Substantial Compliance:

Question: What should I do if my landlord tenant Notice under Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 has a minor error, and can it still be accepted by the Landlord and Tenant Board?

Answer:
 
Hall Paralegal Services can help you assess whether your document likely meets “substantial compliance” under Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 212(2), which allows minor errors to stand if they do not significantly prejudice a party’s ability to participate in the proceeding. In practical terms, the Landlord and Tenant Board typically looks at whether the mistake is technical (like a small content or form problem) versus something that misleads you or materially affects your rights, so correcting or clarifying the issue early can reduce the risk of having the Notice struck. If you are dealing with a Notice error, send details and get next-step guidance from a Paralegal in Ontario by calling (519) 258-2400 for a free half-hour consultation with Hall Paralegal Services.

Understanding Section 212 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006

Concern for minor errors upon a Notice document, among other forms, often gives rise to dispute over the validity of the document and whether the document, and any associated process, should be struck.  To remedy or cure minor errors, section 212 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, S.O. 2006, Chapter 17, serves as a provision to provide for the allowing of documents with minor errors, as long as such errors are without a genuine prejudial effect upon any party.

The Law

Errors or omissions upon a Notice or other legal documents sometimes occur.  Rather than treating the imperfect document as a fatal error that may completely derail a proceeding, section 212 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, provides for a remedial effect to minor imperfections.  Specifically, section 212 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, states:

Intended Purpose

In Ontario, the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, serves to govern landlord-tenant relationships by outlining, respective rights, responsibilities, and duties.  Where disputes arise, adjudication by the Landlord Tenant Board may become required and the process of accessing the Landlord Tenant Board requires the issuance of various Notice documents, among others.  The provisions within section 212 acknowledge that typographical and minor errors occur in legal documents while serving the purpose of ensuring that such mistakes avoid hindering justice by directing the acceptance of documents where any errors are without a cause of prejudice to the disputant parties.

Application

In the case of Blasi v. John, 2021 CanLII 91971, section 212 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, was deemed as applicable to the circumstance where an Affidavit document was viewed as lacking a relevant fact, being the intent of the daughter of a landlord to occupy a rental unit for at least one-year following the eviction of a tenant to allow for the use of the rental unit by a close family member, being the daughter, of the landlord.  In reviewing the Affidavit omission and applying the curing effect contained within section 212, it was said:

Conclusion

The section 212 provisions within Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 provide for a saving effect to Notice documents, among others, where such documents contain minor errors without prejucial effect upon parties to a proceeding of the Landlord Tenant Board.  Understanding and applying section 212 enhances justice delivery within the regime of residential tenancy law.