Loading…
Loading…
Get help
Free clinics, duty counsel, lawyers, licensed paralegals, human rights support, and emergency services — province-wide starting points, with honest notes about cost and eligibility.
If the sheriff is coming, your locks were changed, or your housing is at risk today, start with the emergency guide — it covers immediate steps before anything on this page.
What a listing here means — and does not mean
Legal help finder
Every resource below is a real, province-wide Ontario service. Local availability varies, so each entry explains how to find the right office or clinic for your area.
Showing 13 resources.
Independent, non-profit clinics funded by Legal Aid Ontario. Each clinic serves a specific geographic area, and most have financial-eligibility rules. For tenants who qualify, clinics are often the strongest source of free housing-law help.
Free legal help for low-income tenants: eviction notices and hearings, disrepair, illegal lockouts, harassment, and Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) applications.
How to access: Use the Legal Aid Ontario website to find the clinic that serves your address, then contact that clinic directly and ask about intake for a housing problem. Mention any deadline or hearing date right away.
Clinics serve specific areas and most apply financial-eligibility rules. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
Lawyers and licensed workers who give free, brief legal help to tenants at many LTB hearing blocks — often the last chance for advice before a hearing starts.
Free, same-day legal help at many LTB hearing blocks: reviewing your situation, explaining the process, discussing settlement, and sometimes speaking to the Board on your behalf.
How to access: The program is coordinated through the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO) with Legal Aid Ontario. If you have a hearing scheduled, check the ACTO website for how tenant duty counsel works and ask about duty counsel before your hearing block begins.
Duty counsel gives brief, hearing-day help — they usually cannot take on your whole case, so contact a clinic earlier if you can. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
The provincial organization that funds community legal clinics and provides legal-help services for low-income Ontarians.
Information about free and low-cost legal services, the community legal clinic finder, and eligibility rules for legal aid help.
How to access: Visit the Legal Aid Ontario website to check what services exist for housing problems, find your local clinic, and see whether you qualify financially.
Most Legal Aid Ontario services have financial-eligibility rules. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
For complex disputes, appeals, or when you do not qualify for a clinic, a lawyer in private practice may be the right fit. Lawyers set their own fees.
Finding a licensed lawyer for tenancy disputes, LTB matters, appeals, or related civil claims. The Law Society's public resources include a referral service and a directory where you can confirm a lawyer's licence status.
How to access: Start at the Law Society of Ontario's public resources page for the referral service and directory, then contact lawyers directly. Ask about fees and whether a short initial consultation is available before you commit.
Lawyers set their own fees, which vary widely — always confirm cost in writing before work begins. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
Licensed paralegals can represent tenants at the LTB and are often less expensive than lawyers for tribunal matters. Only paralegals licensed by the Law Society of Ontario may provide these services.
Representation and advice for LTB matters, including eviction hearings, maintenance applications, and other tenancy disputes within a paralegal's permitted scope.
How to access: Use the Law Society of Ontario's public resources to search the directory of licensed paralegals and confirm licence status, then contact candidates directly about fees and experience with tenant-side LTB work.
Fees vary — ask for a written fee estimate, and confirm the paralegal's licence in the directory before hiring. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
Cities and towns enforce local property-standards bylaws — a separate track from the LTB that can order a landlord to fix unsafe or substandard conditions.
Inspections and enforcement for disrepair, inadequate heat, pests, mould, and other unsafe or substandard conditions in rental housing.
How to access: Search your city or town's official website for "property standards" or "bylaw enforcement", or call 2-1-1 to be directed to the right local office. Every municipality runs its own program.
An inspection report or work order is an official record you can preserve as evidence for an LTB application. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
Discrimination in housing — because of disability, family status, race, receipt of public assistance, and other protected grounds — is covered by Ontario's Human Rights Code, with its own support services.
Free legal help for people in Ontario who have experienced discrimination under the Human Rights Code, including discrimination in housing, and support with applications to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
How to access: Contact the HRLSC through its website, which explains its services and how to reach the centre.
Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
Plain-language policies and guides on human rights in rental housing — useful for understanding whether what happened may involve a protected ground. The OHRC does not handle individual cases.
How to access: Read the OHRC's housing policies and guides on its website.
For help with an individual complaint, the HRLSC is the service to contact — the OHRC publishes policy and guidance only.
If you cannot safely stay in your home tonight — because of a lockout, an unsafe unit, or enforcement — these services help you find somewhere to go while you deal with the legal side.
Finding emergency shelters, warming and cooling centres, food programs, and crisis supports anywhere in Ontario, any time of day.
How to access: Call 2-1-1 (free, 24 hours a day, service in many languages) or search the 211 Ontario website for services near you.
If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 first. Shelter space varies by community and by night — 211 can tell you what is open now.
Most Ontario municipalities run or fund emergency shelters and housing-help services for residents who lose their housing suddenly.
How to access: Call 2-1-1 to be connected to your municipality's shelter intake, or search your city or town's website for "emergency shelter" or "housing help".
Programs, hours, and intake rules differ by municipality. Availability and intake criteria vary — contact them directly. A listing here does not mean an organization will accept a case.
Not every problem needs a representative on day one. These province-wide services help you understand the rules and find local supports.
Finding local community services across Ontario: housing help, financial-assistance programs, mental-health supports, settlement services, and more.
How to access: Call 2-1-1 or search the 211 Ontario website by topic and location.
211 is a navigation service — it connects you to other organizations rather than providing legal help itself.
Free, plain-language answers to common Ontario housing-law questions, reviewed by legal professionals — a strong first stop before contacting anyone.
How to access: Browse the housing-law section of the Steps to Justice website.
Legal information, not advice about your specific situation.
Official forms, filing instructions, hearing information, and process questions for most Ontario residential tenancy disputes. The LTB provides process information — it cannot give either side legal advice.
How to access: Use the LTB section of the Tribunals Ontario website for forms, filing channels, and contact options.
The LTB is the tribunal that decides tenancy cases — it stays neutral between landlords and tenants.
Make the most of the call
Legal services have limited time. A little preparation means the conversation starts with your problem, not with sorting paper.
RTO Pro's free tools can do the organizing for you: check your situation, build a timeline, and keep records in the evidence vault so you arrive with an organized file.
This is legal information, not legal advice. RTO Pro is not a law firm. Deadlines and exceptions may apply to your situation — a qualified legal professional should confirm anything important before you rely on it.