1. Filing a claim.  Whether a tenant or a landlord all changes to any tenancy or even the formation of a tenancy agreement itself must begin with the appropriate forms. All forms can be found on the LTB website.   Once you have completed the forms and complied with all of the procedural rules around the forms you can file and/or serve the forms.  Please note there are instruction sheets available for most forms and it is important to read these documents.

2. Mediation.  This is a place where parties can attempt to resolve their issues. The pathway follows: 

• online dispute resolution (ODR) which is a tool to negotiate between the parties to settle the dispute.  If both parties agree they can;
• ask the LTB for a Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO).  The DRO will assist the parties in determining if they can resolve their issue through mediation or if a hearing is necessary.

2. Preparing for the hearing.  Most hearings are virtual. If necessary the LTB will consider accommodations for an in-person hearing or a written hearing.  All parties, plus their representatives, and witnesses attend the hearing.  All parties will receive a hearing notice with all of the details of the hearing.  All documents you are relying on for the hearing must be submitted to the tribunal's portal prior to the deadlines provided in the hearing notice.  Please note at times the hearing notice requests a party to complete and file a form within a certain time period leading up to the hearing date.

3. The Hearing.  Log on at least 15 minutes prior to the hearing. Do note that for some hearings you may spend the whole day waiting for the hearing to begin depending on the number of cases and when the parties appear ready to present.  Once it is your turn to present the adjudicator will ask each person to present their submissions, and verify the evidence.  All parties and the adjudicator can ask questions to clarify information or to cross-examine a witness.  The adjudicator may let all parties know the decision right away or they may reserve their decision to be considered at a later date. Regardless a written decision will be made and an order sent to all parties. 

There are four common orders:

• an interim order, a temporary order until a certain date or a hearing can occur.
• an ex parte order, an order without a hearing (only an L3 and L4 can be ex parte).
• a hearing order, this is issued after a hearing.
• a consent order, when the landlord and tenant have settled a dispute through consent. Usually in terms of working out a payment plan for unpaid rents.

4. Post-decision. There are options once a decision has been made. These include:

• Amending an order.  You have 30 days to amend an order if you notice a clerical error. You must submit a Request to Amend an Order form.
• Enforcing an order.  To enforce eviction you must contact the local Sheriffs office, to enforce money owed you must go through enforcement proceedings at the local Small Claims Court.
• Avoid an order.  This usually occurs if the tenant has paid arrears owing.  If the tenant paid the money before the deadline then they can file a Tenant’s Affidavit and Motion to Void an Eviction Order for Arrears of Rent  if they paid the money after the deadline then they can file a Tenant’s Affidavit and Motion to Void an Eviction Order for Arrears of Rent and attached Declaration form .
• Set aside an ex parte order.  A request to set aside the order is called a motion, which can be filed with the LTB by completing a Motion to Set Aside an Ex Parte Order . The motion must be filed with the LTB within 10 days from the date the order is issued. A hearing will be held and the adjudicator will make a decision. If the tenant files after 10 days, they must also explain why they were late by filing a Request to Extend Deadline .
• Re-open an application.  Only applications that were resolved by a consent order under section 206 of the RTA or an LTB mediated agreement can be re-opened.  There are two common situations when you can make the request: The landlord or tenant did not meet one of the terms in the LTB mediated agreement, the landlord or tenant misled you or made you sign the mediated agreement.  To ask to re-open an application, fill out the Request to Re-open an Application .
• Ask the LTB to review an order.  The following reasons to review an order can be:
  • LTB made an order it did not have the power to make.
  • The application was not processed fairly and this interfered with the rights of one of the parties.
  • The hearing was not conducted fairly and this interfered with the rights of one of the parties.
  • There was no evidence to support the LTB’s conclusions.
  • New evidence is available which was not available at the time of the hearing.
  • A party was not reasonably able to participate in the LTB’s proceeding.
  • You did not receive the notice of hearing.

You need to file a Request to Review an Order within 30 days of the date of the order.  However, if submitting past 30 days, you must also ask for an extension of time in writing by filling out a Request to Extend Deadline . If you want the order stayed (or put “on-hold’) until a decision is made, you must ask for the stay, and give reasons why.

There are two stages to reviewing an order:

Stage 1: A preliminary review of the request, where the adjudicator reviews the application for review. If the request is denied at this stage, a review order will be issued denying the request. If the request is not denied, it will be sent to a hearing.

Stage 2: Request for review is sent to a hearing to make a final decision. Prior to the hearing being scheduled, an interim order will be issued staying the order, and may have other conditions until the final review order has been issued, after the review hearing.

Once the review hearing is complete, the final review order may: Deny the request for review, uphold the original hearing order, order changes to the original hearing order

• Appeal an order.  Any person affected by an LTB order can appeal the order to the Divisional Court.  An appeal of an order may only be made on a question of law.  An Appeal to Divisional Court must be filed within 30 days of the date the review order was issued.  When an appeal of an order is filed with the Divisional Court, the order is automatically Stayed, and cannot be enforced unless the Divisional Court or the LTB lifts (or removes) the stay at the request of a party.

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