New limits at Small Claims Court and the Landlord and Tenant Board

People can now ask for more money when they apply to Small Claims Court and the Landlord and Tenant Board. As of October 1, 2025, the limit is $50,000. It used to be $35,000.

As well, for someone to appeal a final decision made in Small Claims Court, the amount of their claim must now be at least $5,000. And judges can now decide cases that are under $5,000 at a settlement conference. Both amounts are up from $3,500.

Small Claims Court

People can now sue for up to $50,000 at Small Claims Court. This means that they can ask for:

$50,000 or less in money, not including interest or costs, or
the return of personal property that’s worth $50,000 or less.

Interest is extra money a person can ask for at Small Claims Court. It’s to make up for the time they did not have access to the money they were owed. There are rules about how to figure out how much interest someone can get.

Costs include money spent on the court case, such as a lawyer’s fees and court filing fees.

Personal property includes things people own that are not land or real estate, such as cars, jewellery, furniture, and clothing.

To ask for more than $50,000, people must go to the Superior Court of Justice.

Decisions made at settlement conferences

Small Claims Court cases usually have a settlement conference.

At the conference, a judge tries to help everyone resolve the issues so there does not have to be a trial. As well, if everyone agrees in writing, the judge can make a final decision about a claim that’s worth less than $5,000. This is up from less than $3,500.

Higher limits for making an appeal

When someone gets a final decision from Small Claims Court that they disagree with, they might be able to appeal to the Divisional Court. This is part of the Superior Court of Justice.

Appeal means asking the higher court to give a different decision.

Someone can appeal only if the court case is about:

an amount of money, not including costs, that’s more than $5,000, or
the return of personal property that’s worth more than $5,000.

This amount used to be more than $3,500.

Landlord and Tenant Board

The Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) can now order a landlord or a tenant to pay up to $50,000. This is up from $35,000 or less.

For example, the LTB can order:

the landlord to pay the tenant money if the landlord takes the tenant’s belongings when they should not have
the tenant to pay the landlord money for rent that they owe
the landlord to pay a fine to the LTB

To ask for more than $50,000, people must go to the Superior Court of Justice.

Legal help

There are places that offer free or lower cost legal help with Small Claims Court and the Landlord and Tenant Board.

Community legal clinics

Community legal clinics offer free legal services to people with low incomes who live in their area.

People may also get help from a specialty legal clinic. They give free legal services to specific groups of people with low incomes.

Pro Bono Ontario

Pro Bono Ontario’s legal advice hotline gives free legal advice over the phone for people who cannot afford a lawyer. Call 1-855-255-7256.

Ontario Legal Information Centre

The Ontario Legal Information Centre offers legal information and referrals. They give free 30-minute meetings with a lawyer by phone or videoconference, in English or French. They do not give legal advice.

JusticeNet

JusticeNet helps people find legal services when their income is too high for legal aid and too low to pay regular legal fees. They have a list of lawyers and paralegals who charge reduced fees based on a person's income and the size of their family.