LD25-408

Application · compensation, repairs. Outcome: denied.

Linked prior order: LD23-345

Order text

Order of The Director of Residential Tenancy
Docket 25-585 November 21, 2025
INTRODUCTION
[1] This decision determines an application filed with the Residential Tenancy Office (the “Rental Office”) under the Residential Tenancy Act (the “Act”).
[2] The Tenants seek compensation totalling $6,359.00 for the failure to maintain and repair the Unit and for a reduction in internet service. The Tenants also seek repairs and a $100.00 per month rent reduction until the repairs are completed.
[3] Rental Office Orders LD23-345 and LD25-018 were included as Director’s Evidence.
DISPOSITION
[4] The Tenants are authorized to offset $1,200.00 against future rent, effective December 1, 2025.
[5] The Landlord will make the following repairs to the Unit forthwith:
a. Repair the front door.
b. Repair the broken window.
[6] Rent will be reduced at the Unit $100.00 per month, effective December 1, 2025, until the repairs listed in this Order are completed.
[7] Upon completion of the repairs, the Landlord will provide a written update, along with photos of the completed repairs, to the Rental Office.
BACKGROUND
[8] The Unit is an apartment in a four-unit building (the “Residential Property”) owned by the Landlord.
[9] On June 1, 2021, the parties entered into an oral, month-to-month tenancy agreement for the Unit.
Rent of $1,005.00 is due on the first day of the month. The Tenants paid a $975.00 security deposit at the beginning of the tenancy.
[10] On September 4, 2025, the Tenants filed an amended Form 2 (A) Tenant Application to Determine Dispute (the “Application”) with the Rental Office seeking compensation, a reduction in rent, and repairs to the Unit.
[11] On September 17, 2025, the Rental Office sent the parties notice of a teleconference hearing scheduled for October 28, 2025.
[12] On October 17, 2025, the Rental Office emailed the parties a 22-page evidence package.
[13] On October 27, 2025, the Rental Office sent the parties notice of a rescheduled teleconference hearing for November 6, 2025. The hearing was rescheduled at the Landlord’s request.
[14] On November 5, 2025, the Rental Office sent the parties a notice of a rescheduled teleconference hearing for November 12, 2025. The hearing was rescheduled at the Landlord’s request.
[15] On November 10, 2025, the Landlord requested that the teleconference hearing be rescheduled a third time. The Landlord was notified that the hearing would proceed as scheduled. The Landlord was notified that if he was unable to attend the hearing, he should have a representative participate on his behalf.
[16] On November 12, 2025, the Tenants participated in a teleconference hearing to determine the Application. The Landlord did not call into the hearing or have a representative participate on his behalf. I waited ten minutes, and the hearing proceeded in the Landlord’s absence.

[17] I am satisfied that the Landlord was notified of the date and time of the hearing and that there would be no further postponements. The Tenants confirmed receipt of the evidence package and stated that everything they submitted to the Rental Office was included.
ISSUES
A. Have the Tenants established compensation claims against the Landlord?
B. Must the Landlord reduce the Unit’s rent and repair the Unit?
ANALYSIS
Tenants’ submissions and evidence
[18] The Tenants stated that they are seeking $100.00 to $150.00 per month in compensation for 12 months. The Tenants stated that the Landlord was required to repair the washing machine and fridge, as ordered in Rental Office Order LD25-018, by February 18, 2025. The washing machine and fridge were not repaired until October 26, 2025. The Tenants stated they had to use a laundromat from September 2024 to October 2025 until the washing machine was repaired, and the washing machine is an included service.
[19] The Tenants stated they are seeking a $100.00 per month rent reduction until the remaining repairs are completed. The Tenants stated that the Landlord still has not repaired the front door or the broken window, as ordered in Order LD25-018. The Tenants stated that the broken door and window will increase their heating bill, now that the weather is colder.
[20] They stated they are seeking $359.00 in compensation for internet expenses. The Tenants stated that the internet is an included service, but it was not working for approximately 3 months. The Tenants stated that none of the tenants in the Residential Property had included internet from sometime in the Spring or Summer of 2025 until about September 2025. The internet has since been reinstated.
[21] The Tenants stated that they had to pay for internet installation, which cost $140.00. They stated that the internet cost them $73.00 per month for approximately three months. The Tenants stated they do not have copies of their internet bills for that period.
[22] The Tenants stated that they are seeking $100.00 per month in compensation for electricity expenses from June 2021 until a broken outlet was fixed in 2025, totalling $4,800.00.
[23] The Tenants submitted a statement from (“T1”) as evidence. The Tenants stated that for the past 4 years, they have been paying for the power used from an electrical outlet in unit 2 of the Residential Property. The Tenants stated that a previous tenant who lived in unit 2 told T1 that she had disconnected her power, but one outlet in unit 2 still worked.
[24] The Tenants stated that after the tenant from unit 2 moved out in June or July 2025, a painter was working in unit 2. The Tenants went to unit 2, plugged an appliance into the outlet, and the appliance still worked, even though power to unit 2 had been disconnected. The Tenants disconnected the Unit’s power, which in turn disconnected the outlet. The Tenants then notified the Landlord that their Unit was powering the outlet in unit 2.
[25] The Tenants stated on a different date, a repair person was fixing the floor in unit 2 and was using this outlet. The Tenants disconnected their power, which again disconnected the outlet. When the Tenants reconnected their power, the outlet in unit 2 no longer worked. The Tenants are unsure how this fixed the issue.

[26] The Tenants stated that on September 8, 2025, the Landlord had an electrician inspect the electrical issue. The electrician told the Tenants that the Unit was no longer powering the outlet in unit 2. The electrician could not explain how the Unit had been powering that outlet previously.
Landlord’s submissions and evidence
[27] The Landlord did not participate in the hearing; however, the Landlord submitted documentary evidence for the record. The Landlord submitted that he repaired the Unit’s washing machine and fridge and submitted an invoice dated October 26, 2025, as evidence. The Landlord made no submissions regarding the door or window repairs.
[28] The Landlord submitted an invoice indicating that an electrician attended the Residential Property on September 8, 2025, to inspect the electrical issue. The invoice stated that the electrician investigated the issue and found that the Unit “is not supplying power to any of apartment #2 plugs.”
A. Have the Tenants established compensation claims against the Landlord?
Washing Machine
[29] I find that the Tenants have provided sufficient evidence to support their washing machine compensation claim. The Tenants had to use a laundromat because the Unit's washing machine was broken, resulting in inconvenience and additional expenses. Furthermore, I find that the value of the tenancy agreement was reduced due to the Landlord’s failure to repair the washing machine in a timely manner.
[30] I note that in Order LD25-018, the Landlord was ordered to repair the washing machine by February 18, 2025; however, it was not repaired until October 26, 2025. I find that the Landlord did not comply with the order, and the tenancy was devalued.
[31] I find that the Tenants are authorized to offset the $1,200.00 in compensation against future rent, effective December 1, 2025, under clauses 85(1)(d), (e) and (i) of the Act.
Internet
[32] I find that the Tenants have provided insufficient evidence to establish their compensation claim for the internet expenses. The Tenants were unable to provide the exact dates for which they were required to pay for internet service and could only estimate the timeframe during which the Landlord did not provide the service. Furthermore, the Tenants have provided insufficient documentary evidence, such as their internet bills, to establish the amount they had paid for internet services.
This claim is denied.
Electricity
[33] The Tenants stated that they notified the Landlord of the electrical issue as soon as they became aware of it. The evidence establishes that the Landlord had an electrician attend the Residential Property to inspect the issue. The electrician concluded that as of September 8, 2025, the outlet in unit 2 was no longer being powered by the Unit.
[34] There is insufficient evidence that the Landlord was aware of the electrical issue prior to the Tenants notifying him. Therefore, I find that the Landlord has complied with his obligations under subsection 28(1) of the Act, which states:
A landlord shall provide and maintain the residential property in a state of repair that (a) complies with the health, safety and housing standards required by law;
and

(b) having regard to the age, character and location of the rental unit, makes it suitable for occupation by a tenant.
[35] Furthermore, I find that the Tenants have provided insufficient evidence to establish their compensation claim for the electricity expenses. Despite the Tenants stating that the Unit had powered an outlet in unit 2, I find that the Tenants have not sufficiently established how much power that outlet had used during the Tenants’ occupancy of the Unit.
[36] The Tenants did not have any expert witnesses, such as an electrician, testify at the hearing to dispute the Landlord’s evidence or to address the outlet's estimated or actual electrical consumption. Furthermore, the Tenants have provided insufficient documentary evidence, such as their electricity bills, to establish their actual electricity expenses during their tenancy. This claim is denied.
B. Must the Landlord reduce the Unit’s rent and repair the Unit?
[37] I find that the Tenants have provided sufficient evidence to establish that the Landlord has failed to complete the repairs to the door and window by February 18, 2025, as ordered in Order LD25-018.
[38] The Landlord will make the following repairs to the Unit forthwith:
a. Repair the front door.
b. Repair the broken window.
[39] I find that the Landlord will apply a $100.00 monthly rent reduction at the Unit, effective December 1, 2025, until the repairs are completed, under clause 85(1)(e) of the Act.
[40] Upon completion of the repairs, the Landlord will provide a written update, along with photos of the completed repairs, to the Rental Office.
[41] I note that the Landlord has already failed to comply with Order LD25-018. Continued failure to comply with Rental Office orders may result in an administrative penalty, not exceeding $10,000.00, under the Act.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED THAT
1. The Tenants are authorized to offset $1,200.00 against future rent, effective December 1, 2025.
2. The Landlord will make the following repairs to the Unit forthwith:
a. Repair the front door.
b. Repair the broken window.
3. Rent will be reduced at the Unit $100.00 per month, effective December 1, 2025, until the repairs listed in this Order are completed.
4. Upon completion of the repairs, the Landlord will provide a written update, along with photos of the completed repairs, to the Rental Office.
DATED at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, this 21st day of November, 2025.
(sgd.) Mitch King Mitch King Residential Tenancy Officer

NOTICE
Right to Appeal
This Order can be appealed to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission (the “Commission”) by serving a Notice of Appeal with the Commission and every party to this Order within 20 days of this Order.
If a document is sent electronically after 5:00 p.m., it is considered received the next day that is not a holiday. If a document is sent by mail, it is considered served on the third day after mailing.
Filing with the Court
If no appeal has been made within the noted timelines, this Order can be filed with the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island and enforced as if it were an order of the Court.