If your Toronto building has three or more storeys and ten or more rental units, a RentSafeTO complaint to the City can trigger an inspection and an order against the building owner, but it does not pay you compensation. If you want money back or an order specific to your own unit, you need an LTB application (typically a T6). For an ongoing, serious repair problem in a covered building, filing both is often the right approach — a documented City complaint can become useful evidence at your LTB hearing.
- RentSafeTO is City enforcement against the building; the LTB decides your individual claim for compensation.
- RentSafeTO only applies to buildings with 3+ storeys and 10+ rental units — if your building doesn’t qualify, the LTB is your only route either way.
- A T6 application to the LTB is how a Toronto tenant seeks rent abatement or compensation for a repair problem.
- A documented RentSafeTO complaint or City inspection order can become useful supporting evidence in an LTB hearing.
- You can file a RentSafeTO complaint and an LTB application for the same underlying problem — they are not mutually exclusive.
- Neither process requires you to move out, and withholding rent on your own without an LTB order carries real risk.
Two Different Systems, Two Different Jobs
Toronto tenants dealing with an unrepaired apartment often assume there is one process to follow. In a larger building, there are actually two, and they do different work. RentSafeTO is a City of Toronto bylaw program that enforces building-wide standards against the owner — it can result in inspections, orders, and fines against the building. The Landlord and Tenant Board is the provincial tribunal that decides your individual tenancy dispute under the Residential Tenancies Act — including whether you get rent abated or compensated for the problem in your specific unit.
Tenants file a RentSafeTO complaint, see the City take action against the building, and assume that resolves their own situation — then are surprised, months later, that they were never compensated for their own unrepaired unit. RentSafeTO fixing the building does not automatically put money in your pocket. That takes an LTB application.
When RentSafeTO Is the Right Tool
RentSafeTO applies only to apartment buildings with three or more storeys and ten or more rental units. If your building qualifies, a RentSafeTO complaint is useful when the problem is building-wide (a persistent pest issue in common areas, security or safety concerns affecting the whole building, the building’s general state of repair) or when you simply want City pressure brought to bear on an unresponsive owner. It creates an official record, and it can lead to a City inspection and orders against the building.
When the LTB Is the Right Tool
If what you actually want is compensation — rent abated for the period your unit was unrepaired, or reimbursement for losses the problem caused you — that comes from the LTB, typically through a T6 application, regardless of your building’s size. The T6 process exists specifically for a tenant to allege a landlord has breached their maintenance obligations and to seek an order and compensation for that breach. This is your route whether or not RentSafeTO also applies to your building.
Using Both Together
For a serious, ongoing problem in a covered building, filing both is often the strongest approach. A documented RentSafeTO complaint, and any inspection report or City order that results, can become genuinely useful evidence at your LTB hearing — it helps establish that a real problem existed, that it was serious enough for the City to act on, and roughly when the landlord was put on notice. Neither process requires you to choose one over the other. Once you've filed the T6, our guide on preparing for an LTB hearing covers how to organize that evidence into a package the adjudicator can actually use.
Keep a single, organized file: your written repair requests to the landlord, any RentSafeTO complaint confirmation or inspection correspondence, and photos dated throughout. This becomes the backbone of a T6 application if the problem isn’t resolved.
If Your Building Isn’t RentSafeTO-Covered
Most Toronto tenancies — houses, basement apartments, duplexes, and individually owned condo units — fall outside RentSafeTO’s scope entirely. That doesn’t change your repair rights at all. The Residential Tenancies Act applies to practically every residential tenancy in Ontario regardless of building size, and the LTB remains fully available to you. RentSafeTO was simply never going to be a tool you could use in the first place.
What Not to Do
Whichever process (or both) you use, avoid the moves that weaken your position: don’t withhold rent on your own without an LTB order, don’t make repairs yourself and deduct the cost without following the proper process, and don’t let a verbal complaint stand in for a written, dated one. See our guide on a landlord’s repair obligations and the T6 application for the full process.
Not sure whether to use RentSafeTO, the LTB, or both? Call us at 416-274-2222 for a free consultation — we’ll map out the right process for your building and your problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are not strictly sequential. If your building qualifies for RentSafeTO, filing a complaint early creates a record and can prompt a City inspection. If the problem continues or you want compensation, start the LTB process (typically a T6 application) without waiting for RentSafeTO to resolve — the two can run in parallel.
It can prompt City pressure on the building owner, but RentSafeTO decisions apply at the building level, not as an order specific to your unit. If your individual repair issue needs a binding order or compensation, that comes from the LTB, not RentSafeTO.
Yes, generally. A documented City complaint, inspection report, or order can help establish that a problem existed, how serious it was, and how long the landlord had notice of it — all relevant to an LTB adjudicator deciding a T6 application.
Yes. RentSafeTO simply doesn’t apply to your building, but your repair rights under the Residential Tenancies Act do not depend on building size. The LTB and a T6 application remain fully available to you.
Generally no, not safely. Withholding rent without an LTB order risks a non-payment application against you. The proper route is to document the problem, request repairs in writing, and apply to the LTB for an order and compensation if the landlord doesn’t respond — see our guide on a landlord’s repair obligations.
Timing varies with the City’s current workload and the nature of the complaint. It is not a substitute for also pursuing an LTB remedy if the issue is serious or urgent — don’t wait on RentSafeTO alone before starting that process.