What is the Maximum Amount One Can Win at the LTB?
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How much money can a person win (or lose) at an Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) hearing? In the article below, we explain the recent change made regarding the LTB's monetary jurisdiction, and how that may affect potential litigants before it.
Ontario Small Claims Court Monetary Jurisdiction Raised to $50,000
On October 1, 2025, the monetary limit for claims in Ontario’s Small Claims Court (SCC) was raised from $35,000 to $50,000, under Ontario Regulation 42/25 (amending O. Reg. 626/00). As a result, the monetary limit of the LTB likewise increased to $50,000.
This is because the LTB’s monetary jurisdiction limit is statutorily tied to that of the SCC, per s. 207(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA). This clause states that the LTB “may…order the payment to any given person of an amount of money up to the greater of $10,000 and the monetary jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court” (emphasis added).
How Will the LTB’s Greater Monetary Jurisdiction Impact Landlords?
Under the old limit, landlords with monetary claims exceeding than $35,000 were often forced to make a strategic decision: abandon a portion of their claim to stay within the LTB’s jurisdiction or pursue the claim in Ontario Superior Court?
Often landlords would keep the claim within the Landlord and Tenant Board rather than pursue it through superior court simply because superior court cases are far longer, far more expensive, and far more complicated. Often the legal fees involved would outweigh any potential benefit of an increased award amount - and that's before even considering whether the tenant would have the money to satisfy the award.
With the threshold now at $50,000, disputes that previously exceeded the LTB’s monetary ceiling of $35,000 may be fully adjudicated before the LTB. This will be most relevant for arrears claims that have accumulated over long periods and claims for extensive property damage.
How Will the LTB’s Greater Monetary Jurisdiction Impact Tenants?
Tenants will be able to bring a higher dollar amount claims against landlords for harassment, lack of maintenance and repairs, and other misconduct. However, in our practical experience, the LTB very rarely awards large amounts to tenants, especially where the amounts sought cannot be easily quantified (e.g., out-of-pocket costs supported by receipts).
Tenants will be able to seek greater amounts in claims against landlords, which could potentially have some impact on settlement negotiations with landlords, since the risk of refusing settlement could be greater than where the amount of potential loss was capped at $35,000. However, we don’t expect the increase in monetary jurisdiction to significantly impact the size of awards granted to tenants.
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