T7 Form: Ontario Tenant Application about Suite Meters and Utility Cost Sharing

The T7 is the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) application a tenant files when they say the landlord did not follow the rules for suite meters or for charging tenants a share of utility costs. The claim usually involves a landlord who shifted electricity costs to the tenant, or who bills tenants in a small building a percentage of a utility. Those rules are detailed and paper-based, so the landlord's consent forms, notices and calculations decide most T7s.

At a glance

What the T7 is for

Suite meters (s. 137). A landlord who supplies electricity under the tenancy agreement may interrupt it to install a suite meter, but only if a suite meter provider installs it, the interruption is as short as possible, and the tenant gets proper notice (s. 137(2)). Under O. Reg. 394/10, that notice must be in writing, at least 24 hours ahead, for a time between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

To shift electricity costs to the tenant, the landlord must:

• give the prescribed information before getting consent (s. 137(4));
• get the tenant's written consent on the LTB's "Tenant Agreement to Pay Directly for Electricity Costs" form;
• give at least 30 days' written notice; and
• reduce the rent in accordance with the prescribed rules (s. 137(3)).

Units heated mainly by electricity are subject to extra conditions (s. 137(5)). Refrigerators supplied by the landlord must have been manufactured on or after January 1, 1994, and replacements on or after December 31, 2002 (O. Reg. 394/10, s. 10).

Apportioned utilities (s. 138). In a building with six or fewer units, the landlord may charge a tenant a share of a utility only with the tenant's written consent, 30 days' written notice and a rent reduction. Before renting to a new tenant, the landlord must disclose the unit's percentage share and the total utility cost for the most recent 12 months available (s. 138(4)). A landlord who does this cannot serve an N4 or file an L1 or L9 for unpaid utility charges (s. 138(3)).

The LTB may order:

• a rent abatement;
• repairs or replacements, or reimbursement for them;
• a rent reduction and rebate; or
• any other appropriate order (s. 137(12)).

For breaches of the consent, information or electric-heat rules, it may also terminate the tenancy or order the landlord to take back the electricity costs and set a new rent (s. 137(13)).

When to use it (and when not to)

The T7 covers the suite meter and apportionment rules only. General disrepair is a T6. Money collected illegally outside these rules is a T1. Charges, fees and deposits for the supply of electricity are not "rent", and ss. 134 and 135 do not apply to them (s. 137(16)). The information the landlord must give before consent includes contact details for the Ontario Energy Board, which deals with disputes with the distributor or suite meter provider.

Deadlines and limitation periods

• One year after the alleged breach first occurred for breaches of s. 137(2) to (5) (O. Reg. 394/10, s. 12), and of s. 138(1) or (4) (s. 18).
• No time restriction for breaches of the conservation and efficiency duties, including the refrigerator rules (s. 137(9)–(10) and s. 138(5)).
• Older agreements. Tenancies entered into before the 2020 amendments may still be governed by the earlier version of s. 137 (s. 137(19)).

How to fill out the T7, section by section

The form is version 01/04/2022.

• Part 1: General Information. Unit address, tenants, landlord, the move-in date, whether the tenant still lives there, and related files.
• Part 2: Reasons, grouped by situation:
• Reasons 1–5 (electricity transferred after move-in). Installation notice, length of the outage or installer; information not given before consent; no LTB consent form, no 30-day notice, or wrong rent reduction; electric-heat conditions not met; refrigerator not compliant.
• Reasons 6–7 (meter already installed at move-in). Prior consumption and refrigerator information not given; refrigerator not compliant.
• Reasons 8–10 (buildings of six or fewer units, apportioned costs). Total cost or percentage not disclosed; refrigerators not compliant; no consent, no 30-day notice or wrong rent reduction.
• Part 3: Remedies. Remedies 1 to 8: 1. abatement; 2. reimbursement for work the tenant did; 3. permission to do work at the landlord's cost; 4. an order that the landlord do the work; 5. rent reduction and rebate; 6. other remedies; 7. end the tenancy; 8. landlord to resume paying the utility and a new rent to be set.

Remedies 7 and 8 are available only with Reasons 2, 3, 4 or 10. - Part 4: Signature and the payment page.

Filing it

The T7 is not a Portal application. The tenant files by mail or courier to the LTB at 15 Grosvenor Street, Toronto, in person at a ServiceOntario centre that accepts LTB documents, or by email to ltbpayments@ontario.ca, followed by a secure payment link that expires after three calendar days. The fee is $53.

If you are the landlord responding

1. Find the paper trail: - the signed LTB consent form; - the information you gave before consent; - the 30-day notice; - the 24-hour installation notice; and - the rent reduction calculation.

For apportioned utilities, add the pre-tenancy disclosure of the percentage and the 12-month total. 2. Check the dates. Breaches of the consent, notice and disclosure rules are barred one year after they first occurred. The refrigerator and conservation rules have no limit. 3. Refrigerators. Have the manufacture date of every landlord-supplied fridge ready. In apportioned buildings this means every fridge in the building. 4. Electric heat. If the unit is electrically heated, be ready to show the extra conditions under s. 137(5) were met. 5. Lease clauses. A lease term saying the tenant consents in advance to take over electricity is void (s. 137(18)). Do not rely on one. 6. Disclose evidence at least 7 days before the hearing, or 5 days if replying (Rules 19.1–19.2).

Mistakes that get it refused, voided or dismissed

1. Out of time. Consent, notice and disclosure claims filed more than a year after the breach first occurred are barred.
2. Wrong building size for an apportionment claim. Section 138 applies only to buildings of six or fewer units.
3. Remedies 7 or 8 claimed with the wrong reasons. They are tied to Reasons 2, 3, 4 and 10.
4. Dispute is really with the distributor or meter provider, for example over its fees or deposits, rather than with the landlord.
5. Wrong filing channel or no fee. The T7 is a mail, courier, ServiceOntario or email filing, and the fee must be paid.

What happens next

The LTB hears the application and issues an order. A party may request a review within 15 days of an order issued on or after July 1, 2026, or appeal to the Divisional Court on a question of law within 30 days (s. 210).

Frequently asked questions

Can I make a tenant start paying hydro if the lease includes it?

Only with a meter or suite meter in place, the prescribed information given first, the tenant's written consent on the LTB form, 30 days' written notice, and a proper rent reduction (s. 137(3)–(4)). The tenant does not have to agree.

Can I evict for unpaid apportioned utility charges?

No. Section 138(3) bars an N4, L1 or L9 based on unpaid apportioned utility charges.

How old can the fridge be?

A landlord-supplied fridge must have been manufactured on or after January 1, 1994. Any replacement must have been manufactured on or after December 31, 2002.

Is there a deadline for a T7?

Generally one year from when the breach first occurred. Claims under the conservation and efficiency rules have no time restriction.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 137, 138, 207, 210
• O. Reg. 394/10, Suite Meters and Apportionment of Utility Costs
• T7 Instructions
• T7 – Tenant Application about Suite Meters (PDF)
• Tenant Agreement to Pay Directly for Electricity Costs (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 19, 26
• LTB Forms, filing and fees

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.