Ontario RTA Repair Demand — Section 20 Maintenance + Vital Services
Stage-1 of the Ontario RTA repairs chain. First-person demand from a tenant to a landlord under Residential Tenancies Act 2006 ss.20 (maintenance) and 21 (vital services). Covers heat / water / electricity / gas, leaks, mould, pests, structural, electrical, fire safety, appliances, windows-doors, common areas, environmental hazards. Cites the Maintenance Standards Regulation O. Reg. 517/06 (or municipal property-standards by-law) and the s.234(a)-(b) provincial-offence exposure ($50k / $250k fines). 14-day window before LTB Tenant Application T6 + municipal property-standards inspection. Includes explicit warning that Ontario does NOT authorise rent withholding — only LTB abatement. UPL-safe under LSO By-Law 4.
Statute of Limitations Warning
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Why this letter works:
- Cites the exact law: Automatically applies the correct state and federal statutes to your situation.
- Sets a firm deadline: Legally compels a response within the required statutory timeframe.
- Creates a paper trail: Designed to serve as Exhibit A if you need to escalate to an agency or court.
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Your Action Plan
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Your tenancy
Confirm the basics. Section 20 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2006 places the affirmative duty to maintain the rental unit on the landlord — regardless of who pays the utility account and regardless of any clause in the lease that tries to shift that duty to you.
This letter will cite
Residential Tenancies Act 2006 (Ontario) ss.20 (maintenance), 21 (vital services), 30 (Tenant Application T6), 234(a)-(b) (provincial offences — fines up to $100,000 / $500,000), 235 (reprisal as offence); Maintenance Standards Regulation O. Reg. 517/06 (where no municipal by-law applies); Building Code Act 1992 s.15.1 (municipal property-standards by-laws); Fire Protection and Prevention Act 1997; Electrical Safety Code
Your letter identifies specific RTA s.20 / s.21 breaches, demands repair within a deadline, and signals municipal property-standards inspection + LTB Tenant Application T6 as the next steps.
Before you start
What exactly do I get, and when?
A personalized PDF letter, written around the statute that applies to your situation, with the deadline and the consequence spelled out. It downloads the moment payment confirms, back here on commoner-law.com — there is no waiting period and no account to create. You can also add certified mail at checkout and we will send the physical letter for you.
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Is this legal advice?
This is a self-help template, not legal advice. Use of this template does not create a solicitor–client or paralegal–client relationship. For free Ontario tenant support: Steps to Justice, Tenant Duty Counsel, Community Legal Clinics, CLEO, Rental Housing Enforcement Unit (1-888-772-9277). For LTB T6 hearings, retain an LSO-licensed paralegal or lawyer (paralegals can represent independently at the LTB). CRITICAL: Ontario does not authorise tenants to withhold rent in response to disrepair. Only an LTB rent-abatement order can lawfully reduce your rent obligation.
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Do I have to pay to know if I have a case?
No. The rights encyclopedia on this site is free and cites the same primary sources the letter does. Read the relevant guide first — plenty of situations are resolved by a phone call to a free statutory body, and where one exists we say so.