How to report a landlord?

It depends on the problem. Breaches of the tenancy law, such as repairs, deposits, entry and lockouts, go to your province's residential tenancy tribunal or office. Unsafe or unhealthy conditions can also go to municipal or public health inspectors, crimes go to the police, and discrimination goes to your province's human rights commission or tribunal. The table above matches each problem to the right office.

Put the complaint to your landlord in writing first and give a reasonable time to fix it. If nothing changes, file an application with your province's tenancy office, pay the fee (for example $100 in British Columbia, $50 in Saskatchewan, $31.15 in Nova Scotia and $20 in Newfoundland and Labrador) and serve the landlord as the office directs. Bring your photos, notices, receipts and log to the hearing.

For most rental problems, the provincial tenancy office: the RTDRS in Alberta, the Residential Tenancy Branch in British Columbia, the Residential Tenancies Branch in Manitoba, the Office of Residential Tenancies in Saskatchewan, the Landlord and Tenant Board in Ontario, the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office in New Brunswick, the Residential Tenancies Program in Nova Scotia, the Rental Office in PEI and the Residential Tenancies Office in Newfoundland and Labrador. Building and health problems can also go to your municipality or public health office.

Ask for the repair in writing, keep a copy and allow a reasonable time; New Brunswick gives the landlord 7 days after a written notice of complaint. Then apply to your tenancy office for a repair order, which in most provinces can also reduce your rent or award compensation. Ontario tenants use Form T6 within one year. The full steps are on what to do if your landlord refuses repairs.

Photograph the mould, note where it is and when it started, and tell the landlord in writing. If it is not dealt with, apply to your tenancy office for a repair order, and contact public health or municipal inspectors if it is a health hazard. In Alberta, that is Alberta Health Services Environmental Public Health, and PEI's public health rules require rentals to be kept damp-proof.

Contact your local public health or environmental health office and describe the problem, with photos and the dates you told the landlord. In Alberta, contact Alberta Health Services Environmental Public Health; in Manitoba, heat complaints go to the local Environmental Health Office; in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Office refers tenants to the department of health or a municipal building inspector. In PEI, tenants must tell a public health official about any infestation.

If the landlord is not keeping the home in good repair or up to health, safety and housing standards, that is a breach of the tenancy law, so apply to your tenancy office. It can order repairs and, depending on the province, compensation for your losses or a rent reduction. Keep evidence of the problem and of what it cost you, such as receipts for damaged belongings or a hotel stay.

A tenancy office application cannot be anonymous, because the landlord is served and takes part in the hearing. A health inspection is different: in Alberta, public health inspectors will not say who contacted them. In other provinces, ask the municipal or public health office how it handles the complainant's name before you call.

For a private rental, the "housing authority" that handles tenant complaints is your province's residential tenancy office or tribunal (see the list above). For the condition of the building itself, the municipality's by-law or building inspectors are the local authority. Ontario also has a provincial Rental Housing Enforcement Unit for vital services and offences.

If you were locked out or removed without an order, apply to your tenancy office right away, and call the police if you are threatened. In Ontario, apply to the Board within one year; in British Columbia, a landlord who illegally evicts a tenant can face a penalty of up to $5,000; and in Manitoba, the Branch can charge an administrative penalty for a lockout. See can a landlord change the locks.

Treat it as an emergency: tell the landlord at once and keep a record. In Manitoba, water is a vital service a landlord must not withhold; in New Brunswick, keeping water running is an emergency repair and you can go straight to a residential tenancies officer; in Ontario, vital service complaints go to the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit; and in Newfoundland and Labrador, neither side may disconnect water without the other's written consent. In other provinces, contact the tenancy office for an urgent hearing.

No, not as payback. In Alberta, a landlord cannot evict a tenant for using their rights under the Residential Tenancies Act or the Public Health Act; in Saskatchewan, the Act protects a tenant from an eviction notice given because of a good-faith complaint to a municipality; and in Newfoundland and Labrador, a landlord may not end a tenancy or harass a tenant for making a complaint or application. If you get a notice after complaining, dispute it with the tenancy office before the deadline on the notice.

Work through it in order. Put each problem to the landlord in writing, keep dated photos, notices and messages, and keep paying your rent. If nothing changes, take it to the office that matches the problem: the tenancy tribunal or office for repairs, deposits, entry, lockouts and improper notices, public health or municipal inspectors for unsafe conditions, and your province's human rights commission for discrimination. The checklist and table above show what to gather and which office handles which problem.

A tenancy office can order a landlord to comply and, depending on the province, to pay compensation or reduce your rent. If you want money back, see when can a tenant sue a landlord.

It depends on what the landlord did. Breaking the tenancy law, such as mishandling a deposit, entering without notice, changing the locks or cutting off a vital service, goes to your province's tenancy office, and some of these are also offences that carry fines. In Alberta, deposit breaches can bring fines of up to $5,000; a prosecution starts with a written complaint to Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction and must begin within 3 years. In British Columbia, a landlord who illegally evicts a tenant can face a penalty of up to $5,000. In Ontario, offences go to the Rental Housing Enforcement Unit, with fines up to $100,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a corporation, and Nova Scotia's general offence provision allows a fine of up to $1,000.

Threats, assault, theft and other crimes go to the police, and discrimination goes to your province's human rights commission or tribunal. See what your landlord cannot do for the full list.