Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)

Frequently asked questions

I have a hearing at the Landlord and Tenant Board coming up. Can ACTO help me?

Possibly. ACTO runs the Tenant Duty Counsel Program, which gives unrepresented tenants remote advice on or before their LTB hearing date. You can sign up for service at tdc.acto.ca.

My landlord and I have a dispute but I don't have a hearing scheduled yet. Can ACTO take my case?

Generally not directly. ACTO's mandate is provincial and focused on systemic housing issues, appeals, and test cases, so it usually doesn't take on individual disputes outside of a scheduled LTB hearing. For general advice, ACTO directs tenants to their nearest community legal clinic, which can be found by postal code through Legal Aid Ontario.

Is ACTO a government agency?

No. ACTO describes itself as a non-partisan, non-governmental advocacy organization. It's funded by Legal Aid Ontario, one of 76 community-based legal clinics LAO funds through Ontario's Ministry of the Attorney General, rather than being run by government.

Does ACTO help tenants dealing with gender-based violence?

Yes. Its Your Way Forward program connects tenants whose housing problems stem from gender-based violence to legal services, case management, and counselling, usually through a referral from a community agency.

Does ACTO work on energy costs and utility issues for tenants?

Yes. Through the Low-Income Energy Network, run jointly with the Canadian Environmental Law Association, ACTO works on energy poverty and access to affordable energy for low-income Ontarians.

What kind of law does ACTO practise?

ACTO focuses on landlord and tenant law from a systemic angle: law reform submissions on legislation like the Residential Tenancies Act, appeals and test cases referred by other legal clinics and advocacy groups, and hearing-day duty counsel work at the Landlord and Tenant Board.