L1 Form: How to Complete Ontario's Application to Evict for Non-payment of Rent

The L1 is the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) application a landlord files to end a tenancy and evict a tenant for non-payment of rent, and to get an order for the rent owed. It can only be filed after you have given the tenant an N4 notice and the termination date in that notice has passed without the tenant paying in full or moving out.

At a glance

What the L1 is for

The L1 combines two remedies. The first is an order ending the tenancy and evicting the tenant, based on a notice of termination under RTA s. 59 (the N4). The second is an order for rent arrears and, if you claim them, bank charges and administration charges for NSF cheques (RTA s. 87).

If the LTB grants the application, the order sets out the arrears, the daily compensation the tenant owes for each day they stay after the hearing, and the amount the tenant can pay to void the eviction before it becomes enforceable (RTA s. 74(3)). The LTB credits the tenant with any last month's rent deposit and the interest owing on it (RTA s. 87(4)).

The L1 has limits:

• It cannot collect non-rent money, such as utilities the tenant pays directly or damage. Those go on an L2.
• It does not reach a guarantor (Interpretation Guideline 11).
• It is capped at $50,000. Anything above the cap is extinguished once the order issues (RTA s. 207(3)).

When to use it (and when not to)

Use the L1 when the tenant still lives in the unit, owes rent, and has let a valid N4 expire without paying. Use a different form when:

• You only want the money, not an eviction. File an L9. No N4 is needed, but an L9 order can never be used to evict.
• The tenant has already moved out. File an L10 within one year of the move-out date. You cannot file an L1 if the tenant is no longer in possession.
• The tenant also pays late all the time. Persistent late payment is a separate ground on an N8 and an L2. Interpretation Guideline 10 notes that you may pursue both grounds at the same time.
• A previous L1 ended in a settlement or order the tenant has now breached. If it allows it, the L4 gets you an eviction order without a new N4 or hearing.

Deadlines and limitation periods

• N4 period: for an N4 given on or after September 21, 2026, the termination date must be at least 7 days after the N4 is given (RTA s. 59(1)). It was 14 days before then. Count by excluding the day the notice is given and including the termination date (Rule 1.13).
• Mail and courier: a mailed notice is deemed given on the fifth day after mailing (RTA s. 191(3); Rule 3.9). A couriered notice is deemed given the day after it went to the courier, or the next business day if that day is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday (Rule 3.9; Rule 1.1 defines "holiday" to include weekends). The 7 days run from the deemed date.
• Earliest filing date: the day after the N4 termination date (RTA s. 74(1)). The LTB will not accept an L1 filed on or before that date (Rule 6.7). Example: an N4 handed over on November 3, 2026 can terminate on November 10, so you can file on November 11. The same N4 mailed on November 3 is deemed given on November 8, so it can terminate on November 15 and you can file on November 16. November 8 and 15 are Sundays, and that is fine: unlike courier, mail service has no weekend roll-over (RTA s. 191(3); Rule 3.9), and a notice can be delivered and take effect on a holiday (Rule 1.15).
• No 30-day limit: unlike other eviction applications, rent applications have no 30-day filing limit (RTA s. 69(3)). But if the tenant pays the arrears plus any newly due rent before you file, the N4 is void (s. 59(3)).
• Portal attachments: the N4 and Certificate of Service must be uploaded with the application, or filed within 5 calendar days, or the application may be dismissed (Rule 4.5).
• Before the hearing: the L1/L9 Information Update is due 5 days before the hearing (Rule 10.2), and your evidence 7 days before (Rule 19.1).
• After the order: you have 15 days to request a review of an order issued on or after July 1, 2026. An eviction order expires unless it is filed with the Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff) within six months (RTA s. 81).

How to fill out the L1, section by section

The current form is version 2026/09. It has a two-page checklist and information sheet (not filed), a seven-page application and a Payment Information Form.

Language preference and accommodation. Choose English or French. If you need accommodation, send the Accommodation Request form separately; the LTB does not give it to the tenant.

Part 1: Address of the rental unit. Give the full address: street number, street name with any direction (for example "Road North"), unit or suite number, municipality and postal code. Use the same address as on the N4.

Part 2: Total amount the tenant owes. Complete this last. Copy the Total from Part 6 and enter the date you are filing. This is the page the tenant reads first, so it has to match Part 6 exactly.

Part 3: General information. - Landlord: use the landlord's legal name. If the landlord is a corporation, put the company name in "Company Name". Use a Schedule of Parties if there is more than one landlord. - Communication: choose Mail or Email. Checking Email consents to the LTB sending documents to every applicant by email. - Tenants: name the same tenants you named on the N4. Use a Schedule of Parties if there are more than two. Give a mailing address only if it differs from the unit.

Part 4: Reasons for your application. - Check the eviction-and-rent box, and the NSF box if you are claiming NSF charges. - Answer "Is the tenant still in possession?" If the answer is No, you cannot file an L1. - Say whether rent is paid by the month, the week or another period (for example, bi-weekly). - Rent deposit: give the amount you are holding, the date you collected it, and the last period for which you paid the tenant interest. Leave it blank if you took no deposit. Do not apply the deposit to the arrears yourself. Interpretation Guideline 11 says a deposit can only be applied to the last rental period.

Part 5, Section 1: Rent Owing. Fill in one row per rental period: From, To, Rent Charged, Rent Paid and Rent Owing. Include all rent owing up to the filing date, even if it is more than the N4 showed. You may combine earlier periods into the first or second row, but the last row must show the most recent period on its own. "Rent" includes amounts paid separately for services such as parking. It also includes a flat monthly utility charge paid to you and a properly calculated seasonal air-conditioner charge. It does not include utilities the tenant pays to the utility company, or a fluctuating share of a bill.

Part 5, Section 2: NSF Cheque Charges. Fill in one row per returned cheque: cheque amount, cheque date, date the bank charged you, the bank's charge, and your administration charge. The administration charge cannot exceed $20 per cheque (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17). Total Charge is the bank charge plus the administration charge. Never include the cheque amount; the unpaid rent is already in Section 1.

Part 6: Total Amount Owing. Carry over Total Rent Owing and Total NSF Related Charges, then add the application fee. Enter the fee you actually pay: $186 on the Portal or $201 otherwise. Copy the total to Part 2.

Part 7: Signature. The landlord signs, or a legal representative does. If a representative signs, give their name, Law Society number and contact details. The application must be signed by the landlord or by someone authorized to represent them under the Law Society Act. For a corporate landlord, Interpretation Guideline 10 says a director or officer may sign.

Payment Information Form. Choose money order, certified cheque (payable to the "Minister of Finance") or credit card. If you pay by card and file by mail or courier, use the separate Credit Card Payment Form. Never upload card details to the Portal or put them in an email.

On the Portal. The Portal asks for the same information on screen and takes payment by Visa, Visa Debit, Mastercard or Debit Mastercard. Its help page warns that once you reach the "Ready to Submit" page you cannot go back and edit the draft. Check the rent table and attachments before you get there. Tribunals Ontario does not publish the Portal's screens step by step, so follow its on-screen prompts.

Filing it

Required with every L1 (L1 Instructions, Section D; O. Reg. 516/06, s. 53):

1. the completed L1 (do not file the checklist page),
2. a copy of the N4 you gave the tenant,
3. the Certificate of Service showing how and when you served the N4, and
4. the fee, or an approved Fee Waiver Request.

An application missing any of these will be refused (Rule 6.10).

The LTB forms page lists the Tribunals Ontario Portal as the filing route. The instructions also describe mail, courier and ServiceOntario filing. Licensed lawyers and paralegals must use the Portal. The LTB, not you, serves the application and Notice of Hearing on the tenant. If you owe the LTB an unpaid fee, fine or costs, a new rent application can be discontinued until you pay (Rules 6.1–6.3).

Mistakes that get it refused, voided or dismissed

1. Filing too early. An L1 filed on or before the N4 termination date will not be accepted (Rule 6.7). The usual cause is counting from the day an N4 was mailed instead of the deemed date five days later.
2. A defective N4. An N4 that does not meet the RTA is void and cannot be amended (Interpretation Guideline 10). If the termination date is too short, the notice fails, and the eviction portion is dismissed even if the rent is clearly owed. You may then be offered an arrears-only order.
3. The wrong amount on the N4. The N4 may only claim rent. According to Interpretation Guideline 11, including NSF fees, an unpaid deposit, utilities that are not rent, or late charges will likely invalidate it. An N4 based on rent that is not lawful, for example after an invalid rent increase, has been found not to substantially comply.
4. Filing after the tenant has paid. If the tenant pays the arrears plus any newly due rent before you file, the N4 is void (RTA s. 59(3)). You cannot file on it. Once a new rental period starts, the tenant must also pay that period's rent to void it.
5. The tenant has already left. The tenant must be in possession on the day you file. If they moved out first, the right form is an L10. The LTB may let you amend at the hearing, but only if the former tenant knows about the claim.
6. Missing N4 or Certificate of Service. Without either, the application is refused. On the Portal, missing documents not filed within 5 days can lead to administrative dismissal (Rule 4.5).
7. Not naming and serving every tenant. Every tenant in possession must have been named on, and given, the N4. Those are the tenants the L1 should name.
8. Arithmetic that does not reconcile. Part 2 must equal Part 6, and each row of the rent table must add across. Treat the official checklist as mandatory.
9. Unsigned or wrongly signed. An unsigned application is not accepted. It must be signed by the landlord or an authorized licensed representative (RTA s. 185).
10. Using the old form on or after November 30, 2026. The L1 was replaced on September 21, 2026. Versions dated before 2026/09 will not be accepted as of November 30, 2026.
11. Skipping the L1/L9 Information Update. If it is not served and filed 5 days before the hearing, the LTB may hold the hearing until it is completed and may refuse to award you the filing fee (Rule 10.3).

What happens next

Before the hearing. If the tenant pays you or the LTB the arrears, the rent that has come due since, and your filing fee before an order issues, the application is discontinued (RTA s. 74(2)). File a Request for a Discontinuance Order Without a Hearing. A repayment plan must use the LTB's Payment Agreement form, mandatory since July 1, 2026. The resulting consent order cannot end the tenancy, but it can allow an L4 if the tenant defaults (s. 206(3), (3.1)).

The half-arrears rule. For an L1 filed on or after September 21, 2026, a tenant who wants to raise other issues (repairs, harassment and so on) must do two things at least 7 days before the hearing (RTA s. 82(2); O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.3; Rule 19.4):

• pay you half of the arrears claimed (not into the LTB), and
• give you and the LTB a written description of each issue.

If they do not, they cannot raise those issues under s. 82, although they can still ask for relief under s. 83. Give a receipt for any such payment and keep a record of it.

At the hearing. The LTB must consider refusing or delaying the eviction (RTA s. 83). Since September 21, 2026, without your consent it can postpone enforcement only if that would not be unfair to you or other tenants and there are compelling grounds (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4).

After the order. The tenant can void the order by paying the full amount in it before it becomes enforceable (s. 74(4)). After that, but before the Sheriff enforces it, the tenant can bring one motion per tenancy to set it aside by paying everything owing (s. 74(11)).

Recent changes

• September 21, 2026:
• The N4 period dropped from 14 to 7 days.
• The half-arrears rule now applies to rent applications (L1, L9 and L10) filed on or after that date.
• Postponing an eviction without the landlord's consent now needs "compelling grounds".
• The L1, the Information Update and Interpretation Guidelines 10 and 11 were updated. L1 versions dated before 2026/09 will not be accepted as of November 30, 2026.
• July 1, 2026:
• The review deadline fell from 30 days to 15 for orders issued on or after that date.
• Payment Agreement forms became mandatory.
• Seasonal air-conditioner charges can count as rent.

Frequently asked questions

How soon can I file an L1 after serving an N4?

On the day after the termination date in the N4, and not before. For an N4 handed to the tenant on or after September 21, 2026, the termination date is at least 7 days after the N4 is given. Add 5 days if you mailed it.

Is there a deadline to file the L1?

There is no 30-day deadline for rent applications (RTA s. 69(3)). But if the tenant pays the arrears and any newly due rent before you file, the N4 is void and you have to start again.

Can I claim NSF and late fees on the L1?

You can claim the bank's NSF charge and an administration charge of up to $20 per NSF cheque in Part 5. You cannot claim them on the N4. Late-payment charges above what the regulation permits are not recoverable (Interpretation Guideline 11).

Does the tenant have to pay half the arrears to raise maintenance issues?

Yes, for an L1 filed on or after September 21, 2026. They must pay half the arrears claimed directly to you, and give a written list of issues, at least 7 days before the hearing. For an L1 filed before that date, the half-payment rule does not apply.

Should I file an L1 or an L9?

File an L1 if you may want to evict. File an L9 if you only want an order for the money and want to keep the tenancy. An L9 order can never be used to evict.

Official sources

• Form L1 (2026/09) and L1 Instructions
• L1/L9 – Information Update
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 59, 69, 74, 82, 83, 87, 191, 206, 207
• O. Reg. 516/06, ss. 8.3, 8.4, 17, 53, 56
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• Interpretation Guideline 10 and Interpretation Guideline 11
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• LTB Forms, filing and fees

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.