1. Arrive early and get ready for your hearing to start
Question & Answer
I’m taking my landlord to the LTB. How do I present my case?If you have a remote hearing at the (LTB), sign in early using the log-in information on your Notice of Hearing. There might be many different people in the virtual hearing room. The LTB often schedules many hearings at the same time.
The LTB might have a staff person called a moderator whose job is to take attendance. If there's no moderator, the deciding your case will take attendance. It's important that you tell the moderator or LTB member that you're present. Otherwise, they might not call for you when your hearing starts. The LTB member could dismiss your case, which means that your is cancelled.
When you check in, the moderator or LTB member might give you a docket number. Write this number down. The LTB member will usually call your case with your docket number and the address of your rental unit but not your name.
Until your case is called, LTB staff will ask that you stay on mute and keep your camera off. To mute a phone, press the mute button or enter *6. To unmute, enter *6 again.
Tenant Duty Counsel (TDC) and LTB mediators, called Dispute Resolution Officers (DROs), might be available at your hearing. Tell the moderator or LTB member if you want to speak to TDC or a DRO. You will be sent to a breakout room to speak with them privately.
When you are done speaking with them, put yourself back on mute and turn your camera off before they move you back into the virtual hearing room. There could be other cases happening in the room.
If you’re late for your hearing
If you arrive at your hearing late, tell the moderator you're present right away. If there's no moderator, wait for a break in the hearings and tell the LTB member. They might tell you that your application has been dismissed because you were not there when your case was called. This means that your application has been cancelled. If this happens, get legal help as soon as you can.
At the start of your hearing
When your case is called, the LTB member will ask if the tenant is present. Tell them that you are present and say your name.
The LTB member should ask if anyone has any preliminary issues that they want to bring up. Preliminary issues are things that need to be dealt with before the hearing can start. For example, you might want to:
- change the hearing to another date
- ask the LTB member's permission to change, add, or remove content from your application
This is also when you should tell the LTB member if you made an agreement with your landlord.
If you don’t understand something
If you're representing yourself at your hearing and you don't understand something that the LTB member or your landlord says, ask them to explain. If you feel that they are going too fast and you find it hard to follow, ask them to slow down.
The LTB member can't give you legal advice or tell you how to present your case.
Make notes
Try to take notes about everything that your witnesses, your landlord, or your landlord's witnesses say in the hearing. Be sure to write down if the LTB member skips anything in the process or stops you from speaking or asking questions. The next 3 steps explain how the hearing process should go.
Taking notes is important in case there are mistakes in the LTB member's decision and you want to get advice on reviewing or appealing that decision. It can be hard to take notes during the hearing, so you may want to have a friend or family member with you to take notes.
You can ask the LTB member for permission to make an audio recording of your hearing. If they agree, you can only use the recording to help you remember what happened.
Video recordings are not allowed. It's against the law to record an LTB hearing without the LTB's permission.
The LTB records all of their hearings. If you need a copy, you can pay a fee to order one.
