12 (5).

...

Tenancy agreement in respect of tenancy of a prescribed class
12.1 (1) Every tenancy agreement that is entered into in respect of a tenancy of a prescribed class on or after the date prescribed for that class of tenancies shall comply with the following requirements:

1. The tenancy agreement shall be in the form prescribed for that class of tenancies.

2. The tenancy agreement shall comply with the requirements prescribed for that class of tenancies. 2017, c. 13, s. 5.

...

Demand for proposed tenancy agreement that complies with subs. (1)

(5) The tenant of a rental unit who is a party to a tenancy agreement described in subsection (4) may, once during the tenancy, demand in writing that the landlord provide to the tenant, for the tenant’s signature, a proposed tenancy agreement that,

(a) complies with subsection (1);

(b) is for the occupancy of the same rental unit; and

(c) is signed by the landlord. 2017, c. 13, s. 5.

Withholding of rent payments

(6) If at least 21 days have elapsed since the day the tenant made the demand and the landlord has not complied with the demand, the tenant may, subject to subsections (7) and (8), withhold rent payments that become due after the expiry of that 21-day period. 2017, c. 13, s. 5.

...

Money paid to Board
195 (1) Where the Board considers it appropriate to do so, the Board may, subject to the regulations,

(a) require a respondent to pay a specified sum into the Board within a specified time; or

(b) permit a tenant who is making an application for an order under paragraph 1 of subsection 29 (1) to pay all or part of the rent for the tenant’s rental unit into the Board. 2006, c. 17, s. 195 (1).

Rules re money paid

(2) The Board may establish procedures in the Rules for the payment of money into and out of the Board. 2006, c. 17, s. 195 (2).

No payment after final order

(3) The Board shall not, under subsection (1), authorize or require payments into the Board after the Board has made its final order in the application. 2006, c. 17, s. 195 (3).

Effect of failure to pay under cl. (1) (a)

(4) If a respondent is required to pay a specified sum into the Board within a specified time under clause (1) (a) and fails to do so, the Board may refuse to consider the evidence and submissions of the respondent. 2006, c. 17, s. 195 (4).

Effect of payment under cl. (1) (b)

(5) Payment by a tenant under clause (1) (b) shall be deemed not to constitute a default in the payment of rent due under a tenancy agreement or a default in the tenant’s obligations for the purposes of this Act. 2006, c. 17, s. 195 (5).

...

241 (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations,

...

66. restricting the circumstances in which the Board may, under section 195, require a person to make a payment into the Board;

CEL-55466-16-RV (Re), 2016 CanLII 18747 (ON LTB)

4. The Member’s decision not to exercise her discretion to grant relief from eviction is not unreasonable given the fact that this is the second application for arrears of rent in the past 3 months.

5. While I appreciate the Tenant may believe he had the right to withhold rent from the Landlord for what he considered outstanding maintenance concerns, in fact the statute does not permit Tenants to withhold rent for maintenance and repairs.

6. I am also satisfied the Board findings in the Tenants applications support the Member’s determination that section 83 (3) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 does not apply. I make this determination having regard to all of the Board’s Orders, including those Orders arising out of the Tenant’s applications. I am satisfied the Member applied the correct test in making her determinations.

TNL-07682-18 (Re), 2018 CanLII 113941 (ON LTB)

5. The Tenant has not paid rent since January 2018. According to her she is “withholding” rent because she continues to experience mice in the rental unit. A tenant is not entitled to withhold rent for any reason. If a tenant believes that the landlord is in breach of the landlord’s obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the 'Act'), the Tenant can and should bring an application to the Board to deal with the issue.

6. The Landlord appears to be a relatively unsophisticated person who has some difficulty explaining himself. The Landlord has made several attempts to address the mouse and roach infestation in the rental unit, both before and after the December 13, 2017 hearing.

7. The Tenant has refused entry to the Landlord’s pest control person on at least 2 occasions since December 2017.

8. Since December 2017 the Tenant has not advised the Landlord in writing that the problem persists, nor has she brought her own Tenant application alleging disrepair. Instead, the Tenant appears to be of the view that she can refuse to pay rent and when the Landlord brings an application for arrears, she can simply raise the mouse issue so as to defeat any attempt to evict her. This conduct has enabled her to avoid paying rent for a significant period of time to date.

9. If the problem were as serious as the Tenant claims, and if the Landlord actually did not make efforts to address the problem, the Tenant should have brought her own application or sought an order from the Board permitting her to engage a pest control company herself to deal with the problem and deduct the cost from rent. Instead she did nothing which suggests that the problem is not as serious as the Tenant claims, and that the underlying objective is to avoid payment of rent.

10. The Tenant has persistently failed to pay the rent on the date it was due.

11. I am not satisfied, based on the evidence, that the Landlord is in serious breach of his maintenance obligations pursuant to S. 83(3)(a) of the Act. He has made numerous attempts to deal with the mouse infestation, which have been thwarted by the Tenant and her family by their refusal to co-operate.