1. Gather evidence before your hearing
Question & Answer
I’m taking my landlord to the LTB. How do I prepare for my hearing?You and your landlord might disagree about what happened and what the facts are. The Board member holding the hearing must decide what they believe. They make their decision using the evidence that you and your landlord present at the hearing.
Evidence is anything presented at the hearing to help the Board member decide what they believe has happened.
A common type of evidence is a document. A document is anything that contains information. It is usually on paper.
Some examples of documents are:
- bank statements
- receipts
- medical records
- inspection reports
- work orders
- estimates
- letters, notices, or other messages
If you have documents that you want to use as evidence, it’s a good idea to send copies to the Board before the hearing. If you do this, you must also send a copy to your landlord.
If your hearing is a telephone hearing, you should send copies of documents to the Board and to the landlord.
You must bring 3 copies of any documents you want to use at your hearing. One copy is for you, one for your landlord, and one for the Board member who is hearing your case.
Your evidence could be a message, photo, or other image on a camera, a phone, or a computer. If so, be sure to print 3 copies to bring to the Board. The Board will probably not look at messages or photos on your cell phone. And they will probably not give you time after the hearing to send anything to the Board before they make their decision.
Your evidence could be a video or sound recording on a smartphone, CD, or flash drive. If so, contact the Board before your hearing to ask for a computer to use at the hearing. Or bring your own laptop computer and cords so that you will be able to play the recording. If possible, bring 3 copies of the recording to the hearing.
