Key takeaways
- Section 20(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act makes the landlord keep the unit in a good state of repair and fit to live in, and section 20(2) says that still applies if you saw the problem before you signed.
- Toronto puts it in writing: 'You will not be charged a fee for making a complaint or requesting an inspection.' Mississauga, Brampton and Markham name no fee for reporting either. A property standards order sets its own repair deadline, the owner has 14 days to appeal it, and an order nobody appeals is deemed confirmed and final.
- A Form T6 at the Landlord and Tenant Board cost $48 on the Tribunals Ontario Portal and $53 any other way in August 2026. The Fee Waiver Request form asks the Board to waive that fee, and the Board approves or denies the request against a listed benefit or the income limits printed on the form.
- Ontario law gives no right to hold back rent over repairs. The Board can order money off your rent, but only after you apply.
- RentSafeTO covers Toronto purpose-built rental buildings of three or more storeys and ten or more units, where urgent requests get a 24 hour response and everything else 7 days. Mississauga's program starts at two storeys and six units.
Your landlord has to keep the place in a good state of repair and fit to live in. That is section 20(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act. Section 20(2) adds that the duty holds "even if the tenant was aware of a state of non-repair" before signing. The first move is a written request to your landlord, with a copy kept. The Board's brochure calls that the first step, and section 30(2) makes the Board weigh whether you told the landlord before applying. From there the ladder has three rungs, and only the last one has a filing fee. This is general information, not legal advice.
What your landlord has to fix, and what is yours
The two sets of duties are separate. Neither cancels the other.
The rule | What it says | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
Good repair | The complex and its units, in a good state of repair, fit for habitation, and meeting health, safety, housing and maintenance standards | RTA s. 20(1) |
Void lease clause | A lease term that contradicts the Act has no effect | RTA s. 4(1) |
Vital services | Hot or cold water, fuel, electricity, gas and seasonal heat cannot be withheld or deliberately interfered with | RTA ss. 2(1), 21(1) |
Heat, province wide | A vital service from September 1 to June 15, at a room temperature of at least 20 degrees Celsius, unless you control the thermostat and the heating can reach it | O. Reg. 516/06 s. 4 |
Heat in Toronto | At least 21 degrees Celsius from October 1 to May 15, where the landlord pays for the heat | Toronto Municipal Code s. 497-1.2 |
Appliances | Landlord-supplied appliances must be kept in good repair and safe to use. The list names fridges, stoves, clothes washers, clothes dryers, dishwashers and hot water tanks | O. Reg. 517/06 s. 40 |
Your cleaning | You keep the unit to ordinary cleanliness | RTA s. 33 |
Your damage | You pay for undue damage caused on purpose or carelessly by you, an occupant, or a guest | RTA s. 34 |
Two limits matter. A replacement need not be an upgrade: the Board's maintenance brochure says the landlord "does not have to supply a new or better model", and a used stove is fine "as long as the used stove works properly". The Act also sets no repair deadline: section 20(1) states a standard, not a clock. Real deadlines get written later, by an inspector or an adjudicator.
Rung one: ask in writing, and keep the copy
A letter or an email will do. Say what is broken, where it is, and when it started. Attach photos, note the date you sent it, and keep your copy. If your building has a maintenance request form, use that and photograph it.
In Toronto that first ask carries a deadline, but only in some buildings. RentSafeTO, the City's apartment program under Chapter 354, covers purpose-built rental buildings with "three or more storeys and ten or more rental units". In those, section 354-3.1C gives the owner 24 hours to respond to an urgent request and 7 days for anything else. Urgent has a fixed meaning: fuel, electricity, gas, heat or hot or cold water going off, or a breach of building security, suite security or the building envelope. Read the verb. The owner must respond in 24 hours, not finish the work in 24 hours.
Condo buildings, townhomes and units in a private home, basement or main floor alike, sit outside RentSafeTO, as the City's guidance states. Section 20(1) still covers them. They just get no clock on the first reply.
Rung two: the city, and who pays for what
This rung produces a legally binding document, and reporting is the free part. For each city below we read three things: the page telling a tenant how to complain, the city's current fee schedule, and its property standards by-law. Only Toronto says outright that reporting costs nothing. The other three name no fee for it, and the enforcement charges they publish are aimed at the property. Brampton is the one to watch: its user fee by-law prices a "Minimum Maintenance Inspection due to Complaint" at $100 without saying who pays it. Four cities is a thin slice of the GTA, so treat these as worked examples. Every property standards by-law in Ontario is made under section 15.1 of the Building Code Act, 1992, and sections 15.2 to 15.4 set what follows. The phone number changes across the GTA. The process does not.
A property standards order is a City inspector's written order to fix named things by a named date. Section 15.2(2) sets what it must contain: the address, "reasonable particulars of the repairs to be made", "the time for complying", a warning that the municipality may do the work at the owner's expense, and the final date to appeal. After that the clock runs on the owner, not on you.
- The owner has 14 days from being served to appeal to the local property standards committee (s. 15.3(1)).
- An order nobody appeals in that window "shall be deemed to be confirmed" (s. 15.3(2)). That makes it final and binding (s. 15.3(7)).
- If it is ignored, the municipality "may cause the property to be repaired" (s. 15.4(1)). It then takes a priority lien on the land for what it spent, a debt on the property that ranks ahead of most others (s. 15.4(4)).
- Ignoring an order is an offence. Section 36(3) caps the fine at $50,000 for a person's first offence and $100,000 for a later one. Section 36(4) caps a corporation at $500,000 and $1,500,000. Those ceilings are provincial, so they are identical in every Ontario municipality.
Where a municipality has no property standards by-law, and in some prescribed circumstances where it does, O. Reg. 517/06's provincial maintenance standards apply and the municipality enforces them (RTA s. 224(1) and s. 224.1). That route runs on an inspector's work order, the same idea under another name, and the landlord gets 20 days to ask the Board to review it (RTA s. 226(1)). All four municipalities below have their own by-law, so the by-law applies there.
| Municipality | How a tenant reports | What the city's own page says about a fee to report | What its current fee schedule charges, and on whom | Source read for the fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | 311 service request, after asking the landlord in writing | "You will not be charged a fee for making a complaint or requesting an inspection" | In 2026, $186.78 to re-inspect after an Order to Comply and $109.29 an hour when the City does the work itself. Both are cost recovery from an owner who has not complied, and the work goes on the property tax bill | https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/public-notices-bylaws/bylaw-enforcement/property-standards-keep/ |
| Mississauga | Online form or 311, named or anonymous | Nothing about a fee, on the rental-building page or the property standards page | Property re-inspection $400.00, then $800.00, then $1,200.00, plus $445.00 or 15 per cent of any remediation invoice, whichever is greater. All on the property, all before HST | https://www.mississauga.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/18112536/Schedule-A-1-Enforcement.pdf |
| Brampton | Enforcement and By-Law Services, by phone, mail or email. Named complaints only | Nothing about a fee on the complaint-process page | A "Minimum Maintenance Inspection due to Complaint" at $100.00, with no payer named, and $200.00 to appeal an Order to Comply | https://www.brampton.ca/EN/City-Hall/Bylaws/All%20Bylaws/User%20Fee.pdf |
| Markham | By-law Enforcement and Licensing, 905-479-7782 | Nothing about a fee on the property standards page | No enforcement fee at all. The by-law's only charge is a certificate of compliance at the owner's request, $50.00 a unit for one or two units, and appealing an order is free | https://www.markham.ca/sites/default/files/2024-07/2017-26-Consolidated%2B-%2BUpdated%2BApril%2B2%2C%2B2024.doc |
Two differences show up there. Mississauga takes an anonymous complaint but warns you cannot follow one up, because you get no service request number. Brampton states plainly that "anonymous complaints are not accepted".
Toronto and Brampton are the two of the four whose own pages tell a tenant how fast the City responds. Toronto aims to contact you within 24 hours when a rental has no heat (September 15 to June 1) or loses a vital service such as running water or hydro. For low heat and other property standards violations it aims for five days. In Brampton an officer generally attends within two weeks, and the same day for an urgent vital service such as heat, hot water or electricity. Its report then generally allows the owner "14 days or more" to comply.
| Municipality | Extra rental program | Who that program covers | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | RentSafeTO, under Municipal Code Chapter 354 | Purpose-built rental buildings of three or more storeys and ten or more units | https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/toronto-code-354.pdf |
| Mississauga | Rental Standards Program, under the Rental Apartment Buildings By-law | Buildings of two or more storeys with six or more units sharing a common area | https://www.mississauga.ca/services-and-programs/business/licences-and-permits/register-a-rental-apartment-building/ |
| Brampton | Residential Rental Licensing, By-law 216-2023 | Rental properties of one to four units, citywide from January 1, 2026, with the licence application free | https://www.brampton.ca/EN/residents/Renting/Pages/Information-for-Landlords.aspx |
| Markham | None | The Property Standards By-law 2017-26 covers owned and rented homes alike | https://www.markham.ca/about-city-markham/city-hall/bylaw/property-standards |
Toronto and Mississauga add their layer to big buildings. Brampton does the reverse, licensing rentals of one to four units and leaving anything larger to the by-law alone.
Rung three: the Landlord and Tenant Board
A Form T6 is the tenant application about maintenance. You can file it whether or not you also called the City, and the two run in parallel.
| Item | Low | High | Unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Form T6 filed on the Tribunals Ontario Portal | $48 | $48 | per application |
| Form T6 filed by mail, courier or at ServiceOntario | $53 | $53 | per application |
| Multi-tenant application, by mail or courier only | $53 | $450 | first unit, then $5 per additional unit, to a cap |
Board fees are non-refundable. The Fee Waiver Request form asks the Board to waive them and goes on the front of your application. The Board approves or denies it, and a denial holds your application until you pay. Two routes qualify: a household living mainly on a listed benefit, or gross monthly household income under the limits printed on the form. In August 2026 those ran from $1,650 for one person to $3,940 for five or more.
Two clocks matter. Section 29(2) bars an application more than one year after the day the conduct happened. The T6 instructions add the fixed case: if the problem "has been fixed, you must apply within one year of the date the problem was fixed". Read together, a problem still going on is still happening, so filing stays open. Do not treat that as a reason to wait. The year runs from the conduct, so delay can put the earlier months of a long-running problem outside it. Current and former tenants can both apply.
Section 30(1) lists nine things an adjudicator can order, and four matter most. A rent abatement is money back off your rent for the period the problem lasted. An order can also require named repairs by a named date. It can pay you for damaged property and out of pocket costs, and bar a rent increase until serious problems are fixed. The instructions cap the whole claim at $50,000, and warn that once an order issues you lose any claim above that.
Holding back rent is the mistake that loses the unit
There is no repair exception to rent. The Board's brochure says a tenant "should not withhold any part of the rent, even if the tenant feels that maintenance is poor or a necessary repair has not been done". It adds that "a landlord can apply to evict a tenant if the full rent is not paid on time". Ontario has no repair and deduct right you can use on your own.
The Act does hold two narrow withholding rules, and neither is about repairs. Section 12(4) suspends rent until the landlord has given you their legal name and address and, where the agreement is in writing, a copy you both signed. Section 12.1(6) lets you hold back rent if you demanded the standard lease in writing and 21 days passed with no answer, and section 12.1(7) caps that at one month's rent.
Money off the rent, the way the Act allows
Every lawful route to paying less runs through an order, and there are three.
Ask the Board to hold your rent. Section 195(1)(b) lets the Board permit a maintenance applicant to pay rent into the Board rather than to the landlord, and section 195(5) says that payment "shall be deemed not to constitute a default". Ask on the Request to Pay Rent to the Board form, and keep paying normally until the Board answers.
Get the repair authorized. Remedy 4 on the T6 covers work you already paid for, remedy 5 work you want to do. In both, the Board can order the landlord to repay you, and the instructions add that it "could also allow you to deduct the amount owing from future rent payments". That deduction is the order talking, not you.
Ask for an abatement. Bring the dated request from rung one, which is what section 30(2) makes the Board weigh.
One rule cuts the other way, and only in one place. It does not touch the abatement for the disrepair itself. Where the work is what disrupts you, O. Reg. 516/06 section 8(4) bars the Board from ordering an abatement for that disruption if all ten of its conditions are met. They include at least 60 days notice before work starts, except in an emergency, a notice describing the work and its likely effect, work that was genuinely necessary, a building permit where one was required, reasonable working hours, and reasonable steps to limit noise. Miss one condition and the bar does not apply.
The ladder at a glance
Rung | What it costs you | The clock | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
Written request to the landlord | No fee | In a RentSafeTO building, 24 hours for an urgent request and 7 days otherwise | A dated letter or email, and photos |
Service request to your municipality | No fee published for reporting in any of the four | Set by the order itself. The owner then has 14 days to appeal | The dated request, photos, and your name in most cities |
Form T6 at the Board | $48 on the portal, $53 otherwise, or nothing if the Board grants a fee waiver | One year from the conduct, and a problem still going on keeps that open. If the problem was fixed, one year from the fix | Everything above, plus any municipal order |
One route sits outside the ladder. The Rental Housing Enforcement Unit at 1-888-772-9277 investigates offences under the Act, not ordinary disrepair. Shutting off water, heat or electricity is on its list, and a conviction carries a fine of up to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation. It takes no anonymous complaints either.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a landlord have to make repairs in Ontario?
The Act sets no number. Section 20(1) states a standard, not a deadline. Real deadlines come later: the compliance date an inspector writes into a property standards order under Building Code Act section 15.2(2), or the date an adjudicator sets under RTA section 30(1).
Can I withhold rent for repairs in Ontario?
No. The Board's maintenance brochure tells tenants not to withhold any part of the rent over poor maintenance, and warns a landlord can apply to evict for unpaid rent. The lawful versions need an order: rent paid into the Board under section 195(1)(b), or a deduction the Board allows on a T6.
What repairs are landlords responsible for in Ontario?
There is no closed list. Section 20(1) sets an open standard, which is why it reaches anything the landlord supplied. Vital services are stronger still, because water, fuel, electricity, gas and seasonal heat cannot be withheld at all under section 21(1).
Does the landlord have to replace the washing machine in Ontario?
If the landlord supplied it, it has to work. O. Reg. 517/06 section 40 requires landlord-supplied appliances to be kept in a good state of repair and safely operable, and it names clothes washers. A machine you own is yours to fix.
How do I file a complaint against a landlord in Ontario?
Ask in writing, then call your municipality: 311 in Toronto and Mississauga, Enforcement and By-Law Services in Brampton, By-law Enforcement and Licensing in Markham. Toronto states that complaints and inspections are free, and the other three name no reporting fee. An offence such as a cut-off vital service goes to the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit at 1-888-772-9277 instead.
Does a tenant pay the first $100 of repairs in Ontario?
No. A search of the whole consolidated Residential Tenancies Act for that figure returns nothing, and no section makes a tenant pay a fixed share of a repair. Section 34 is the only repair cost that lands on a tenant, and it covers undue damage caused on purpose or carelessly. A lease clause saying otherwise is void under section 4(1).
Sources (27)
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (King's Printer Word export) · King's Printer for Ontario (retrieved )
- O. Reg. 516/06, General (King's Printer Word export) · King's Printer for Ontario (retrieved )
- O. Reg. 517/06, Maintenance Standards (e-Laws consolidation) · King's Printer for Ontario (retrieved )
- Building Code Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 23 (e-Laws consolidation) · King's Printer for Ontario (retrieved )
- Landlord and Tenant Board Brochure: Maintenance and Repairs · Tribunals Ontario (retrieved )
- Instructions: Form T6 Tenant Application about Maintenance · Tribunals Ontario (retrieved )
- Landlord and Tenant Board: Forms, filing and fees · Tribunals Ontario (retrieved )
- Fee Waiver Request form · Tribunals Ontario (retrieved )
- City of Toronto: Housing Property Standards · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- City of Toronto: Property Standards (bylaw enforcement) · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 441, Fees and Charges, Appendix C · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 629, Property Standards · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 354, Apartment Buildings · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 497, Heating · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- City of Mississauga: Report an issue with your rental building · City of Mississauga (retrieved )
- City of Mississauga: Register a rental apartment building · City of Mississauga (retrieved )
- City of Mississauga: User Fees and Charges By-law, Schedule A-1 Enforcement · City of Mississauga (retrieved )
- City of Toronto: Municipal Licensing & Standards Customer Service Standards · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- City of Toronto: RentSafeTO for Tenants, Service Requests, Complaints and Investigations · City of Toronto (retrieved )
- City of Brampton: Processing a Property Standards / By-Law Complaint · City of Brampton (retrieved )
- City of Brampton: User Fee By-law 193-2024 (office consolidation) · City of Brampton (retrieved )
- City of Brampton: Residential Rental Licensing By-law 216-2023 (office consolidation) · City of Brampton (retrieved )
- City of Brampton: Renting in Brampton, Information for Landlords · City of Brampton (retrieved )
- City of Markham: Property Standards · City of Markham (retrieved )
- City of Markham: Property Standards By-law 2017-26 (consolidated April 2, 2024) · City of Markham (retrieved )
- City of Markham: User Fee By-law 2025-125 · City of Markham (retrieved )
- Solve a disagreement with your landlord or tenant (Rental Housing Enforcement Unit) · Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (retrieved )
How this guide was made
Checked on August 27, 2026 against the statute, the regulations, the by-laws and the tribunal's own forms, never a summary of any of them. The Residential Tenancies Act was read from the King's Printer Word export at ontario.ca/laws/docs/06r17_e.doc, whose header reads 'Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2026 to the e-Laws currency date. Last amendment: 2025, c. 14, Sched. 12', and every section quoted here was re-checked against the JSON API the e-Laws site itself calls, which reports the Act as current. The e-Laws currency date read that day was August 24, 2026. The Building Code Act was read from the same API (consolidation from June 2, 2026), O. Reg. 516/06 from its Word export and O. Reg. 517/06 from the API (consolidation from January 31, 2007, no amendments). Municipal rules come from the consolidated by-laws rather than the summary pages: Toronto Municipal Code Chapters 629 and 497 (both stamped April 30, 2025) and Chapter 354 (stamped June 1, 2024). Four GTA municipalities were checked against one question set: how a tenant complains, what the city publishes about the cost of complaining, and what extra rental program sits on top of the property standards by-law. For each of Toronto, Mississauga, Brampton and Markham we read the city page that tells a tenant how to complain, the city's current fee schedule (Toronto Municipal Code Chapter 441 Appendix C stamped July 1, 2025 plus the City's own property standards page for the 2026 figures, Mississauga's Schedule A-1 Enforcement effective January 1, 2026, Brampton's User Fee By-law 193-2024 as consolidated to By-law 28-2026, and Markham's User Fee By-law 2025-125) and the property standards by-law itself. Board fees come from the Board's own fees page, the Form T6 instructions (August 2023) and the Fee Waiver Request form (v. 01/04/2022).
