LTB Filing Fees: What Ontario Landlords and Tenants Pay, and How

Every application to Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) carries a filing fee, and the amount depends on the form and on how you file it. Landlords pay less on the Tribunals Ontario Portal, and some steps cost nothing at all. This guide sets out the current LTB fees from Tribunals Ontario's fees page, how each one can be paid, when a fee can be recovered from the other side, and who qualifies for a fee waiver.

At a glance

Landlord application fees

The Portal discount applies only to the applications the Portal accepts: L1, L2, L3, L4, L9 and L10. See the Tribunals Ontario Portal guide.

Tenant application fees

Landlords are usually the respondent on these, but the fees matter when you are weighing a settlement.

Other fees

Witness attendance money follows Tariff A of the Rules of Civil Procedure, reproduced in Appendix A of the LTB Rules: $50 per day of attendance plus travel and, where an overnight stay is needed, $75 per night.

How to pay

The method depends on how you file:

For applications filed by email (L6, L7, L8, A1, A2, A4, Requests to Review and Requests for Hearing Recordings), you pay first on the Online Payment for Tribunal Applications page, then send the application and receipt to ltbpayments@ontario.ca, putting the 7-digit receipt number and the rental unit address in the subject line. If you do not submit the application within 24 hours of paying, the LTB refunds the payment. For an L5 filed by email, you send the application first and the LTB emails a secure payment link that expires after three calendar days.

Never put credit card details in an email or fax. The LTB deletes those applications unprocessed, and Rule 4.2 says an email containing payment information will not be accepted.

Fees are non-refundable

Tribunals Ontario states on its fees page that LTB fees are non-refundable. If your application is refused or dismissed because the notice was defective or filed too early, you pay again when you refile. That is the most practical reason to get the notice and the timing right the first time.

There are two narrow exceptions:

• Review fee: under s. 182 of the RTA, the $58 fee for a request to review may be refunded if the LTB varies, suspends or cancels the original order.
• Email filings not completed: as above, the LTB refunds an online payment if the application is not emailed within 24 hours.

If an application is discontinued because the applicant owes the LTB an unpaid fine, fee or costs, the fee is not refunded (Rule 6.5).

Getting the fee back from the tenant

A successful applicant can ask the LTB to order the other side to repay the filing fee as costs (Rule 23.1). On an L1, the fee is built into the amounts the tenant must pay to stop the eviction: the application is discontinued if, before the order issues, the tenant pays the arrears, the additional rent due and the landlord's application fee (RTA s. 74(2)), and the eviction order is void if the tenant pays the amounts set out in the order, including costs, before it becomes enforceable (s. 74(4)). On an L1 or L9, Rule 10.3 allows the LTB to decline to award your filing fee if you did not provide the L1/L9 Information Update on time.

Fee waivers

Section 181.1 of the RTA authorizes the LTB to waive or defer fees for low-income individuals in accordance with the Rules. Rule 2 and the Practice Direction on Fee Waiver set the test.

Who can ask: an individual who is a party to an application, or directly affected by one. A fee waiver is not available to a business or organization, so a corporate landlord cannot use it.

Who qualifies: either the household's primary source of income is Ontario Works, the Ontario Disability Support Program, Old Age Security with the Guaranteed Income Supplement, War Veterans' Allowance or the Canada Pension Plan, or gross monthly household income is below these thresholds:

"Household" means you, your spouse and any dependent children. The LTB may ask for financial documents.

How to ask: complete all three parts of the Fee Waiver Request, including the declaration, and attach it to the front of the application or request. The LTB lists the form as filed by mail or courier or at ServiceOntario; a lawyer or paralegal can complete a fee waiver request on the Portal for a client (Rule 2.1). There is no charge to ask. If the request is denied, you must pay within three business days of being contacted, or the application is not processed. Once granted, the waiver covers all LTB fees in that application from that point.

Making a false statement on the form is an offence under s. 234 of the RTA.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to file an L1 in Ontario?

$186 on the Tribunals Ontario Portal, or $201 if you file by mail, courier or at ServiceOntario.

Is there a fee to file an N4 or N12?

No. Notices are served on the tenant, not filed, and LTB forms are free. The fee applies when you file the L1 or L2 that follows.

Will I get my fee back if my application is dismissed?

Generally no. LTB fees are non-refundable. The review fee may be refunded only if the review results in the order being varied, suspended or cancelled.

Can a landlord get a fee waiver?

Only an individual who meets the income test. Corporations and other organizations cannot.

What does the sheriff charge to enforce an eviction?

That is a court fee, not an LTB fee. See the Enforcement Office guide.

Official sources

• LTB Forms, filing and fees (Fees)
• Practice Direction on Fee Waiver
• Fee Waiver Request form
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
• LTB Rules of Procedure

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.