What Happens to Rent Obligations During a Dispute With the LTB

Does rent still have to be paid during a dispute?

One of the most common and consequential misunderstandings in Ontario landlord-tenant disputes is the belief that filing an application, or having one filed against you, pauses the obligation to pay rent. In general, it does not. Unless a tenancy has actually ended, the tenant generally remains obligated to pay rent as it comes due, on the same schedule as before, regardless of whether an LTB application is pending, scheduled for hearing, or even already heard and awaiting a written decision.

This surprises many tenants, particularly those who feel the dispute itself — for example, over unresolved repairs or a disputed rent increase — is the landlord's fault. The law generally treats the obligation to pay rent and the dispute over some other issue as two separate tracks that run in parallel rather than one blocking the other, even though in practice they're often closely connected.

Why rent obligations generally continue during a dispute

The underlying logic is that a tenancy is an ongoing relationship: the tenant generally continues to occupy and use the unit throughout the dispute, so the landlord generally continues to be entitled to payment for that ongoing use, separate from whatever else is being argued about. If rent could simply be stopped the moment either party files a dispute, it would create an obvious incentive to file or threaten disputes purely as a way to avoid paying rent, which is not how the system is generally designed to work.

This doesn't mean a tenant has no recourse if they believe the landlord is in the wrong — it means that recourse generally runs through specific remedies the LTB can order, such as a rent abatement or a repair order, rather than through a tenant unilaterally deciding to stop paying in the meantime.

Can a tenant withhold rent while waiting for repairs or a hearing?

Tenants sometimes withhold rent as a way of pressuring a landlord to make repairs or respond to a complaint, believing this is a fair way to get the landlord's attention. This approach generally carries real risk. If a tenant stops paying rent without a specific LTB order authorizing a reduction, the landlord may generally still pursue the unpaid amount as arrears, including through an N4 notice and an application to the LTB — and the underlying repair or maintenance issue, while it may generally be relevant to the overall picture, typically does not automatically excuse the non-payment on its own.

Where a tenant has genuine, serious concerns about conditions in the unit, the generally more secure path is to raise those concerns formally — in writing with the landlord, and if unresolved, through a tenant application to the LTB — while continuing to pay rent in the meantime. This preserves the tenant's position on both fronts rather than creating a second, separate problem around unpaid rent.

Rent abatement: the generally correct way to address this

A rent abatement is a remedy the LTB can order when a tenant has suffered a reduction in the value of their tenancy — for example, because of a maintenance issue that went unaddressed for a significant period. Rather than a tenant deciding on their own that a certain amount of rent isn't owed, an abatement is generally something the Board determines and orders after hearing evidence from both sides, often as a credit against rent or a direct repayment. This is the mechanism through which a legitimate complaint about conditions is generally meant to translate into an actual reduction in what's owed, rather than a tenant simply withholding payment unilaterally and hoping it will be retroactively justified later.

What happens if arrears build up during the dispute itself

Because rent generally continues to accrue and be owed throughout a dispute, it's entirely possible for a tenant to end up facing a second, separate arrears issue that develops purely because of decisions made during the dispute — for instance, withholding rent in anticipation of a favourable outcome. If the Board doesn't ultimately order the abatement or credit the tenant expected, that withheld rent generally remains owed as ordinary arrears, on top of whatever else was in dispute. This is one of the more common and avoidable ways a tenant's position can weaken over the course of a dispute, so it's generally safer to keep paying rent as normal and let any abatement be addressed as a credit or repayment once ordered.

If the tenant is the one who filed the application

The same underlying principle applies regardless of who started the proceeding. A tenant who has filed their own application against the landlord — over maintenance, privacy, or another issue — generally still owes rent in the meantime, just as a tenant responding to a landlord's application does. Filing an application is not, by itself, a basis for withholding rent, even when the tenant believes their case is strong and expects to succeed.

This can feel counterintuitive to a tenant who has gone to the effort of documenting a problem and formally bringing it to the Board, especially if the process takes months to reach a hearing. But the length of the process is generally a separate issue from the rent obligation itself, and a tenant who stops paying while waiting for a hearing date risks turning what started as a straightforward maintenance or privacy complaint into a combined dispute that also involves arrears — which can complicate both the hearing itself and the tenant's overall position, even if the original complaint was entirely legitimate.

What happens to rent obligations once an order is issued

Once the LTB issues its decision, the order itself generally sets out exactly how the parties' respective rights and obligations are resolved going forward — including any arrears owed, any abatement or credit granted, and, where relevant, whether and when the tenancy will end. From that point, the parties are generally expected to follow what the order specifies rather than their own prior assumptions about who owed what. If either side believes the order was not correctly followed, there are generally further steps available, including enforcement options or, in limited circumstances, a request for review.

Practical guidance for tenants and landlords during a dispute

For tenants, the generally safest approach during any dispute is to keep paying rent on schedule, keep clear records of that payment, and pursue the substantive complaint through the proper channel rather than through non-payment. For landlords, it's generally worth remembering that a tenant's complaint — even one that seems unreasonable — doesn't disappear simply because rent continues to be paid, and that continuing to address maintenance or other obligations in good faith throughout a dispute is generally in the landlord's own interest as well, since it can affect how the dispute is ultimately resolved.

It's also worth both sides keeping the two issues visibly separate in their own correspondence and records. A tenant who sends a maintenance complaint and a rent payment in the same message, for instance, generally makes it easier for a landlord to treat the two as linked when they're not meant to be. Clear, separate documentation — a rent payment record on one hand, and a dated written complaint or application on the other — generally helps both a landlord and a tenant present their respective positions clearly if the matter ends up before the Board.

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Reviewed by Ryan J. Manilla, BA, JD

Legal Reviewer · Landlord Tenant Ontario