Landlord Repairs Ontario: What They Must Fix and What to Do

In Ontario, your landlord must keep your unit and building in a good state of repair, fit to live in, and up to health, safety, housing and maintenance standards, even if the problem was there when you moved in. Ask for repairs in writing, give the landlord a reasonable time to act, and if nothing happens, call your city (311 in Toronto) and file a Form T6 maintenance application with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). Don't stop paying rent: that can put your tenancy at risk.

Here's what counts as the landlord's job, how to make a request that holds up later, and what to do when repairs stall.

Key takeaways

• Repairs are the landlord's legal duty under section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), and a lease can't take that away.
• It applies even to problems you saw before signing.
• You're responsible for ordinary cleanliness and for damage you, your guests or people living with you cause beyond normal wear and tear.
• Put every request in writing and keep copies, photos and dates.
• Toronto: RentSafeTO buildings must answer urgent requests within 24 hours and others within seven days. Unresolved problems go to 311.
• The LTB route is Form T6, filed within one year. The fee is $53, or $48 on the Tribunals Ontario Portal.
• Never withhold rent without the Board's permission.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For your situation, contact the Landlord and Tenant Board or a community legal clinic (Legal Aid Ontario can refer you to one at 1-800-668-8258).

Does the RTA cover your rental?

The RTA covers most private rentals in Ontario: apartments, condos, houses, basement units and rooms in rooming houses. The big exception is when you share a kitchen or bathroom with the owner (or certain close family members of the owner) who lives there. In that case the RTA generally doesn't apply, the LTB can't hear a repair case, and you rely on your written agreement and city property standards instead. Our guide to living with your landlord in Ontario explains how that works.

What your landlord must repair and maintain

The LTB's maintenance brochure lists what this covers in practice. If the landlord provides it, the landlord keeps it working:

• Plumbing, electrical and heating systems
• Appliances that came with the unit, such as the fridge, stove or washer
• Walls, ceilings, roofs and carpets
• Windows, doors, locks and lighting
• Common areas: lobby, halls, elevators, laundry room, parking and walkways
• Pest control for problems like cockroaches and mice
• Cleanliness of shared areas

If something wears out or breaks through normal use, the landlord repairs or replaces it. A replacement doesn't have to be new or fancier, but it must work properly.

Vital services and heat

Landlords can't withhold vital services: hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas and, during the heating season, heat. That's true even if rent is late. Doing it on purpose is an offence under the RTA.

Heat standards depend on where you live:

Where a municipal standard is higher, the higher one applies.

What's on you as the tenant

• Keep the unit reasonably clean.
• Repair or pay for undue damage you, a guest or someone living with you causes, whether on purpose or by carelessness.
• Report problems promptly. A small leak you never mention can become a much bigger argument later.

Normal wear and tear, like a carpet that thins after years of use, is not your responsibility.

How to request repairs in writing

Email or a text message both work, as long as you can show it was sent. Keep it short and factual.

What to include:

1. Your name, address and unit number
2. What's wrong, where, and when it started
3. Photos or a short video, with dates
4. How it affects you ("no hot water in the kitchen or bathroom")
5. A clear ask and a reasonable date ("Please arrange repairs by Friday, November 14")
6. When you're available for access, so the landlord can give proper notice

Keep a simple log: dates you reported the issue, every reply, every visit and whether the work was done. If the landlord sends a tradesperson, they still need to give you 24 hours' written notice for non-emergency work, unless you agree at the time. Our guide to landlord entry rules in Ontario covers this in detail.

How long should repairs take?

The RTA doesn't set one deadline for every repair. The standard is a reasonable time, which depends on how urgent the problem is. No heat in January is not the same as a sticky cupboard door.

Toronto's RentSafeTO program gives firmer timelines for apartment buildings with three or more storeys and 10 or more units:

RentSafeTO landlords must also track service requests and keep copies for 24 months, and you can ask to see your records. Condos, townhomes and units in a private house (like a basement apartment) are not part of RentSafeTO, but city property standards still apply to them.

If nothing happens: your options

1. Follow up in writing

Send one more message that refers to your first request and gives a final date. It shows you gave the landlord a fair chance.

2. Call your city

In Toronto, contact 311 by phone or through the 311 app. A bylaw enforcement officer will follow up, may ask for photos and a copy of your request to the landlord, and can issue a Notice of Violation or Order to Comply. The City aims to respond to urgent complaints within 24 hours and non-urgent ones within 5 to 10 days. If the landlord still doesn't comply, the City can lay charges, or do the work itself and add the cost to the owner's property tax bill.

Outside Toronto, contact your municipality's property standards or bylaw office.

3. File a T6 at the Landlord and Tenant Board

Form T6 (Tenant Application about Maintenance) is filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal.

• Deadline: within one year of the problem
• Fee: $53, or $48 online (low-income tenants can ask for a fee waiver)
• Evidence: photos, your written requests, your log, any city work orders

The Board can:

• order the landlord to make repairs by a set date
• order a rent abatement (a partial refund or reduction)
• let you make the repair and have the landlord repay you
• order the landlord to pay for your damaged belongings and other reasonable out-of-pocket costs
• stop the landlord from raising your rent until serious problems are fixed
• end the tenancy, if that's what you want

If the landlord's agent or superintendent is also harassing you or cutting off services, that's a separate Form T2 issue. Our walkthrough of LTB tenant applications explains filing, fees, fee waivers and hearings step by step.

Why you must not withhold rent

It's tempting to hold back rent until the landlord acts. The LTB is clear that you shouldn't, and the 2026 changes make it riskier:

• Late rent opens the door to eviction. Your landlord can serve an N4 notice, and for notices given on or after September 21, 2026, the notice period is just 7 days.
• Raising repairs at a rent hearing now costs money up front. If your landlord files a rent arrears application on or after September 21, 2026, you must pay the landlord at least half of the arrears claimed, at least seven days before the hearing, before you can raise maintenance issues there.

The safer option is built into the T6 process: you can file a Request to Pay Rent to the Board with your application. If the Board agrees, you pay your rent to the LTB, not the landlord, until your case is decided. You stay up to date on rent, and the landlord can see the money is waiting.

Repairs when you rent with roommates

If you and your roommates are all on the lease, any of you can report the problem, but agree on one person to send the written requests so the record is clear. Repairs for damage a roommate caused are a matter between you; the LTB doesn't settle roommate disputes. A written roommate agreement that covers damage and cleaning saves a lot of stress here.

Repair request checklist

• Problem reported in writing, with photos and dates
• Reasonable deadline given, plus your availability for access
• Log of every reply, visit and missed deadline
• Follow-up message sent
• 311 (or your city) contacted if repairs still stall
• T6 filed within one year, with a Request to Pay Rent to the Board if needed
• Rent paid in full and on time throughout

Bottom line

Repairs are your landlord's job, not a favour. Keep everything in writing, use 311 and RentSafeTO in Toronto to put pressure on, and take it to the LTB with a T6 if you have to. Keep paying rent the whole time so your own tenancy is never the thing in question.

Many repair problems are easier to spot before you move in. On ColivEase, every listing is reviewed by a person and roommates can form a team and apply together, so you can view a place, ask the hard questions and decide as a group. Find roommates and homes on ColivEase, and for the rest of your rights as a renter, read our Ontario tenant rights guide.