Filing a T2 Application Against Your Landlord: When It Applies and How to File It

Ontario tenants often assume that the only LTB case they will ever be part of is one the landlord starts. That is not the whole picture. The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), established under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), resolves disputes between landlords and tenants through mediation or adjudication, and tenants can start their own case. The starting point is Form T2, the Application about Tenant Rights, which is filed with the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Here is what the T2 is, when it fits, and how the process works.

What the T2 is for

The T2 is the LTB application a tenant uses when the claim is that the landlord has breached the tenant's rights under the RTA. The LTB's own interpretation guideline on the subject, Guideline 6: Tenants Rights, explains how the Board might deal with these issues in an application. Interpretation guidelines do not bind the Board in every case, but they are the best public statement of how the LTB approaches tenant-rights claims.

The T2 is one of a family of tenant applications, and picking the right form matters:

• T1, the Tenant Application for a Rebate, for money the landlord owes the tenant, for example a rent deposit that was not returned.
• T2, the Application about Tenant Rights, for breaches of the tenant's rights.
• T3, for a rent reduction.
• T5, where a landlord gave a notice of termination in bad faith.
• T6, the Tenant Application about Maintenance.

If you are not sure which application fits your situation, the LTB's Navigate Tribunals Ontario tool walks you through your options in plain language before you file anything.

Deadlines: check them before you file

Tenant applications are subject to time limits under the RTA, and the deadline that applies depends on the type of issue being claimed. Two things make checking essential right now. First, effective September 21, 2026, the LTB updated a number of its processes, forms and rules following amendments to the RTA introduced through the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act (Bill 60) and the Helping Homebuyers, Protecting Tenants Act, 2023 (Bill 97), in addition to the changes that took effect July 1, 2026. Second, the Board may refuse an application filed outside the time limit. Before filing, read the current T2 Instructions that accompany the form and confirm the deadline that applies to your claim. Do not assume a deadline from an older guide still holds.

How to file

The T2 is filed with the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Through the Portal you can:

• submit the application and pay the filing fee, which the LTB notes is non-refundable;
• check the status of your file;
• upload the evidence you want to rely on; and
• use the dispute resolution tool to try to reach an agreement with the landlord without a contested hearing.

If the fee is a barrier, the LTB has a Practice Direction on Fee Waiver that sets out when the fee can be waived. If you want help, representation is permitted: the Practice Direction on Representation governs who may act as a representative, and Law Society of Ontario licensees, including paralegals, are required to file documents through the Portal.

Evidence is often what decides these applications. The Practice Direction on Evidence sets out how parties must format and serve their materials on the LTB and on each other. In practice, that means assembling dated photographs, repair requests, emails, text messages and receipts before you file, rather than after.

What happens after you file

The parties can choose to try mediation first. If mediation does not resolve the dispute, the matter goes to a hearing before a member of the Board. Depending on the file, a case management hearing may be held first to organize the issues and evidence. After the hearing, the adjudicator writes an order, which the LTB sends to all parties. Final orders have been posted on the Ontario government's Open Data Catalogue since December 2021, and older orders from 2002 onward are available on CanLII.

What this means for you

The practical rule: the T2 is the tenant's own application. If your landlord starts a case, for example for non-payment of rent, your issues may also be raised in that process, but recent reforms changed how and when that can happen. Filing your own T2 keeps your claim on its own track and on your own timeline, subject to the statutory time limits.

The Board may order remedies where a tenant's rights have been breached. It may also decline to do so. Outcomes depend on the evidence and the member's assessment, and nothing in this process is a guarantee.

The bottom line

If your landlord is interfering with your rights and informal requests are going nowhere, the T2 is the recognized next step: the right form, filed the right way, backed by evidence. JSR Immigration and Legals can help you assess whether a T2 fits your situation, meet the current deadlines, and prepare the application and evidence. See our Landlord and Tenant Board services page, or contact us at (647) 286-4266 or info@jsrlegals.ca.

This post is general information, not legal advice, as of October 31, 2026. For advice on a specific matter, please contact JSR Legals.

Sources

• Landlord and Tenant Board, Forms, filing and fees: https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/forms/
• Landlord and Tenant Board, Law, rules and decisions: https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/law-rules-and-decisions/
• Landlord and Tenant Board, Application and hearing process: https://tribunalsontario.ca/ltb/application-and-hearing-process/
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (e-Laws): https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17

JSR Legals / JSR Immigration Ltd. 9300 Goreway Drive, Suite 205, Brampton, ON L6P 4N1 (647) 286-4266 info@jsrlegals.ca