LD25-446

Application · repairs. Outcome: outcome pending review.

Linked prior order: LR25-50

Order text

Order of The Director of Residential Tenancy
Docket 25-853 December 22, 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 Tenant seeks repairs at the Unit and a full rent reduction until the repairs are complete.
DISPOSITION
[3] The Landlord will make the following repairs to the Unit effective December 31, 2025:
a. Investigate and repair the source of the leak on the ceiling in the living room;
b. Investigate and repair the source of the moisture on the bathroom ceiling;
c. Assess the extent of moisture damage (i.e. surface mold, drywall, or wood/structure damage);
d. Ensure moisture damaged material is removed and replaced;
e. The ceiling is to be repainted with a mold resistant paint intended for high humidity common in bathrooms; and
f. Repair the door to ensure it is properly sealed with no gaps.
[4] Upon completion of the repairs, the Landlord will provide the Rental Office and Environmental Health with a written update and photos of the completed repairs.
[5] Rent for the Unit will be reduced to $660.00 per month, effective January 1, 2026, until the repairs listed in this Order are completed.
BACKGROUND
[6] The Unit is one half of a duplex (the “Residential Property”) owned by the Landlord.
[7] In 2018 or 2019, the parties entered into a written monthly tenancy agreement for the Unit. Rent of $1,100.00 is due on the first day of the month. The Tenant stated she paid a $700.00 or $800.00 security deposit at the beginning of the tenancy; however, there was insufficient evidence to determine the security deposit amount.
[8] On October 28, 2025, the Tenant filed an amended Form 2 (A) Tenant Application to Determine Dispute (the “Application”) with the Rental Office seeking repairs at the Unit and a full rent reduction until the repairs are complete. The Tenant emailed the Landlord a copy of the Application on the same date.
[9] On November 25, 2025, the Rental Office sent the parties notice of a teleconference hearing scheduled for December 11, 2025.
[10] On December 5, 2025, the Rental Office emailed the parties a 30-page evidence package.
[11] On December 11, 2025, the Tenant participated in a teleconference hearing to determine the Application. The Landlord did not call into the hearing or have a representative participate on its behalf. I called the Landlord and left a voicemail. I waited ten minutes, and the hearing proceeded in the Landlord’s absence.
[12] The Tenant confirmed that all the evidence she submitted to the Rental Office was included in the evidence package. The Landlord provided no evidence or submissions.
[13] After the hearing, the Tenant submitted recent photographs of the Unit. The photographs were forwarded to the Landlord; however, the Landlord made no additional submissions.

ISSUE
A. Must the Landlord repair the Unit and reduce the Unit’s rent until the repairs are completed?
ANALYSIS
Repairs
[14] The Tenant stated that repairs are required at the Unit, but the Landlord is not addressing them.
The Tenant stated that she is seeking a 100% rent freeze until the repairs are completed. The Tenant stated that she has notified the Landlord on several occasions about the repairs, but nothing has been properly addressed.
[15] The Tenant stated she contacted Environmental Health (“EH”) on June 24, 2025, regarding the repairs. On August 1, 2025, EH sent the parties a letter which required the Landlord to complete repairs to the Unit.
[16] The EH letter stated that the Landlord had to make the following repairs to the Unit forthwith and complete them by August 29, 2025, or request an extension from EH.
a. Investigate and repair the source of the leak on the ceiling in the living room;
b. Investigate and repair the source of the moisture on the bathroom ceiling;
c. Assess the extent of moisture damage (i.e. surface mold, drywall, or wood/structure damage);
d. Ensure moisture damaged material is removed and replaced;
e. The ceiling is to be repainted with a mold resistant paint intended for high humidity common in bathrooms; and
f. Repair the door to ensure it is properly sealed with no gaps.
[17] The Tenant stated that the roof has been leaking for over a year, and there is moisture in the Unit.
She stated the Landlord did put some tar on the roof, but it is not sealed, and the Unit is still cold.
She stated that none of the other repairs in the EH letter have been addressed. She stated that the last communication she had from the Landlord was on November 24, 2025. Photographs of the Unit were submitted as evidence.
[18] Subsection 28(1) of the Act states that a landlord is required to comply with the health, safety and housing standards required by law and, regarding the age, character and location of the rental unit, and make it suitable for occupation by a tenant.
[19] Clauses 8(1) and 9(a) of the Public Health Act Rental Accommodation Regulations (the “Regulations”) state:
(1) All buildings and dwelling units shall be weather-proof and capable of being adequately heated with a reasonable consumption of fuel and the heating equipment in any building or dwelling shall be in working order and in good repair.
The owner of any dwelling shall, when necessary (a) carry out repairs or alterations to such dwelling in order to make it sound, weatherproof, damp-proof, vermin-proof, safe and sanitary in every respect.
[20] I find that the Landlord will repair the Unit as set out in the EH letter by December 31, 2025. I find that the Tenant has provided sufficient and undisputed evidence to establish that the Landlord has failed to comply with the Act and the Regulations. Furthermore, I find that the Landlord has failed to complete the repairs as ordered in the EH letter by August 29, 2025, and there is insufficient evidence that the Landlord requested an extension from EH to complete the listed repairs.

Rent
[21] The Tenant is seeking a 100% rent reduction for the Unit until repairs are complete. However, I find that the evidence does not fully support the Tenant’s request.
[22] I do find that the evidence supports that the tenancy was devalued as a result of the repairs not being completed as ordered in the EH letter. The lack of repairs has made the Unit cold and caused moisture issues, devaluing the tenancy and reducing the Unit’s use/enjoyment.
[23] In Order LR25-50, the Island Regulatory and Appeal Commission (the “Commission”) commented on a similar matter. In that matter, the Commission found that the landlord failed comply with an Environmental Health Report and that the tenancy was devalued due to a failure to spray for cockroaches. As such, the Commission found that the tenants should be awarded a claim for inconvenience and loss of enjoyment, based on 33% of the rent.
[24] However, in that matter, the landlord began complying with the EH report approximately two months after the required date, and the tenants moved out of the Unit a day after the compliance began.
In this matter, it has been almost four months since the requirement date, and Tenant is still living in the Unit.
[25] Therefore, I find that the Tenant is entitled to 40% of her claim. I come to this conclusion based on considering many factors in this case, particularly, the length of time the Landlord has failed to complete the required repairs, and the seriousness of the repairs, which have significantly devalued the tenancy.
[26] Therefore, the rent for the Unit will be reduced to $660.00 per month, effective January 1, 2026, until the repairs listed in this Order are completed, under clause 85(1)(e) of the Act.
[27] Upon completion of the repairs, the Landlord will provide the Rental Office and Environmental Health with a written update and photos of the completed repairs.
[28] I note that the Landlord has already failed to comply with Environmental Health’s requirements.
Failure to comply with this Rental Office order may result in an administrative penalty, not exceeding $10,000.00, under the Act.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED THAT
1. The Landlord will make the following repairs to the Unit by December 31, 2025:
a. Investigate and repair the source of the leak on the ceiling in the living room;
b. Investigate and repair the source of the moisture on the bathroom ceiling;
c. Assess the extent of moisture damage (i.e. surface mold, drywall, or wood/structure damage);
d. Ensure moisture damaged material is removed and replaced;
e. The ceiling is to be repainted with a mold resistant paint intended for high humidity common in bathrooms; and
f. Repair the door to ensure it is properly sealed with no gaps.
2. Upon completion of the repairs, the Landlord will provide the Rental Office and Environmental Health with a written update and photos of the completed repairs.
3. The rent for the Unit will be reduced to $660.00 per month, effective January 1, 2026, until the repairs listed in this Order are completed.
DATED at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, this 22nd day of December, 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.