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Given the current backlog of cases at the Landlord and Tenant Board and the horror stories of lengthy delays, if you are a landlord looking to evict a tenant for unpaid rent arrears, it’s more important than ever to ensure you get the process right.
So, what do you need to know?
When and how to file eviction paperwork for non-payment of rent
Step 1: Serving an N4 NOTICE FORM
When rent is due should be established by the lease between the landlord and tenant. If it is not paid before or on the due date, it is late. Meaning a landlord can read the instructions for, fill out, and serve an N4 upon the tenant to demand payment of rent.
If you choose to serve an N4, make sure that all details regarding the tenant’s name, address, and rent are correct in the completed N4. Include the correct unit number and/or indicate if they’re in a basement or other particular unit. Failure to properly complete the notice may invalidate it, and a defective notice cannot be cured later on.
Proper service means you need to deliver it to your tenant in one of the following ways:
hand it to the tenant or another adult living in the same unit as the tenant;
put it in the tenant’s mailbox or wherever the tenant’s mail is delivered;
slide it under the door of the tenant’s unit; or
mail or courier it to the tenant.
Do not post the N4 on the tenant’s door. You also should not only email or text the notice, though this can (and should) be done in addition to proper service. But if you only post it on the door, email, or text the N4, it will be regarded as improper service, potentially ruining your entire case. Also note that anything served via regular mail is regarded as being served 5 days from the date it’s dropped in the mailbox.
Once you’ve served the N4 on the tenant, fill out and sign a Certificate of Service detailing how you served it. Keep this somewhere you won’t lose it (and a digital copy is fine).
An N4 gives the tenant the option to either pay their arrears or move out by a certain date (i.e., the “termination date”). If the termination date comes and goes, and your tenant has neither paid nor moved out, your next step is to file with the LTB.
Step 2: Filing an L1 Application
Read the instructions for, and file, an L1.
Make sure to wait until at least the day after the N4’s termination date before filing the L1. “Filing” means you submit or send the L1, together with a copy of the N4, Certificate of Service, and application fee, to the LTB. You can do that:
online through the Tribunals Ontario Portal (recommended); or
by mail or courier to the nearest LTB office.
If you file it online and include the tenant(s) email, the LTB will automatically email them a copy of the L1 upon submission.
Technically, if you are eligible for a fee waiver and cannot send in your application any other way, you also have the option of faxing it over to either 1-833-610-2242 or (416) 326-6455. You must attach a fee waiver request.
The LTB HEARING Process
Several weeks or months later, the LTB will schedule a hearing and email or mail you a Notice of Hearing that tells you when and where it will take place. Hearings are generally held via Zoom absent a specific request for an in-person hearing, which the LTB may or may not grant - and they usually do not. You can try to expedite your hearing date by filing a request to shorten form, but these are also rarely granted.
Preparing for Your LTB Hearing
At least 5 days before the hearing, you must fill out the L1/L9 Information Update Form, submit it to the LTB via the online portal, and email or mail a copy to your tenant. Both you and your tenant must submit any evidence you intend to rely on to the LTB, and exchange it with each other by email or mail, at least 7 days before the hearing. Any evidence in reply to each other’s evidence must be submitted at least 5 days before the hearing. Evidence should take the LTB’s prescribed form, detailed here.
Ideally, you will want to submit at least the lease in question and a rental payment ledger of some sort, perhaps supported by bank ledgers (which you can redact as necessary). These should show what the applicable rent amount is, when payments were being made, and when they stopped. Emails or texts exchanged between the parties regarding rental payments may also be useful.
Attending the LTB Hearing
You will then attend the hearing on its scheduled date and ask the LTB for an order evicting the tenant and ordering them to pay you outstanding rent arrears, along with any other costs. The LTB will hear from both sides before making a decision. The adjudicator may then either say what they will do, or they’ll say they’ll consider the matter and everyone will get an order in the near future.
Typically, the LTB will consider whether a tenant can financially afford to pay rent in a timely manner going forward, and whether they can be trusted to do so. If the LTB thinks they can, it may prescribe a payment plan which, if violated, will expose the tenant to a potential eviction sans hearing by L4 filing.
If the LTB does not believe a tenant can and/or will pay rent on time going forward, it will issue an eviction order which may give the tenant as few as 11 days to depart following issuance of the order, though the LTB often provides 1-3 months for them to find a new place to live.
Issuance of the LTB Order
Issuance of the order can happen within several days or several months following a hearing. If you’ve been waiting more than 60 days for order issuance, you should start emailing the LTB and the Ontario Ombudsman to complain and demand immediate issuance.
Enforcing the Eviction Order
On the day following the eviction date in the order, the landlord can file an eviction form with their local sheriff’s office. It typically takes the sheriff a few weeks or months to effect an eviction in Toronto, though the time required could vary based on jurisdiction and local circumstances.
If it were me, I might take up a daily or weekly routine of pestering the sheriff’s office to get the job done. As pestering and complaints often motivate government personnel to get things done faster; there is otherwise no reason or incentive for them to operate quickly.
Additional Options
In addition to reporting a tenant for failure or refusal to pay rent, you can also:
report the unpaid rent to credit bureaus through platforms like FrontLobby; and
upload LTB orders to OpenRoom.ca to alert potential future landlords to tenant misconduct.
Sometimes, simply warning a tenant that you will take these steps if they refuse to pay rent or vacate can accomplish the intended goal.
LEGAL ASSISTANCE with eviction for non-payment of rent
Our legal professionals can help landlords dealing with unpaid rent by:
completing and serving an N4;
filing an L1 eviction application;
pursuing unpaid rent through small claims or superior court processes;
discussing your options for obtaining payment and/or eviction; and
outlining and assisting with alternative conflict resolution strategies or options.
If you are interested in learning more about our ability to assist with an N4/L1 situation, take a look at our housing practice page and book a free or paid consultation with us using the button below.