The T1 recovers money an Ontario landlord took or withheld unlawfully. Section 135(1) covers anything “collected or retained in contravention of this Act” — illegal rent, key money, an unreturned deposit, unpaid deposit interest.
It costs $53, or $48 through the Board’s portal, and you have exactly one year from the payment.
What is a T1 application in Ontario?
It is the Board’s refund application. The form’s full title is Tenant Application for a Rebate of Money the Landlord Owes, and the LTB’s instructions describe its purpose as having the Board “determine whether your landlord collected money from you that they should not have collected or failed to pay you money they owe you.”
The statutory hook is short. Section 135(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 lets a tenant or former tenant apply for an order that the landlord, superintendent or agent of the landlord “pay to the tenant any money the person collected or retained in contravention of this Act.” Section 135(1.1) adds a deemed contravention: if a landlord was required to compensate you under sections 48.1, 49.1, 52, 54 or 55 and did not, they are deemed to have retained money in contravention of the Act.
Notice who it can be brought against. Not only the landlord — a superintendent or an agent who took the money is named in the section, and section 134(2) prohibits them from doing the things the landlord cannot do “with or without the authority of the landlord.”
What can I actually claim on a T1?
Eight things, according to the Board’s own instruction sheet. Here they are with the practical limit attached to each.
| Ground | Typical example | Who can claim | Window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illegal rent that you paid | An increase above the guideline with no Board order, or with no 90-day notice | Tenant or former tenant | Overcharge in the last 12 months |
| An illegal charge that you paid | Key money, a premium, a bonus, a commission, a penalty — refundable or not | Tenant, former tenant or prospective tenant | Paid in the last 12 months |
| Last month’s rent deposit not applied and not returned | You moved out, the deposit was not used for the final rent period | Former tenant | 12 months from the illegal retention |
| Deposit taken but you were never let in | You paid, the unit was given to someone else, the money stayed | Tenant or prospective tenant | 12 months from the illegal retention |
| Unpaid interest on the last month’s rent deposit | Interest owed annually at the guideline rate and never paid | Tenant or former tenant | 12 months |
| N12 or N13 compensation never paid | One month’s rent on an N12; one or three months on an N13 | Former tenant | Should have been paid in the last 12 months |
| Proceeds of a sale of your property not paid over | Property left behind, sold, money kept | Former tenant only | Should have been paid in the last 12 months |
| No notice of an Order Prohibiting a Rent Increase | An OPRI was in force and you were never told before signing | New tenant | See the T1 instructions |
The second row is the one that catches the most money. Section 134(1)(a) prohibits a landlord from collecting “a fee, premium, commission, bonus, penalty, key deposit or other like amount of money whether or not the money is refundable” from a tenant, prospective tenant or former tenant. The T1 instructions give the examples directly: “key money, premiums, fees, bonuses, commissions or penalties (whether or not they are refundable).”
They also draw a line that is easy to get wrong on replacement keys: if the landlord charged you their reasonable cost to have replacement keys made because you lost yours, that is not an illegal charge — but “the landlord cannot charge you for replacement keys if the landlord decided to change the locks.”
How is a T1 different from a T2?
A T1 is about money that moved. A T2 is about behaviour. They are separate applications under separate sections, and filing the wrong one wastes both your fee and your limitation period.
| T1 — Application for a Rebate | T2 — Application about Tenant Rights | |
|---|---|---|
| Section | s.135 | s.29 |
| What it is about | Money collected or retained in contravention of the Act | Illegal entry, changed locks without keys, harassment, withheld vital services, substantial interference |
| Time limit | One year from collection or retention — s.135(4) | One year from the conduct — s.29(2) |
| Fee | $53, or $48 on the portal | $53, or $48 on the portal |
| Typical remedy | An order to repay a specific sum | Rent abatement, out-of-pocket costs, orders restraining conduct, an administrative fine |
Both limitation periods are one year, and both run from the event rather than from discovery. Section 29(2) says no T2 application may be made “more than one year after the day the alleged conduct giving rise to the application occurred.” Section 135(4) says no order shall be made on a T1 “filed more than one year after the person collected or retained money in contravention of this Act.”
If your complaint is maintenance, neither form is right — that is a T6. If it is a bad-faith N12 or N13, that is a T5. The Board’s forms page lists all of them, and Navigate Tribunals Ontario will walk you to the right one if you are unsure.
What does it cost, and how do I file?
On the Board’s current fee schedule a T1 is $53, or $48 filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal. A multi-tenant application is $53 for the first unit plus $5 for each additional unit to a maximum of $450, and must go in by mail or courier rather than online. LTB fees are non-refundable.
If money is the obstacle, section 181.1 lets the Board waive or defer all or part of a fee, and its stated purpose is to do so “for low-income individuals in appropriate circumstances.” The Fee Waiver Request form is on the Board’s forms page.
The T1 is one of the application types that files on the Tribunals Ontario Portal, and evidence for portal applications should be uploaded there. Remember that the Board treats uploading and serving as separate steps unless every party has signed the Consent to Disclosure through Tribunals Ontario Portal form.
What can the Board actually order?
Repayment, and there is a ceiling. The LTB’s T1 instructions state it plainly: “The most the LTB can order based on your claim is $50,000,” and warn that if you believe you are owed more, you should apply to court, because “once the LTB issues an order based on your application, you no longer have any claim to amounts greater than $50,000 from your landlord.”
Section 207(1) expresses the same cap as a moving formula rather than a fixed number: the Board may order payment “up to the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court.” Section 207(3) is the trap the instructions are warning about — claim within the Board’s jurisdiction and your rights above it “are extinguished once the Board issues its order.”
One further tool worth knowing. Section 207(5) allows an order against a landlord to provide that, if the landlord does not pay, the tenant may recover the amount plus interest by deducting a specified sum from rent over a specified number of rental periods. Section 207(6) preserves your right to collect the full balance any other way. And on deposit interest specifically, section 106(9) gives a self-help route without any application at all: where the landlord has failed to make the annual interest payment when due, “the tenant may deduct the amount of the payment from a subsequent rent payment.”
How do I prove it?
- Put the money on a timeline. Date paid, amount, what it was called, who you paid. The T1 form asks for exactly that.
- Get the paper. Bank statements, e-transfer confirmations, receipts. Section 109(1) makes rent receipts free, so ask for them.
- Keep what the charge was called. A text saying “pet deposit” or “cleaning fee” is worth more than your memory of the conversation.
- Do the arithmetic yourself. Show the Board how you got to your number. The instructions ask you to explain how you calculated it on every ground.
- Serve and file on time. Evidence at least seven business days before the hearing, five for responding evidence.
- Diarise the year. The limitation period is the one thing nobody can fix for you afterwards.
The takeaway
The T1 is the cheapest legal remedy in Ontario tenancy law and the most commonly missed. Fifty-three dollars, eight grounds, and a form that mostly asks you to list what you paid and when. The reason people do not recover this money is almost never that the charge was lawful — it is that they waited more than twelve months to ask. If you think something was taken that should not have been, file inside the year even while you are still working it out with your landlord.
Landlord, and want to know if your paperwork is exposed?
Send me your lease, your deposit practice and your receipt habits, and I will tell you where a T1 could land before a tenant files one. If you are weighing whether to keep the unit or sell it, I will give you that read at the same time. No pitch, no obligation.
connect@jatindua.com · 437-987-1925 · Book a free consultation
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Frequently asked questions
What is a T1 application at the Landlord and Tenant Board?
It is the Tenant Application for a Rebate. Section 135(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act lets a tenant or former tenant apply for an order that the landlord, superintendent or agent pay back any money collected or retained in contravention of the Act. The LTB’s T1 instructions list eight grounds, covering illegal rent, illegal charges, an unreturned or misapplied last month’s rent deposit, unpaid deposit interest and unpaid N12 or N13 compensation.
How long do I have to file a T1 in Ontario?
One year. Section 135(4) provides that no order shall be made on an application filed more than one year after the person collected or retained the money in contravention of the Act. The LTB’s T1 instructions repeat the limit ground by ground, telling applicants they can only claim illegal charges paid in the last 12 months and must give a rent history for the past year. The deadline runs from the payment, not from when you found out.
Can a former tenant or a prospective tenant file a T1?
Yes to both, with limits. Section 135(1) covers tenants and former tenants, and section 135(2) lets a prospective tenant apply. The LTB’s T1 instructions narrow the prospective-tenant route to two grounds: an illegal charge that was paid, and a deposit paid where the landlord then did not let you move in. Section 135(3) also lets a subtenant apply as if the subtenant were the tenant and the tenant were the landlord.
How much can the LTB order a landlord to pay on a T1?
The LTB’s T1 instructions state that the most the Board can order on the claim is $50,000, and warn that once the LTB issues an order you no longer have any claim to amounts above that figure. Section 207(1) expresses the same limit as a formula: up to the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court. If your claim is larger, section 207(2) points you to court instead.
Sources
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17 (e-Laws). Sections 29, 106, 107, 109, 134, 135, 181.1 and 207. Consolidation current from 1 July 2026; accessed 23 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Form T1 Instructions. The eight grounds, who may apply on each, the 12-month limits, the required rent history, the replacement-keys distinction and the $50,000 ceiling. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Forms, filing and fees. The T1 fee of $53, or $48 through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, the multi-tenant scale to a $450 maximum, the fee waiver form, and the note that LTB fees are non-refundable. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — Application and hearing process. Filing on the portal, the separate obligation to serve the other party, and the evidence deadlines of seven business days and five days for responding evidence.
- Government of Ontario — Residential rent increases. Confirms that a tenant who believes rent was raised by an improper amount can dispute it at the Board within 12 months after the amount was first charged. Page updated 23 June 2026.
- Landlord and Tenant Board — A Guide to the Residential Tenancies Act. General framework for rent, deposits and tenant applications under the Act.
Related reading
- Last month’s rent, key deposits and interest — the Ontario deposit rules
- The T2 application and tenant rights, explained
- The Ontario LTB forms guide — which form does what
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I am Jatin Dua, a licensed Realtor with RE/MAX Quantum Realty, working out of 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke. I write about Ontario tenancy rules because they shape what a property is worth to a buyer, what a seller can deliver on closing and what an investor can actually do with a unit. Everything on this page is checked against the statute, the regulations and the Landlord and Tenant Board’s own published material rather than against what people say online.
Illegal charges are the most commonly collected thing I see in small landlords’ paperwork and the least commonly reclaimed by tenants. Both sides are usually acting in good faith and neither has read section 134.
Reach me at connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.