In the province of Ontario, rent has been going up. Unfortunately, with this increase in rent, maintenance standards in certain buildings has been neglected. This brings up the question on whether subpar maintenance standards can justify a high rental charge. Well, this question is somewhat nuanced. What a landlord can charge through negotiating is vastly different from what the landlord can charge legally after negotiations are finalized. This means that the landlord can agree to rent a unit for $2000 but this does not mean that the unit can be immense state of disrepair. A fact that is commonly misunderstood by tenants. Sadly, this a misunderstanding that can cost a tenant thousands of dollars through rent abatements. A consequence that this discourse will show you how to avoid if you experience of the above mentioned issues.

In the province of Ontario, we have a fascinating piece of legislation called the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA). The RTA governs all tenancy agreements in the province and regulates activities between landlords and tenants. Now, some will say that the RTA is biased and benefits certain parties. The reality of this statement is that the RTA attempts to satisfy landlords and tenants. The truth of the matter is that it first depends on the submission of the applicant and the respondent. If the tenant is the applicant, the success of his or her case will depend on how he or he fills out the application, as well as the evidence that tenant is submitting to document his or her claim. This is crucial because the adjudicator needs legitimate evidence to help he or she determine his or her final decision.

To explain further, we first must look at section 30 of the RTA and its’ implications on the rental market, which deals with breaches of maintenance duties in respect to section 20 of the RTA. This section is important since one of the remedies is a suspension of all rent increases, until repairs are completed, and a rent abatement (reduction of rent).

In practical application, let us say you have a water leak present in your unit or there are plumbing issues present. Well, these types of issues help reduce your rent until it is repaired. For instance, when referencing typical rent abatements, an adjudicator typically awards 5 to 30 percent rent abatements for common maintenance issues and sometimes awards higher for serious breaches in maintenance duties.

This means if you have a water leak, especially one that has created mould in your unit, you could be awarded a 15 percent rent abatement for your current rent unit repairs have been made. This would result in your rent to be reduced by 15 percent for every month that you lived with the maintenance issues.

Thus, if your rent is $2000.00 dollars, you would really owe $1700.00 for the months that maintenance issues were present. An amount the affect past and future rent. If the issues were present for 12 months, than you would be owed $3600 in rent, as well have the ability to reduce future rent payments, as long as the issues are still present in your unit.

How you go about doing this would be by filing a T6 application before the landlord and tenant board, while you file the necessary form to the landlord and tenant board on what you can quanitfy as the lawful amount of rent that should be charged, which would then be paid in to the landlord and tenant board.

If you ever need help with filing a T6 application, we are always here to help and can give you the necessary you need to acquire the appropriate recourse.

Book a free consultation today if you ever wish to learn more on how maintenance issues in your apartment can help make your rent cheaper.