The LTB had a hearing and made an eviction order. What can I do?

It's always best to get legal advice about eviction problems if you can, especially when you have an eviction order against you.

If you have a low income, you can call your local community legal clinic and try to make an appointment to discuss your situation. Be sure to tell the clinic that you have an eviction order against you.

If you can't get help from a community legal clinic, you can contact the Law Society Lawyer Referral Service for a free half hour consultation with a lawyer or licensed paralegal. Or you can contact JusticeNet, a non-profit organization that can connect you with a lawyer or licensed paralegal who has agreed to work for reduced fees.

If you live in a city where there is a Board regional office, and you can't find legal help, you may be able to speak to Tenant Duty Counsel. But they are usually busy helping tenants who have eviction hearings that day and they might not have time to talk to you.

You can try to stop the eviction by asking the Board to "review" the decision.

To ask for a review, you must file a written Request for Review with the Board. This costs $58 but, if you have a low income, you can ask the Board to "waive" or cancel the fee by filling in a form.

Time limit

You must file the Request to Review within 30 days after the date of the eviction order.

If it is more than 30 days after the date of the order, you will have to also file a Request to Extend or Shorten Time form. You will have to give the Board a very good reason why you missed the 30-day deadline.

Filling out the Request to Review form

Your Request for Review form must show that the Board might have made a serious error in its decision about your case. Some examples of serious errors are:

• getting the amount of rent you owed wrong
• refusing to look at your evidence about problems in your rental unit
• not letting you finish when you were telling your story
• not applying the law correctly to your situation

It is usually good to ask the Board for a copy of the hearing recording. Listening to the recording can help you decide what to write in your Request for Review.

There is also a place on the form to ask the Board to "stay", or freeze, the eviction order so that your landlord cannot enforce it. Make sure to fill this part of the form in.

After you file your Request to Review

There is no guarantee that you will get a review hearing. A Board member will look at your Request for Review and decide whether to schedule a hearing.

If the Board decides to schedule a hearing, you will get a Notice of Hearing and a copy of the "stay" order. You must take the copy of the stay order to the Sheriff's office so they will know not to evict you before the hearing. You will also have to prepare for the hearing.

But if the Board decides not to hold a hearing, this means the Sheriff can come to evict you.

The Tenant Duty Counsel Program has a Tip Sheet that will guide you through the whole process of asking for a review.

Appealing to court

You can also appeal Board decisions to the Divisional Court. But this process is complicated and can cost a lot of money. In most cases, the court will not hear your appeal unless you have already asked for a review by the Board.

It is best to get legal advice before you decide to appeal to court. Once you receive the order, you have a short amount of time to file an appeal so you must act quickly.