During Tenancy - Tenant Remedies - Dispute Resolution - Laws for Tenants

Remedies for Situations Arising During the Term of the Tenancy Agreement

A landlord has obligations that are imposed by the law, such as allowing the tenant possession and peaceful enjoyment of the property in both fixed term and periodic tenancies. A landlord may also take on extra obligations under the tenancy agreement such as an obligation to make repairs on the property. If a landlord is not fulfilling some or all of these obligations or acts in a way prohibited by the Residential Tenancies Act, you can apply to court for one or more of the following remedies:

Damages or financial losses that are a result of the breach of the agreement or contravention of the Residential Tenancies Act (e.g. loss of property damaged by flooding if the flooding occurred as a result of the landlords failed obligation to allow peaceful enjoyment of the property);
A reduction or abatement in rent to reflect how the action of the landlord has deprived the tenant of a benefit of the tenancy agreement. For example, if the landlord had promised to make certain repairs and has not done so, the reduction in rent would reflect the fact that you do not have the benefit of those repairs;
Compensation for the cost of doing things that the landlord should have done, for example, yardwork;
Termination of the tenancy agreement if a court believes that the actions of the landlord are serious enough to warrant termination.
You can also serve a 14-day notice to end the tenancy on your landlord with regard to Public Health orders.

May 2005