There is an Investigations Unit at the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing which has the power to investigate 32 different violations of the TPA. This includes issues of harassment of tenants by landlords (as well as harassment of landlords by tenants!). While the Investigations Unit does prosecute some violations, it first tries to resolve the problem through negotiations and persuasion. The Investigations Unit is separate from the Tribunal.

Filing a complaint to the Investigations Unit does not limit a tenant’s right to file an application to the Tribunal seeking redress for the same issue.

For example, if a tenant is being charged an illegally high rent they can apply to the Tribunal for an order which will rebate the money illegally collected. At the same time a tenant can file a claim with the investigation unit that the landlord has violated the TPA by collecting unlawful rents. See Section 144 of the TPA.

The telephone number for the Investigations Unit is 416-585-7214.

It may be a wise for a tenant to take both course of actions (an application at the Tribunal, and approaching the Investigations Unit) in order to convince your landlord that you are serious about your complaint.