Understanding landlord harassment in Ontario
Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 prohibits a landlord, landlord’s agent, or another person acting for the landlord from harassing, obstructing, coercing, threatening, or interfering with a tenant.[1] Harassment is assessed from the facts and circumstances, so a single disagreement is not automatically a legal violation. Repeated conduct, threats, pressure to leave, unreasonable interference with your privacy, or conduct that makes it difficult to enjoy your home may be important to document.
Examples that may be relevant to a T2 application include:
- Repeated threatening, insulting, or intimidating calls, texts, emails, or visits.
- Entering your rental unit without lawful notice or consent, except where an emergency or another legal exception applies.
- Threatening an illegal eviction, punishment, rent increase, or other consequence because you asserted a tenancy right.
- Interfering with your reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit through repeated disruptions or surveillance.
Harassment can overlap with maintenance, privacy, rent, or eviction concerns. For a broader explanation of the parties’ responsibilities, see Obligations of Landlords and Tenants: Rights and Responsibilities Explained.
How to document the conduct
Start a dated incident log as soon as possible. Record what happened, who was involved, where it occurred, the exact words used when you remember them, witnesses, and how the conduct affected your use of the home. Keep the description factual and avoid guessing about motives.
- Save texts, emails, letters, voicemail messages, notices, and online messages in their original form.
- Take photographs or screenshots that show dates, damage, posted notices, or the condition of an entry point.
- Ask witnesses to write their own dated account and keep copies of relevant rent receipts or payment records.
- Record entry attempts, inspection notices, and whether the required notice details were provided.
- Keep copies of your complaints and the landlord’s responses, including messages where you asked the conduct to stop.
Organize evidence by date and label each file with a short description. A simple table can connect each incident to a supporting file and a witness. Do not edit original messages or recordings; if you make a summary, keep the original beside it. Ontario’s LTB may consider documents, photographs, messages, testimony, and other relevant evidence, but you must explain how each item supports your claim.
If the harassment is connected to repairs or unsafe conditions, your records may also support a maintenance issue; review How to Handle Complaints in Your Rental: A Tenant's Guide for practical complaint steps.
Preparing Form T2
Form T2, Application About Tenant Rights, is the LTB form a tenant can use when a landlord, landlord’s agent, or another person acting for the landlord has substantially interfered with a tenant’s reasonable enjoyment, harassed the tenant, withheld a vital service, or breached other listed rights. The current form and instructions are available through the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board forms page.[2]
When completing Form T2, identify the rental unit, landlord, dates, conduct, and remedies requested. Use specific incidents rather than general statements. Attach or identify your strongest evidence, such as a chronological log, messages, photographs, witness statements, and copies of notices. Explain the effect on your home life, privacy, safety, or ability to use the unit.
- Choose the allegations on Form T2 that match the facts you can explain and support.
- Check the LTB’s current filing and service instructions before submitting the application.
- Prepare a numbered evidence list so the adjudicator can locate each document quickly.
- State any monetary compensation or other remedy you are requesting and explain how you calculated it.
After filing, follow the LTB’s instructions about serving the landlord and submitting evidence. Keep proof of service and copies of everything you submit. The LTB’s filing and fees information explains available submission methods and current requirements.[3]
Protecting your safety and tenancy
If you feel unsafe, prioritize immediate safety rather than collecting more evidence. Call 911 in an emergency, contact local police for non-emergency safety concerns, and consider asking a trusted person to be present for necessary communications or appointments. Do not confront a landlord if doing so could increase the risk of harm.
Keep paying rent when it is due unless you receive reliable legal advice that a different step is lawful. Do not make threats, destroy property, secretly record conversations without checking applicable privacy rules, or publish accusations online. Calm, factual communication and organized records generally help you present your position.
Retaliation may raise separate legal issues if a landlord takes action because you exercised a right or complained about a lawful concern. Ontario’s official legislation is available through the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006.[4] If discrimination based on a protected ground may be involved, consider obtaining advice about the Ontario Human Rights Code as well.
What happens after filing a T2
The LTB may schedule a hearing, case management hearing, mediation opportunity, or another process. Read every notice carefully and attend at the stated time. Prepare a short timeline, review your evidence in advance, and be ready to explain what you want the LTB to order.
- Bring or submit the documents required by the hearing instructions and keep a complete copy for yourself.
- Meet every deadline listed in the LTB notice, order, or procedural direction.
- Tell the LTB promptly if you have a serious accessibility, interpretation, or safety concern.
- Explain your requested remedy clearly, such as compensation, an order to stop conduct, or another available order.
For help presenting your evidence, review the LTB’s current instructions and consider speaking with a licensed paralegal, lawyer, community legal clinic, or tenant support service. The LTB decides applications based on the evidence and applicable law, so a clear record is more useful than a large collection of unrelated material.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is landlord harassment in Ontario?
- Landlord harassment can include threatening, coercive, obstructive, or substantially disruptive conduct that interferes with a tenant’s rights or reasonable enjoyment of the rental unit.
- What evidence can support a T2 application?
- Useful evidence may include dated incident logs, messages, emails, notices, photographs, recordings where lawfully obtained, witness statements, and proof of the effect on your tenancy.
- Which form does an Ontario tenant use for harassment?
- An Ontario tenant generally uses Form T2, Application About Tenant Rights, when the claimed conduct falls within the rights and remedies covered by that form.
- Can I stop paying rent because of harassment?
- Usually, a tenant should not stop paying rent without reliable legal advice because non-payment can create a separate tenancy problem.
How-To: Build a T2 evidence package
- Start a dated incident log and describe each event using factual, specific language.
- Collect original messages, notices, photographs, payment records, and witness information.
- Complete Form T2 by identifying the conduct, dates, effect on your tenancy, evidence, and requested remedies.
- Review the current LTB filing, service, evidence, and hearing deadlines.
- Attend the hearing or other scheduled LTB process with an organized timeline and complete copies of your evidence.
Help and Support / Resources
- Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board for applications, hearings, procedures, and contact information.
- LTB forms and instructions for Form T2 and related tenant applications.
- Ontario tenant rights information for provincial rental rules and guidance.
