Making a Request for Information to the Board Information in this brochure This brochure includes about what to expect if you ask the Board for from an application file, including what to expect if: you are a party to an application, you are a party s representative, or you are a member of the public who is neither a party to an application, nor a representative of a party. This guide is not a complete summary of the law and it is not intended to provide legal advice. If you require more detailed about the law, please see For more at the end of this brochure. Acronyms used in this brochure FIPPA: The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act IPC: The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario Topic See Page When the Board can disclose without a FIPPA 1 request How FIPPA applies to in Board application files 2 Making a request to the Board under FIPPA 4 When the Board can disclose without a FIPPA request Introduction Landlord and Tenant Board files are not accessible to the public. This means that, except in the circumstances described below, the Board cannot disclose from Board application files to members of the public. Staff can provide from a Board application file to the following people: a party to the application, an employee of a corporate landlord who is a party to the application, a lawyer or a licensed paralegal who is representing a party, an agent who has written authorization to represent a party. An individual who does not fall under one of the above categories must make a request under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) for access to from a Board file. The Board s Freedom of Information Coordinator will review the request and decide whether or not the requested can be disclosed under the law. Page 1 of 6
Requests made by parties to an application Parties to an application (the landlord(s) and the tenant(s) and their authorized representatives) have the right to access the contained in their own Board application files without making a FIPPA request to the Board. Staff will confirm that the individual who is making the request is a party before disclosing. Generally, staff will ask the individual to provide the file number and the complete application address (including postal code). Requests made by employees of corporate landlords Employees of corporate landlords can ask for from application files to which their employer is a party. If staff are familiar with the firm and the employee, they will provide the. Otherwise, staff will ask the individual for to confirm that the individual is an employee of a landlord that is a party to a Board application. For example, if the employee is requesting at a Board office, staff may ask for a business card or other identification that shows they are an employee of the landlord listed on the application file. Requests made by a party s lawyer or licensed paralegal A lawyer or a licensed paralegal who is representing a party can access in their client s application file. It is not necessary for a lawyer or a licensed paralegal to provide written authorization from their client to access from the file. Staff may ask the lawyer or licensed paralegal for their Law Society of Upper Canada license number. Requests made by an agent who is neither a lawyer nor a licensed paralegal An agent (other than a lawyer or a licensed paralegal) who is representing a party in an application can access in the application file of that person. However, they can only do so if they have written authorization from the party showing that they are representing the party in that application. Staff will check whether a party has given the agent written authorization to represent them with respect to the application file. If so, they will give the agent access to from the application file. If there is no written authorization from a party on file, staff will ask the agent to submit the written authorization before disclosing any from the file. How FIPPA applies to in Board application files Board files contain The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) has two main objectives. The first is to provide the public with a right to access under the control of Government institutions. There are specific exemptions from this right of access. Information that falls under one of the exemptions cannot be disclosed to the public. Page 2 of 6
Board files contain (continued) The second objective of FIPPA is to protect the privacy of individuals. One of the ways FIPPA protects privacy is by including a rule that sets out that the Government must not disclose about individuals to the public (except under limited circumstances set out in the FIPPA law). Board files contain. Because of this, the public is not allowed to access from a Board application file without making a FIPPA request. If an individual makes a FIPPA request for from a Board file, the FIPPA coordinator must decide what, if any, can be released based on the definition of set out in FIPPA (see below). What is under FIPPA? Under FIPPA, is defined as about a recognizable individual and could include: the address and telephone number of the individual; relating to financial transactions in which the individual has been involved; views or opinions of another individual about the individual; correspondence sent to an institution that is implicitly or explicitly private or confidential; or the individual's name where it appears with other relating to the individual or where disclosure of the name would reveal other about the individual. The definition sets out that does not include that identifies the individual in a business or professional capacity. This means that about a landlord in a Board file will not necessarily meet the definition of (see below). The definition of "individual" does not include a corporation. This means that that would be considered if it related to an individual would not be considered if it related to a corporation. Information in Board files about tenants is Board files contain about tenants, according to the definition in FIPPA described above. Personal about tenants could include their names, the unit number component of their addresses, financial about amounts of rent paid and owing, etc. This means that if an individual makes a request under FIPPA for from a Board file, the Board will not disclose about the tenant in the response to the request. Page 3 of 6
Information in Board files about landlords is not As set out above, the definition of does not include that identifies an individual in a business or professional capacity. The Office of Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario has determined that landlords are acting in a business capacity when they rent to tenants. Because of this, in a Board file that identifies a landlord, such as their name, address and other contact is not considered to be. This means that if an individual makes a request under FIPPA for from a Board file, the Board may disclose about a landlord in the response to the request. Making a request to the Board under FIPPA How to make a request under FIPPA to the Board Clients must make requests for under FIPPA to the Board in writing. Clients can send a letter to the Board which describes in detail the they want the Board to disclose and which makes clear that they are requesting the under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Clients can also use a special form for requesting under FIPPA. This form is available from the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario website at http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/resources/up- 1request.pdf. Clients must pay a $5.00 fee to make a request under FIPPA. Clients can pay the $5.00 fee either in cash or by cheque or money order made payable to the Minister of Finance. Generally, the FIPPA Coordinator will respond to a FIPPA request within 30 days after the client provides the Board with a complete request (see below) that includes the $5.00 fee. What if the request is not complete? A FIPPA request must provide enough details about the requested to allow the FIPPA Coordinator to determine what documents would respond to the request. If the request does not provide enough detail, or if the request is not clear, the FIPPA Coordinator will contact the requester to clarify the request. Page 4 of 6
If the Board discloses the requested If the FIPPA Coordinator decides that the Board can disclose the the requester asked for, they will send the requester a letter that explains this. Unless the requester is required to pay additional fees, copies of the documents that are disclosed will be attached to the letter. If the requester is required to pay additional fees, the letter will set out the amount and the reason for the additional fees. The requester is required to pay the additional fees before they can have access to the documents. The letter will inform the requester that the decision to charge a fee and the amount of the fee can be appealed to IPC. Once the requester pays the fee, the Board will provide access to the documents. See Additional fees that may apply to requests to the Board under FIPPA. In some cases, the FIPPA Coordinator may allow the requester to view an original document rather than send a copy. In these cases, the FIPPA Coordinator will send a letter that tells the requester the time and place where they can view the document. If the Board denies access to some or all of the requested If some or all of the requested falls under one of the exemptions in FIPPA, the FIPPA Coordinator may decide that the Board cannot disclose the requested, or that it can disclose only part of the requested. In those cases, the FIPPA Coordinator will notify the requester in a letter that explains the reasons under FIPPA why all or part of the cannot be disclosed. The letter will also inform the requester that they can appeal the Board s decision to the IPC, and provides about how to file the appeal (see below). Additional fees that may apply to requests to the Board under FIPPA FIPPA allows the Board to charge fees for responding to a request (in addition to the $5.00 application fee.) The fees most likely to apply when a requester makes a FIPPA request to the Board are: Manual search time: $30.00 per hour Search time could include, for example, time required to search for a particular document in a large file or time required to review a selection of documents to find those that relate to the request. Note: The Board cannot search its computer systems to find Board orders related to a specific topic. Record preparation charges: $30.00 per hour Record preparation includes severing from a document. When a document is severed, the document is disclosed but the portions of it that fall under one of the exemptions under FIPPA (for example, the exemption for ) are blocked out. Photocopy charges: $0.20 per page Page 5 of 6
Fee estimates Whenever the cost of processing a request is anticipated to be over $25.00, the FIPPA Coordinator must provide the requester with an estimate of the fee. Whenever the estimate is over $100.00, the Board requires a deposit of up to 50% of the estimated fee before responding to the request. Appealing to the IPC Any person can appeal the Board s decision on a request under FIPPA (for example, a decision to deny access to a document, or a decision to charge certain fees) to the IPC. Requesters must file a written notice of appeal with the IPC within 30 calendar days after the Board gives them its decision. For More Information Contact the Landlord and Tenant Board This brochure provides general only. For more, or to obtain copies of the Board s forms and publications, you may: visit the Board s website at www.ltb.gov.on.ca. call the Board at 416-645-8080 or toll-free at 1-888-332-3234, or visit your local Landlord and Tenant Board office. A list of Board office locations can be found on our website, or you may call us at the numbers listed above. Page 6 of 6 ISBN 978-1-4249-8022-2 (PDF) ISBN 978-1-4249-8020-8 (Print) ISBN 978-1-4249-8021-5 (HTML) Queen s Printer for Ontario, 2008 Disponible en français Release Date: October 14, 2008