# My landlord changed the locks and I moved out, can I get my unit back?

- Jurisdiction: Canada
- Practice area: Tenancy Law
- Published: 2026-10-22
- Last updated: 2026-10-22
- Canonical: https://lawasked.com/ca/tenancy-law/my-landlord-changed-locks-i-moved-out-can

## Question

I live in Toronto, Ontario, and rented a basement apartment for two years, paying $1,450 a month by cheque. Since March 2024, my landlord has constantly dropped by unannounced, shouted at me through the door, and twice shut off my hot water for days at a time. On 12 May 2024, I came home to find the locks changed and no replacement keys, even though I had always paid on time. He told me the unit was no longer available and that I should find somewhere else. I stayed with my sister for three weeks, then moved into a new place on 3 June 2024 at $1,700 a month. I paid $600 to a removal firm for their labour, $180 a month for storage, and lost a $200 deposit on my old place. I filed a complaint with the city's municipal office and emailed the landlord twice asking for my keys, but he ignored me. I have since heard he rented my old unit to someone else. I am not sure whether I can still force him to let me move back in, whether I can claim the extra $250 a month in rent, my moving and storage costs, or an order stopping his behaviour, and whether there is a time limit I have missed. I also want to know what happens if the unit is now occupied.

## Summary

It depends on one fact: you can likely claim the extra $250/month rent (for up to one year after you left), your moving and storage costs, and an order stopping the landlord's behaviour, but you can only get the unit back if the Board is satisfied it is still vacant. If someone else is living there now, the law provided offers money, not the unit. No application deadline is stated in these sections, so apply to the Board promptly.

## Analysis

**What the law says.** The Act states: "A landlord shall not alter the locking system on a door giving entry to a rental unit or residential complex or cause the locking system to be altered during the tenant's occupancy of the rental unit without giving the tenant replacement keys" [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec24]. Your landlord changed the locks on 12 May 2024 and gave you no keys, which broke that rule. It also states: "A landlord shall not recover possession of a rental unit subject to a tenancy unless, (a) the tenant has vacated or abandoned the unit; or (b) an order of the Board evicting the tenant has authorized the possession" [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec39]. Locking you out was not a lawful way to end your tenancy.

**Money you can claim.** If the Board (the Landlord and Tenant Board) finds your landlord did acts of the kind listed in paragraphs 2 to 6 of s. 29(1) — the unannounced visits, shouting, and hot-water shutoffs fit the pattern those paragraphs describe — it can order him to stop, pay your out-of-pocket expenses, reduce your rent, and pay a fine up to the greater of $10,000 and the Small Claims Court limit [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec31]. Because his conduct appears to have pushed you out, the Board may also order him to pay "all or any portion of any increased rent which the tenant has incurred or will incur for a one-year period after the tenant has left the rental unit" plus "reasonable out-of-pocket moving, storage and other like expenses" [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec31]. For you that means the $250 monthly increase (up to about $3,000 for the year from 3 June 2024), the $600 moving charge, the $180 monthly storage, and possibly the $200 deposit, if the Board finds these reasonable and caused by his conduct.

**Getting the unit back.** The Board can order him to let you back in only "if the Board is satisfied that the rental unit is vacant" [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec31]. You heard he re-rented it; if someone else is living there, this remedy is likely unavailable and money is your main relief. The provided sections do not say what rights a new occupant has, so that point is unsettled here. Section 100 does not help you — it covers a tenant transferring occupancy, not a landlord re-renting [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec100].

**Deadlines.** The sections set no filing deadline for the application itself, so I cannot say you missed one — but apply promptly. A possession order expires 15 days after issuance unless filed with the sheriff (45 days if filed) [cite:ca-ontario-rta-2006-sec31].

## Statutory citations

- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario), S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 24 - Changing locks [in force] (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK24)
  > A landlord shall not alter the locking system on a door giving entry to a rental unit or residential complex or cause the locking system to be altered during the tenant's occupancy of the rental unit without giving the tenant replacement keys.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario), S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 39 - Restriction on recovery of possession [in force] (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK39)
  > A landlord shall not recover possession of a rental unit subject to a tenancy unless, (a) the tenant has vacated or abandoned the unit; or (b) an order of the Board evicting the tenant has authorized the possession.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario), S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 31 - Other orders re s. 29 [in force] (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK31)
  > order that the landlord pay a specified sum to the tenant for, (a) all or any portion of any increased rent which the tenant has incurred or will incur for a one-year period after the tenant has left the rental unit; and (b) reasonable out-of-pocket moving, storage and other like expenses which the tenant has incurred or will incur.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario), S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 31 - Other orders re s. 29 [in force] (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK31)
  > if the Board is satisfied that the rental unit is vacant, the Board may, in addition to the remedies set out in subsections (1) and (2), order that the landlord allow the tenant to recover possession of the rental unit and that the landlord refrain from renting the unit to anyone else.
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario), S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 31 - Other orders re s. 29 [in force] (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK31)
  > An order under subsection (3) expires, (a) at the end of the 15th day after the day it is issued if it is not filed within those 15 days with the sheriff who has territorial jurisdiction where the rental unit is located; or (b) at the end of the 45th day after the day it is issued if it is filed in the manner described in clause (a).
- Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (Ontario), S.O. 2006, c. 17, s. 100 - Unauthorized occupancy [in force] (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/06r17#BK100)
  > If a tenant transfers the occupancy of a rental unit to a person in a manner other than by an assignment authorized under section 95 or a subletting authorized under section 97, the landlord may apply to the Board for an order terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant and the person to whom occupancy of the rental unit was transferred.

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