If you had a Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) hearing about your eviction case, the LTB member might have told you their decision at the end of the hearing. Or they might have told you they would make their decision later.

Either way, the LTB will send copies of the decision to you and your landlord. The LTB's decision is called an order.

If the LTB has decided to evict you, the eviction order will have wording like “The tenancy between the Landlord and the Tenants is terminated, as of [date]. The Tenants must move out of the rental unit on or before [date].”

If you've decided to move, you should do so by the day that the LTB has ordered you to move out. This is sometimes called the termination date and it is usually on the last page of the order. After the termination date, your landlord can get a court official called the Sheriff to physically evict you.

If you don't want to move, you must do something about the eviction order right away.

Some things that you might be able to do are:

• pay the money you owe, if the eviction is because you owe rent

• ask the LTB to review or reconsider the decision

• ask a court to change the decision

• ask your landlord to agree to let you stay

Moving Out

If you decide to move out, try to move by the date stated in the LTB's order, or as soon as possible after that. If the Sheriff enforces the eviction order, your locks can be changed very quickly.

If the Sheriff locks you out, you only have 72 hours after the lockout to make arrangements to get your stuff. Even if the eviction happens just before the weekend, you still have only 72 hours. So it's best to make sure to move your stuff out before this happens.

Seek Legal Advice

It's always best to get legal advice about eviction problems if you can, especially when you have an eviction order against you.

If you have a low income, you can call your local community legal clinic and try to make an appointment to discuss your situation. Be sure to tell the clinic that you have an eviction order against you.

If you can't get help from a community legal clinic, you can call Pro Bono Ontario's Free Legal Advice Hotline. Or you can contact the Law Society Referral Service for a free 30-minute consultation with a lawyer or licensed paralegal. Or you can contact JusticeNet, a non-profit organization that can connect you with a lawyer or licensed paralegal who has agreed to work for reduced fees.

Paying Rent Arrears Owed

If you are being evicted because you owe rent, you might also be able to stop it by paying everything you owe plus your landlord’s legal expenses. The order should explain how much you must pay and the deadline to pay it.

But you must act very quickly and you must follow exactly the right steps

Request a review of the order

You can try to stop the eviction by asking the LTB to review the decision.

To ask for a review, you must file a written Request for Review with the LTB. This costs $58 but, if you have a low income, you can ask the LTB to “waive” or cancel the fee by filling in a form.

Time limit

You must file the Request to Review within 30 days after the date of the eviction order.

If it is more than 30 days after the date of the order, you will have to also file a Request to Extend Deadline form. You will have to give the LTB a very good reason why you missed the 30-day deadline.

Filling out the Request to Review form

Your Request for Review form must show that the LTB might have made a serious error in its decision about your case. Some examples of serious errors are:

• getting the amount of rent you owed wrong

• refusing to look at your evidence about problems in your rental unit

• not letting you finish when you were telling your story

• not applying the law correctly to your situation

It is usually good to ask the LTB for a copy of the hearing recording. Listening to the recording can help you decide what to write in your Request for Review.

There is also a place on the form to ask the LTB to “stay”, or freeze, the eviction order so that your landlord can't enforce it. Make sure that you fill this part of the form in.

After you file your Request to Review

There is no guarantee that you will get a review hearing. An LTB member will look at your Request for Review and decide whether to schedule a hearing.

If the LTB decides to schedule a hearing, you will get a Notice of Hearing and a copy of the “stay” order. You must take the copy of the stay order to the Sheriff's office so they'll know not to evict you before the hearing. You'll also have to prepare for the hearing.

But if the LTB decides not to hold a hearing, this means the Sheriff can come to evict you.

The Tenant Duty Counsel Program has a Tip Sheet that will guide you through the whole process of asking for a review.

Appealing to court

You can also appeal LTB decisions to the Divisional Court. But this process is complicated and can cost a lot of money. In most cases, the court will not hear your appeal unless you have already asked for a review by the LTB.

It's best to get legal advice before you decide to appeal to court. Once you receive the order, you have a short amount of time to file an appeal so you must act quickly.

Asking Landlord to Stay

You can talk to your landlord and see if you can make an agreement that will let you stay in your place. If you can, try to get legal advice before you to talk to your landlord about this.

If your landlord agrees to let you stay with certain conditions, make sure to get this agreement in writing. This way, if your landlord does evict you, you'll have something to prove that they had agreed to let you stay.

Please consider hiring a paralegal or lawyer or is knowledgeable in this area; and also consider taking up free legal advice from our local clinics. 

Information Provided by Steps To Justice Canada