Form TO001E, the Accommodation Request, is how you ask Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for different arrangements so you can take full part in your case. It handles two kinds of need. One is protected by the Human Rights Code: a disability is the usual example. The other is a procedural fairness need, where the way the hearing is set up would make it unfair to you. Landlords, tenants, representatives, witnesses and support people can all file it.
The short version
| Who can file | Any party or representative, plus witnesses and support people (LTB Rule 7.0) |
| When | Right after you learn you will need it |
| Deadline | No fixed date. Tribunals Ontario says most answers come in two to five weeks |
| Where it goes | Email [email protected], or post it: 15 Grosvenor Street, Ground Floor, Toronto ON M7A 2G6. Other routes named on the LTB forms page are the Tribunals Ontario Portal and ServiceOntario |
| Cost | Free |
| What follows | No further form. You hear back from the tribunal with a decision |
What the request covers
Rule 7.0 of the LTB Rules gives parties, representatives, witnesses and support people a right to accommodation consistent with the Human Rights Code, and asks them to tell the LTB about it early. Accommodation is provided up to the point of undue hardship, Tribunals Ontario says. The form lists examples like these:
- large print, Braille or another accessible version of a form;
- a sign language interpreter (LSQ or ASL), captioning in real time (CART), or an intervener for a deaf-blind participant;
- added breaks, or longer to present evidence, as support for mental health needs;
- technology support, for instance a loaned phone, extra minutes on a prepaid phone plan, or a location where you can use a computer;
- moving to another hearing format where the present one would likely cause significant prejudice. The Practice Direction on Hearing Formats governs those requests.
The tribunal weighs what you ask for against the other side's right to a fair hearing and the public's interest in cases moving efficiently. If it says yes, what you get may not be exactly what you asked for.
When it fits, and when another route is better
It fits when:
- you, your representative or a witness has a disability-related need at the hearing;
- you lack a dependable phone, internet connection or computer for a phone or video hearing;
- the format set for the hearing would be unfair in your situation, for instance a stack of documents that could not fairly be presented over the phone.
It does not fit for:
- just wanting extra time. Adjournments and rescheduling run through a separate process, and Tribunals Ontario's page says accommodation is not the way to get them;
- a language interpreter for anything other than English or French. Tribunals Ontario deals with that through its own interpreter request, which you should make to the LTB as soon as possible. For services in French there is a different request form again;
- objecting to a written or electronic hearing. You have to object in writing, and the cut-off is the date your notice of hearing gives (Rules 7.2 and 7.3). The accommodation form can still be used to seek a different format because of fairness, but it does not move that cut-off.
Completing the form
Part A, headed General Application / Appeal Information. Start with your role as requester: Landlord, Representative, Witness or whatever role applies (the form has its own Tenant box as well). A representative also notes the client's role. Give a phone number, an email and a mailing address. Under Applicable Tribunal, check the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) box. Then enter the File Number and today's Date of Request. The Date of Scheduled Proceeding can stay blank if no hearing has been set. Last, the Current Format of Proceeding: in person, by teleconference, by video conference, in writing, or not scheduled yet.
Part B, Request Details. Say whether this is a procedural fairness need, a Human Rights Code need, or both. Then describe it: what gets in the way of your participation or makes the hearing unfair, and what arrangement would fix it. Too little detail is a reason to refuse, the form warns: requests "may be denied if you do not provide enough detail". Supporting papers help, for example a medical note that confirms a functional limitation.
Part C, Next Steps. This tells you where to send the finished form. For LTB files that is [email protected].
Sending it, and who sees it
Get it in early so your hearing is not held up. If your request is sorted out without an adjudicative decision, the form explains, it stays outside the tribunal's record. Usually the other side and the public cannot see it then, though FIPPA disclosure is still possible. If an adjudicator has to decide it, the Access to Records Policy may make the form public, unless a confidentiality order is in place.
Why requests get refused or arrive too late
- Too little information. Writing "I need accommodation" and nothing more is the most common reason for a refusal. Name the barrier and the fix.
- Leaving it to hearing week. Responses usually need two to five weeks. Ask late and you risk an adjournment, or a hearing day with nothing in place.
- Treating it as a request to adjourn. Adjournments are still governed by the rescheduling rules.
- Missing the format-objection cut-off in your notice. Under Rule 7.2 you must object in writing, showing significant prejudice, by the date stated.
- Taking approval for granted. Wait until the decision arrives.
For landlords and tenants alike
The rule is the same on both sides of the file. A landlord, a tenant, either side's representative, and either side's witnesses can each ask. If the other party has made a request, you may never see it unless a decision is needed, because a request settled without one is generally kept off the record.
After you send it
The LTB looks at the request and may ask you for more details before it decides. Should an arrangement stop being available later, Tribunals Ontario says the parties will be told and the proceeding rescheduled or adjusted so it stays accessible.
Questions people ask
Is accommodation only for tenants?
No. Rule 7.0 applies to any party, so landlords qualify, and so do representatives, witnesses and support people.
No computer for a video hearing: what are my options?
Send in the Accommodation Request. Tribunals Ontario can lend a phone, supply airtime minutes, or arrange a computer access terminal close to you. Calling in by phone to a video hearing is also allowed.
How quickly will I hear back?
Tribunals Ontario's figure for most people is two to five weeks. Hearings set further out may mean a longer wait.
Can the other side read my request?
Usually no. A request handled without an adjudicative decision is not placed on the record. Where a decision is required, the form could be made public, unless the tribunal makes a confidentiality order.