A1 Form: Asking the LTB Whether the Residential Tenancies Act Applies

The A1 is the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) application that asks the Board to decide whether the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), or a particular part of it, applies to a rental unit or residential complex. Landlords and tenants can both file it. It is most useful when coverage is genuinely in doubt and you need a binding answer before relying on, or giving up, the RTA's procedures.

At a glance

What the A1 is for

Section 9 of the RTA lets a landlord or tenant apply for an order determining "whether this Act or any provision of it applies to a particular rental unit or residential complex". The RTA applies to rental units in residential complexes despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary (s. 3(1)). Calling an arrangement a "licence", a "room rental" or "not a tenancy" in a contract does not take it outside the Act. The Board looks at the real substance of the arrangement and may disregard its outward form (s. 202).

Common questions an A1 answers:

• Full exemptions (s. 5). For example: vacation or seasonal accommodation in a hotel, motel, cottage or similar; farm-worker housing conditional on employment; accommodation where the occupant must share a kitchen or bathroom with the owner (or the owner's spouse, child or parent, or the spouse's child or parent) who lives in the building; short-term emergency shelter; certain student residences; employment-conditional accommodation in a building used partly for business; and short-term respite care in a care home.
• Partial exemptions. Rent rules do not apply to units in buildings first occupied after November 15, 2018, or to certain post-2018 second units in houses (s. 6.1). Social and non-profit housing is partly exempt (s. 7).
• Special parts. Some provisions apply only to care homes (Part IX) or to mobile home parks and land lease communities (Part X).

When to use it (and when not to)

• Use it before you act, when the answer decides which process you must follow. A typical example: you live in the house and share a kitchen with a boarder, and you need to know whether you must use LTB termination notices.
• You often do not need a separate A1. If the question comes up inside another application (for example, a tenant raises it on your L2), the Board can decide it there. A stand-alone A1 adds a hearing.
• Do not use it to resolve who the tenant is when an unauthorized person has moved in. That is an A2 issue.
• Do not assume an exemption. Section 6.1(6) puts the burden on the landlord to prove the post-2018 rent exemption, and the Board will expect evidence for any exemption you claim.

Deadlines and limitation periods

• No limitation period appears in s. 9.
• Filing date. Email is filed the day it is received, courier the next business day after it goes to the courier, mail on the fifth non-holiday day after mailing (Rule 4.8).
• Service. The LTB normally serves the application and Notice of Hearing (Rule 5.1). If it directs you to serve, do so at least 15 days before the hearing (Rule 5.9) and file a Certificate of Service within five days (Rule 5.15).
• Review. Any party has 15 days from an order issued on or after July 1, 2026 to request a review (Rule 26.5).

How to fill out the A1, section by section

The current form is version 01/04/2022. Print or type in capital letters. See the A1 instructions.

Part 1: General Information

• Applicant Information. Shade "Landlord". Give the name or company name, address, phones and email. Add co-landlords on a Schedule of Parties.
• Address of the Rental Unit, Building or Residential Complex. The full address with unit number and postal code.
• Other Parties to the Application. Shade "Tenant". The tenant is always an other party. Name every occupant whose status you are asking about, on a Schedule of Parties if there is more than one.
• Related Applications. File numbers of unresolved applications about the unit or complex.

Part 2: Reason for Your Application

The form asks you to "describe the premises" and explain why you think the RTA does or does not apply. Be concrete:

• the physical layout (self-contained or shared kitchen and bathroom, and who shares them);
• who owns the property and who lives there, and since when;
• what the occupant pays and for what;
• any employment, program, care or seasonal element of the arrangement;
• for a s. 6.1 claim, when the building or addition was first occupied for residential purposes, with proof such as an occupancy permit;
• the exact RTA provision you rely on (for example, s. 5(i)) and which provisions you say do or do not apply.

Then fill in the total number of rental units in the complex and how many are covered. If more than one but not all units are covered, list them on a separate sheet.

Part 3: Signature

Shade "Landlord" or "Representative", sign and date. A representative adds their Law Society number and contact details.

Payment Information Form

Shade the payment method; enter the online receipt number if you paid online.

Filing it

• Email: pay $53 on the Online Payment for Tribunal Applications page (Visa or Mastercard, credit or debit), then within 24 hours email the application and receipt to LTBpayments@ontario.ca, with the receipt number and address in the subject line.
• Mail or courier: certified cheque or money order to the "Minister of Finance", or credit card on the Credit Card Payment Form.
• ServiceOntario: in person at a location that accepts LTB filings.

The A1 instructions (August 2023) describe only mail or courier filing. The LTB's current forms, filing and fees page also lists email and ServiceOntario. Fees are non-refundable; see the LTB fees page. A Fee Waiver Request is available.

Mistakes that get it refused, voided or dismissed

1. Relying on the contract's label. A clause saying the RTA does not apply is void (ss. 3(1), 4). The Board decides on substance (s. 202).
2. Misreading the shared-facilities exemption. Section 5(i) requires sharing a kitchen or bathroom with the owner or listed relatives of the owner who live in the building. Sharing with a non-owner landlord, a property manager or another tenant does not qualify.
3. No evidence for a s. 6.1 rent exemption. The burden is on you (s. 6.1(6)). Without first-occupancy evidence, expect the exemption to be refused.
4. Vague Part 2. "The Act doesn't apply" with no facts or section reference gives the Board nothing to decide on.
5. Acting before the answer. If you treat the occupant as outside the Act (for example, by changing locks) and the Board later finds the RTA applies, you face tenant applications for the conduct.
6. No fee, or unpaid LTB fines. The application will not be processed (Rule 6.1).

What happens next

The Board holds a hearing and issues an order stating whether, and to what extent, the RTA applies. If it applies, follow the ordinary RTA notices and applications. If it does not, the LTB has no jurisdiction, and any dispute belongs in the courts.

Frequently asked questions

Does the RTA apply if I rent a room in my own home?

Not if the occupant must share a kitchen or bathroom with you (the owner) or with your spouse, child or parent, or your spouse's child or parent, and that person lives in the building (s. 5(i)). If the room has its own kitchen and bathroom, or the owner does not live there, the Act likely applies.

Can a lease say the Residential Tenancies Act does not apply?

No. The Act applies despite any agreement or waiver to the contrary, and a lease provision inconsistent with it is void.

Are new buildings exempt from the RTA?

Not entirely. Units in buildings first occupied after November 15, 2018 are exempt from the rent increase guideline and related rent rules (s. 6.1), but the rest of the RTA, including eviction rules, still applies.

Who pays the A1 fee?

The applicant. It is $53 whether a landlord or a tenant files.

Official sources

• Form A1 – Application about Whether the Act Applies (PDF)
• A1 Instructions
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 3, 5, 6.1, 9
• Interpretation Guideline 21: Landlords, Tenants, Occupants and Residential Tenancies
• 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.