How to Prepare for a Mediation Session at the LTB

What mediation at the LTB actually is

Mediation at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is generally a voluntary, informal process where a trained mediator helps a landlord and tenant try to reach their own agreement about a dispute, rather than having a Board member decide the outcome after a hearing. It is generally offered as an option before a scheduled hearing, and either side can generally choose not to participate and proceed straight to the hearing instead.

Unlike a hearing, a mediator does not generally decide who is right or make an order. Their role is generally to help both sides communicate, identify what each actually wants, and explore whether there's a workable solution that avoids the time and uncertainty of a full hearing. Our comparison of mediation versus a hearing at the LTB covers this distinction in more depth, including when mediation tends to make sense and when it doesn't.

Mediation is generally most useful where there's some realistic room for compromise — for example, a landlord willing to complete a repair on a set timeline in exchange for a tenant withdrawing part of a claim, or a payment plan both sides can actually live with. It tends to be less useful where one side simply denies the underlying facts altogether, or where a tenant genuinely needs a binding, enforceable finding on a legal question rather than a negotiated middle ground. Thinking honestly about which category your situation falls into before the day of the hearing can help you decide how much energy to put into the mediation stage versus preparing for the hearing itself.

Step 1: Decide what outcome would actually work for you

Mediation tends to go better when a tenant has thought through, in advance, what result would actually resolve the problem, rather than walking in only with a sense of what feels unfair.

1. Write down the specific outcome you're hoping for — for example, a repair completed by a certain date, a rent abatement for a specific period, or more time to pay arrears.
2. Think about your real priorities versus items you could compromise on, since mediation generally works best when both sides can find some middle ground.
3. Consider what you would do if mediation doesn't resolve things and the matter proceeds to a hearing, so you have a realistic sense of your alternative.
4. If money is involved, work out a specific number or range you would consider reasonable, rather than leaving it vague.

Step 2: Gather the key facts and documents

Even though mediation is informal, coming prepared with the key facts and documents generally makes the conversation more productive and makes any agreement reached more likely to hold up.

1. Bring a simple written timeline of what happened, with dates, since this helps keep the discussion focused.
2. Bring copies of relevant documents, such as the lease, rent receipts, maintenance requests, photos, or written communications with the other party.
3. If money is at issue, bring a clear calculation showing how you arrived at any amount you're proposing.
4. Review the application and Notice of Hearing again shortly before the date, so the specific issues are fresh in your mind.

Reviewing our general guide to what happens at an LTB hearing is also useful background, since mediation often happens on the same day as a scheduled hearing, before or instead of it. Having everything organized into a single, simple package before you leave home — rather than searching through emails or a phone's photo roll in the hallway outside the hearing room — tends to make a real difference to how smoothly the conversation goes once mediation actually starts.

Step 3: Know what to bring and how the session unfolds

Understanding the practical flow of the day can reduce a lot of unnecessary stress, since a lot of the anxiety around mediation generally comes from simply not knowing what to expect once you walk in the door.

1. Arrive on time, bringing photo identification and copies of any documents you intend to reference.
2. Expect to meet with a mediator, sometimes with both parties present together and sometimes with each side spoken to separately, depending on how the mediator structures the session.
3. Understand that mediation sessions are typically time-limited, so having your key points organized in advance helps make the most of the time available.
4. Know that you generally retain the right to walk away from mediation at any point if it isn't going anywhere productive, and proceed to the scheduled hearing instead.

Step 4: Participating effectively during the session

Once the session begins, how you engage can meaningfully affect whether a workable agreement is reached.

1. Explain your situation clearly and specifically, using your timeline and documents to support what you're saying.
2. Listen to the other side's position, since understanding what they actually want can reveal room for a workable compromise that a purely adversarial approach might miss.
3. Stay focused on practical solutions rather than relitigating every past grievance, since mediation tends to work best when it's forward-looking.
4. Ask the mediator to clarify anything about the process or the LTB's typical approach to an issue if you're unsure, since mediators can generally provide general information even though they don't decide the case.
5. If an agreement is reached, review it carefully before signing, since a signed mediated agreement generally becomes a binding order of the Board.

What happens after mediation

If mediation results in an agreement, it is generally written up and signed by both parties, and once filed it generally becomes an order of the LTB with the same enforceability as an order issued after a hearing — our LTB orders and enforcement guide explains what that means in practice. If mediation does not result in an agreement, the matter generally proceeds to a hearing, often later the same day or on a later scheduled date, and nothing said during mediation is generally used as evidence at that hearing.

It's worth keeping a personal copy of any signed mediated agreement, since you may need to refer back to its specific terms, including deadlines, later on. If the other side later fails to follow through on what was agreed, you generally don't need to start the process over from scratch — a filed mediated agreement can generally be enforced the same way as any other LTB order, which is one of the real practical advantages of resolving a dispute this way rather than relying on an informal, unwritten understanding.

Common mistakes that undermine a mediation session

A number of avoidable issues tend to reduce how productive a mediation session turns out to be.

1. Arriving without having thought through a realistic, specific outcome in advance.
2. Treating mediation as a chance to simply vent rather than to problem-solve, which tends to use up limited time without making progress.
3. Agreeing to terms under pressure without fully understanding them, rather than asking questions or taking a moment to think it through.
4. Forgetting that a signed mediated agreement is generally binding and enforceable, and signing something that isn't actually workable.
5. Not bringing supporting documents, which can make it harder to have a grounded, specific conversation about numbers or timelines.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Reviewed by Ryan J. Manilla, BA, JD

Legal Reviewer · Landlord Tenant Ontario