T1 Rebate Application in Ontario: A Guide for Tenants Claiming and Landlords Answering

In Ontario, the T1 is how a tenant asks the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to make a landlord hand back money. The tenant's point: the landlord took it, or kept it, when the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) said they couldn't. Tenants (current, former and even would-be tenants) file it; landlords answer it. On both sides, the outcome usually depends on two things: dates and documents.

Quick summary

What a T1 can recover

Under RTA s. 135(1), a tenant (or ex-tenant) can get an order making the landlord, a superintendent or an agent repay money they took or kept against the Act. Section 135(2) gives would-be tenants that right; s. 135(3) gives it to subtenants.

The form gives eight reasons. In plain terms:

The Board's power to order repayment stops at its monetary limit (s. 207), which the instructions put at $50,000. Anything a tenant claims over that is given up by filing here.

Right form, wrong form

The T1 is strictly about money paid or held back. If the complaint is about something else, look elsewhere:

• the landlord's behaviour (harassment, interference and the like) → T2
• repairs and maintenance → T6
• an N12 or N13 given in bad faith → T5. A T5 can also award unpaid compensation, provided the tenant clearly asks for it.

The clocks that matter

1. The one-year bar (s. 135(4)). Once a year has passed since a sum was collected or kept, no order can be made for it. Each payment is tested on its own date.
2. Old rent becomes lawful. If no one applied within a year of rent first being charged, rent that has run for a year or longer is deemed lawful (s. 136(1)); increases likewise (s. 136(2)).
3. Increases lacking 90 days' notice. Normally void — but deemed valid after a tenant pays one for a full, unbroken 12 months and doesn't apply within the year (s. 135.1).
4. Compensation. Due on or before the notice's termination date (s. 55.1); the year is counted from that due date.

Example. A landlord added a $150 "amenity fee" on the first of every month starting August 1, 2025. The tenant files a T1 on Monday, November 2, 2026. The fees paid August 1 through November 1, 2025 are more than a year old and fall outside s. 135(4). The fees paid from December 1, 2025 onward are inside the window and can be claimed.

Completing the form

The current version is dated 01/04/2022. It has three parts and a payment page.

1. Part 1 — General Information. Unit address, tenant names, landlord name, any superintendent or agent you're adding (list them on a Schedule of Parties), and related file numbers.
2. Part 2 — Reasons. Shade each reason that applies and state the amount. Some reasons need extra detail: Reason 1 wants 12 months of rent history; Reason 2, details of each charge; Reason 3, your move-out date and the deposit amount. Each reason's "Explaining your Reasons" box is where your dates and arithmetic go.
3. Part 3 — Signature, followed by the page asking about accommodation or French-language needs, and payment.

For tenants filing this

• [ ] Each amount is within one year of when it was collected or kept.
• [ ] You've picked every reason that fits, and you're eligible for it. (Reason 7 is for former tenants or a deceased tenant's estate; a prospective tenant can use only Reasons 2 and 4.)
• [ ] Your numbers are shown, not just stated: rent history for Reason 1, a breakdown for the others.
• [ ] You know your route: Portal, mail, courier, or a ServiceOntario location accepting LTB documents.
• [ ] The fee is paid ($48 on the Portal, $53 otherwise) or a fee waiver is requested.

After that, you don't serve the landlord yourself: the LTB delivers the application and the Notice of Hearing (Rule 5.1).

For landlords receiving this

Step 1 — Build a timeline. Write down every amount the tenant is claiming and the date it was collected, or the date it should have been paid. Anything older than a year should be dismissed under s. 135(4). Rent or increases more than a year old may also be deemed lawful (ss. 135.1, 136).

Step 2 — Pull the records for each reason.

• Rent: lease; each N1/N2 increase notice plus service proof; the applicable guideline.
• Charges: receipts, and what each sum paid for. Some payments are allowed despite s. 134 (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17): a refundable key/fob deposit not above replacement cost; what extra or replacement keys actually cost you (unless the lock change was your choice); the bank's NSF fee; and your own NSF admin charge, maximum $20.
• Deposits and interest: when the deposit came in, how it went toward the final rental period, and yearly interest paid at the guideline rate in force on each due date.
• Compensation: proof it was paid by the termination date, or proof nothing was owing. From September 21, 2026, an own-use N12 giving 120+ days' notice and ending on a period's or term's final day carries no compensation (s. 48.1(2)).

Step 3 — Share your evidence in time. Tenant and LTB need it 7 days ahead of the hearing — 5 days ahead for reply evidence (Rules 19.1 and 19.2).

Where T1 claims break down

1. Out of time. s. 135(4) bars any sum taken or kept more than a year before the filing date.
2. Challenging rent that's already lawful. If nobody applied within a year, ss. 135.1 and 136 deem the rent or increase lawful.
3. Ineligible applicant. Reason 7 is open only to ex-tenants or a deceased tenant's estate; would-be tenants get Reasons 2 and 4 and nothing else.
4. Unpaid fee, no waiver. Not accepted.
5. Missing math. No rent history, no breakdown: proof becomes difficult and the claim can collapse on the evidence.
6. Asking for compensation nobody owed — e.g. an own-use N12 dated September 21, 2026 or later with 120+ days' notice, or an N13 where a statute ordered the repairs (s. 54).

After the application is filed

The Board schedules a hearing and then issues an order. From there, either side can:

• ask for a review: 15 days for orders issued July 1, 2026 or later; $58 (RTA s. 209(3), Rule 26.5) — see Request to Review an Order; or
• appeal on a point of law to the Divisional Court, inside 30 days (RTA s. 210).

What Bill 60 changed

Both the form (2022) and the instructions (2023) were written before Bill 60, and Bill 60 affects Reason 6. Own-use N12s served from September 21, 2026 that give at least 120 days and end on a period's or term's final day need no compensation (s. 48.1(2)). Compensation is still owed on a purchaser's N12. Related pages: N12 and N13.

Questions people ask

How many months of illegal rent can be recovered?

Only what was paid in the year before the T1 is filed. And once rent has been charged for a year without anyone challenging it in time, it is deemed lawful.

Can a landlord ask for a key deposit?

Yes, if it's refundable and capped at what replacing the key, fob or card is expected to cost directly (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17). A key fee that isn't refundable, or a deposit above replacement cost, can be recovered on a T1.

I'm facing an L1 for arrears. Can I bring up my T1 issues there instead?

Possibly, if the s. 82 conditions are met. When the L1, L9 or L10 was filed September 21, 2026 or later, one condition is paying half the arrears claimed. The Issues a Tenant Intends to Raise page explains.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 41, 42, 48.1, 55.1, 106, 107, 134, 135, 135.1, 136, 207, 210
• O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17
• T1 Instructions
• T1 – Tenant Application for a Rebate (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5.1, 19, 26
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026

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