3. Get legal help - Steps to Justice

If your landlord does not allow an air conditioner

If you have followed all the rules but your landlord does not allow you to install or use an air conditioner, you should get legal help. You can also file a Form T2: Application about Tenant Rights at the .

If the seasonal rent amount is too high

You should get legal help if:

you believe that you have paid too much for the seasonal rent increase for running your air conditioner, or
the rent was not reduced once you stopped using the air conditioner

You can also file Form T1: Tenant Application for a Rebate of Money the Landlord Owes at the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Fit for habitation and reasonable enjoyment

The law says your landlord must make sure your place is fit for habitation. It also says that your landlord cannot interfere with your reasonable enjoyment of your home.

If your place isn't livable in hot weather, your landlord could be responsible for solving the problem, or at least not stopping you from solving it.

If your landlord tries to remove an air conditioner you already have

Your landlord might threaten to come in and take away an air conditioner that you already have in your unit. If the air conditioner belongs to you, your landlord does not have the right to take it.

If the air conditioner belongs to the landlord, then taking it away could be discontinuing a service that you are paying for in your rent. You can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to try to stop this or to get your rent reduced if this happens.

Disability

If you need to use an air conditioner because you have a health condition or , make sure to tell your landlord.

You might also be able to get legal advice or information from the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights (CCHR) or from the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC).