Utilities and Sub-Metering in Ontario

In Ontario, responsibility for utilities is governed by the terms of your lease or tenancy agreement, unless otherwise agreed between you and your landlord. Some units include heat, water, or electricity in the rent; others require the tenant to set up and pay for utilities directly. Always check your lease carefully to confirm what is and is not included before you move in.

If a landlord wants to convert a unit from utilities-included to individual sub-metering (billing each unit separately for its own usage), the landlord must give the tenant at least 30 days' notice and must provide a corresponding rent reduction that reflects the utility cost being shifted onto the tenant. A landlord cannot simply start billing tenants for utilities that were previously included in the rent without adjusting the rent downward to reflect that shift.

If you believe a sub-metering conversion was not handled properly -- for example, insufficient notice or no corresponding rent reduction -- you can file a Form T7 (Tenant Application about a Change in a Rental Unit's Utility/Sub-Metering Arrangement) with the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). The filing fee for a T7 is a flat $53.