Raising Your Own Issues at an LTB Rent Arrears Hearing: A Step-by-Step Guide for Both Sides

In Ontario, when a landlord asks the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to collect unpaid rent through an L1, L9 or L10, the tenant has a form for bringing their own complaints into that same hearing. Its full name is "Issues a Tenant Intends to Raise at a Rent Arrears Hearing", and it covers things like repairs never done, harassment, or charges the landlord had no right to collect. For a tenant, it avoids starting a separate case. For a landlord, it signals that the hearing will look at more than the rent ledger. If the landlord's application went in September 21, 2026 or later, notice alone is not enough: the tenant also has to pay the landlord 50% of the arrears claimed, with 7 days or more to spare before the hearing.

The form in brief

What the form does for each side

The legal basis. Under RTA s. 82(1) (the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006), when an L1 is heard the LTB must let the tenant bring up any matter a tenant application could have covered, as long as the tenant satisfies s. 82(2). Section 87(2) extends this to arrears-only cases under s. 87(1): the L9, where the tenant still lives in the unit, and the L10, where they have left. If the tenant proves an issue, s. 82(3) allows whatever order a tenant application could have produced, such as repairs or an abatement (a rent reduction for the problem) that is subtracted from the arrears.

The two conditions (Rule 19.4; RTA s. 82(2); O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.3). The tenant must do both with 7 days or more remaining before the hearing (or the case management hearing):

• describe every issue in writing, giving a copy to the LTB and one to the landlord; and
• on files opened September 21, 2026 or later, pay the landlord half of the arrears the application claimed when it was first filed.

Guideline 11 is firm on two points: a tenant who disputes the amount must still pay the half, and money sent to the LTB does not satisfy the rule. The LTB's form is not mandatory. A letter with the same details works too.

For tenants, this means a chance to have repair or rights problems decided in the landlord's case, with any abatement reducing what you owe. For landlords, it means your own conduct may be examined, so come prepared to answer.

Is this the right tool?

Ask which of these fits:

• "The arrears number is wrong." No form needed. Challenging the figure is an ordinary part of defending the landlord's case.
• "There were repairs, harassment or illegal charges." This form brings those matters into the arrears hearing.
• "I can't pay half, or the deadline has passed." Start a separate T2 or T6 (or another tenant application) instead. The LTB hears it separately (Guideline 11).

Even matters that cannot come in through s. 82 can still be offered as reasons for the LTB to refuse an eviction, or put it off, under s. 83 (Guideline 11).

Key dates, in order

1. One week out (7 days): the tenant's issues, the half payment and the tenant's evidence (Rules 19.4 and 19.6; RTA s. 82(2); O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.3).
2. 5 days out: evidence from the landlord in response (Rule 19.6.1). Anything late may be excluded (Rule 19.7).

A worked example: the hearing is set for Tuesday, March 9, 2027. Counting back 7 days lands on Tuesday, March 2, 2027, so the notice, the payment and the tenant's evidence should all be done by then. The landlord's reply evidence would be due by Thursday, March 4.

Two more points:

• The filing date decides which rules apply. For landlord applications filed earlier than September 21, 2026, nobody has to pay half, and the former s. 82 wording still governs (s. 82(4)–(5) and Rule 19.5.1). On those files, a tenant who gave no written notice may still be heard if the LTB accepts that they could not comply. For files opened September 21, 2026 or later, the LTB may waive Rule 19.4 only where the Human Rights Code demands it (Rule 19.5).
• Old claims stay old. Every issue must be within its own limitation period. A T2 or T6 claim, for example, covers one year back at most (s. 29(2)).

Completing the form, step by step

Version 2026/09 of the form has two pages.

1. Read page 1. It explains the rules, including that the half-arrears money is paid to the landlord directly, receipt in hand.
2. Top of page 2: your name and the LTB file number shown on the Notice of Hearing.
3. One table row per issue. The columns ask: - Describe the issue. Be concrete: "bathroom ceiling drips after every shower (photos attached)". - When did the issue start? Write it as dd/mm/yyyy. - When did you tell the landlord? The date you first reported it. - Is the issue resolved? Answer Yes or No. - What would you like the LTB to order for this issue? Something like "Ceiling repaired; 10% rent reduction."
4. Out of rows? Add extra sheets.

Delivering and filing it

Tenant checklist:

• [ ] Deliver a copy to your landlord, or their representative, by any delivery method permitted under Rule 3 or the RTA.
• [ ] File a copy with the LTB; the Tribunals Ontario Portal lists it among the documents you can file.
• [ ] On applications filed Sept 21, 2026 or later, pay the landlord 50% of the claimed arrears and keep the receipt.
• [ ] Get your evidence out on time.

Filing costs nothing.

For landlords receiving this notice

1. Find your filing date. If your L1, L9 or L10 is dated September 21, 2026 or later, the tenant needed to pay you 50% of the arrears stated in your application as originally filed, made 7 or more days before the hearing. Example: your L1 claimed $3,200 on filing, so $1,600 is required, even if more rent has fallen due since.
2. Log every payment. Note when, how much and by what method, and give a receipt. Those amounts also go on the L1/L9 Information Update, due to the tenant and the LTB with 5 days or more to go (Rule 10.2).
3. Check both pieces, the notice and the money, against the 7-day line. Keep whatever proves when the notice came in: the envelope, the email, the Portal entry.
4. Object at the outset of the hearing if a condition was not met. Under Rule 19.5 there is no waiver unless the Human Rights Code requires one.
5. If everything was done properly, answer the issues themselves. Serve your reply evidence 5 or more days before the hearing: invoices, work orders, entry notices, photos. An abatement, if ordered, comes off the arrears (Guideline 11).
6. Section 83 still matters. Matters shut out under s. 82 may still be argued as grounds for refusing or postponing eviction. And where the landlord does not consent to a postponement, the LTB has since September 21, 2026 needed to find that delay would not be unfair and that compelling reasons support it (s. 8.4 of the regulation).

What can stop the issues from being heard

Tenants, check each of these; landlords, these are your fair objections:

1. The half payment is missing or late on a file opened from September 21, 2026 onward (s. 82(2), para. 4, and s. 8.3 of the regulation).
2. The money was deposited with the LTB in trust; it had to reach the landlord.
3. Nothing in writing, a copy that reached the landlord but not the LTB, or delivery with fewer than 7 days left (Rule 19.4(b)).
4. Evidence not shared a week ahead, which the LTB can then refuse to look at (Rules 19.6–19.7).
5. A stale issue outside the tenant's limitation period, like a repair finished over a year ago.

After the form is filed

If both conditions were met, the LTB deals with the rent claim and the tenant's complaints in one sitting, and an abatement lowers the balance. If not, the tenant's complaints wait for a tenant application of their own, though the LTB may still weigh them under s. 83.

What changed in 2026

For L1, L9 and L10 files opened September 21, 2026 or later, amendments to RTA s. 82(2) and the regulation (s. 8.3) now make tenants pay 50% of the claimed arrears to the landlord at least a week before the hearing. Rule 19 and Guideline 11 were revised, and the form came out in a new 2026/09 version. One mismatch to know about: the form's first page still says a member can let a tenant raise issues without a written description when satisfied the tenant was unable to comply. The Rules (19.5 and 19.5.1) now limit that exception to files that predate September 21, 2026.

Common questions

I'm a tenant and I don't think I owe anything. Must I still pay half?

Yes, if the landlord filed September 21, 2026 or later. Disputing the amount does not excuse the payment under Guideline 11. It is half of what the application claimed on the day it was filed.

Can the money go to the LTB rather than my landlord?

No. Pay the landlord directly, get a receipt, and keep it safe.

What happens if I miss the 7-day deadline?

Those issues stay out of that hearing unless the Human Rights Code requires otherwise. A separate T2 or T6 remains open to you, and the same problems can still count when the LTB considers refusing or delaying eviction under s. 83.

The landlord's L1 went in during August 2026. Do I have to pay half?

No. Anything filed before September 21, 2026 is governed by Rule 19.5.1 and the earlier wording of s. 82.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 29, 82, 83, 87
• O. Reg. 516/06, ss. 8.3, 8.4
• Issues a Tenant Intends to Raise at a Rent Arrears Hearing (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 10, 19
• Interpretation Guideline 11: Rent Arrears
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• LTB Forms, filing and fees

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.