As part of a new series, the Star is answering common questions about renting in Toronto. Do you have questions that you want us to answer? Email the Star at renterFAQ@thestar.ca.

The question:

So, you think you’ve finally found your rental dream home (or good enough for now home) and sign a one-year lease.

But a few months in, you realize there’s problems — bed bugs, mice, broken appliances, maybe.

And your landlord doesn’t seem keen on addressing them.

What are your options, and, if necessary, can you break your lease?

The answer:

To start off, you should write a letter to your landlord. The Residential Tenancies Act of 2006 states it’s the landlord’s job to repair and maintain each unit, even if the tenant was aware of issues before signing the lease and moving in.

“Get everything in writing, because if you don’t you are not going to win in court,” said Harry Fine, a paralegal and former adjudicator with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

Emails and letters are a better option, he said, since they can serve as proof that you repeatedly contacted your landlord but they wilfully ignored you.

“You have to prove that you told the landlord and that you gave them a chance to fix it,” he said.

Fine added some tenants may withhold their rent during disagreements, but said that’s a risky tactic. If a complaint is brought to the LTB, the adjudicator will have to make a judgment on who is at fault and will consider if both parties have taken part in wrongdoing.

Kenn Hale with the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario said if your landlord continues to ignore your demands you should fill out a T6 form with the LTB, intended for complaints about disrepair or failures to meet health and safety standards.

If an adjudicator sides with you they’ll order your landlord to address the issue immediately. Hale said they may be ordered to pay back rent or damages.

However, Hale says it usually takes two to three months on average to get a hearing at the LTB.

“Meanwhile the tenant is living with the disrepair,” he noted.

Since that’s a long time to wait, he suggests getting in touch with the city to ask for a building inspection. You can ask for one by calling 311. The city can issue a work order on your behalf, which your landlord is unlikely to ignore, Hale said. In rare instances, the landlord could ignore these orders, but that makes them liable to fines, he said.

Hale said this is an important step since the inspector’s report can be used in court as evidence of disrepair. The inspector can also be called upon as a witness. If you’ve already paid out of pocket for emergency repairs, you can keep the receipts and bring them to your upcoming hearing and demand the landlord repay you.

Fine said along with the T6, tenants can also file complaints using T2 forms, intended for breaches of tenant rights. Through that process you can argue failure to move ahead with repairs constitutes an interference with your ability to enjoy the unit.

At this point, he said, once an application is filed, it is safe to keep your rent within an LTB trust until the file is figured out, without being penalized.

If a tenant chooses to move out and stop paying rent, Fine said it’s important for them to have a compelling case if the landlord brings it to court. That way, they won’t be liable for paying rent on months when they didn’t occupy the unit.

Whether you go with a T6 or T2, adjudicators can terminate a lease at your request if they agree your landlords failed to meet their obligations under the RTA.

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However, if you don’t want to stir up conflict with your landlord by filing a complaint against them, you can also provide them with a written notice to terminate the lease within 60 days, but only if you are renting on a month-to-month basis says Benjamin Ries, a housing lawyer at the University of Toronto’s Downtown Legal Services clinic. This termination notice can be filed using a N9 form.

He said the termination date needs to be the final day of the term or the final day of a rental period. For those with a yearlong lease, they are “locked in.”

With files from David Venn and Abhya Adlakha.