Request to use Alternative Service: When You Cannot Serve a Party at the LTB

The Request to use Alternative Service is the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) form you use to ask the Board to approve a method of service that the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) and the LTB Rules do not otherwise allow. Landlords most often need it on an L10 application against a former tenant whose new address is unknown, or when a party can be reached by email but never consented to email service.

At a glance

What the form is for

The regular methods of service are set out in RTA s. 191 and LTB Rule 3. They include handing the document to the person, leaving it in their mailbox or where mail is delivered, mail, courier, fax (with limits), and email or the Tribunals Ontario Portal where the person has consented in writing. A tenant or former tenant who no longer lives in the unit can only be served by the narrower methods in s. 191(1.0.1) and Rule 3.3.

Rule 3.4 lets a party ask the LTB to permit an alternative method, "including service by email or service on the party's representative". You can ask before the hearing, using this form, or at the hearing itself. Rule 3.7 separately allows the LTB to permit email service where the other party has not consented.

If granted, a Member fills in the approved method and the deadline for service, and you must follow both.

When to use it (and when not to)

Use it when:

• You are suing a former tenant on an L10 and cannot find a residential address to hand-deliver or mail to, but you have an email address, a social media account they use, or an employer address;
• the respondent is actively avoiding service;
• the respondent has a representative who will accept documents, but the Rules do not otherwise allow service on them.

Do not use it instead of trying regular service first (the form requires it), where the party has already consented in writing to email (Rule 3.1(h) then applies), or to cure a defective notice of termination.

Deadlines

• L10 applications: a request to serve a tenant or former tenant who is no longer in possession by another method must be given to the LTB at least 40 days before the hearing (Rule 3.4; the form says the same).
• L10 service itself: the application and Notice of Hearing must be served at least 30 days before the hearing (Rule 5.8). The Certificate of Service must be filed at least 20 days before the hearing (Rule 5.16).
• Other applications you are directed to serve: generally 15 days before the hearing (Rule 5.9), with the Certificate of Service filed within 5 days (Rule 5.15).
• The approved deadline: if the Member sets a "Deadline for Service", meet it.

How to fill out the form, section by section

1. File Number and Language Preference.
2. Name and Address of the Requestor. Your name, company name if applicable, address, phones and email.
3. Address of the Rental Unit. Use the unit the application is about.
4. Question 1: how you have already tried to serve. This is where most requests succeed or fail. Give dates, times, addresses, methods and results. For example: the Canada Post item was returned unclaimed on a stated date, or a process server visited three times and the occupant said the tenant had moved. Attach proof such as returned envelopes, tracking printouts, skip-trace results or the process server's notes.
5. Question 2: the method you propose, and why the party will actually receive the documents. For email, explain why you believe the party uses that address: recent messages from it, its use during the tenancy, a reply to a demand letter. Attach screenshots.
6. Signature. Tick Landlord or Landlord Representative, and add the name, LSO number if a licensee, phone, signature and date.

Leave the "For Board Use Only" box blank.

Filing it

The landlord forms table on the LTB's forms page lists the Tribunals Ontario Portal. The tenant forms table lists the Portal, mail or courier, and ServiceOntario. Rule 4.1 also generally permits filing by email, ServiceOntario, courier or mail. Licensed representatives should use the Portal. No fee appears for this request on the LTB fee schedule.

Mistakes that get it refused or wasted

1. No real attempt at regular service. The form makes prior attempts a condition. A request that says "tenant moved, address unknown" with no evidence of searching is likely to be refused.
2. Filing an L10 request too late. Less than 40 days before the hearing does not meet Rule 3.4. You then risk an adjournment, or a dismissal for failure to serve under Rule 5.17.
3. No evidence that the proposed method will reach the person. An old email address with no sign of recent use is weak. The form specifically asks why you believe the party will receive the documents.
4. Serving by a method different from the one approved, or after the deadline the Member set.
5. Forgetting the Certificate of Service. Alternative service still has to be proven. For an L10, the certificate is due at least 20 days before the hearing.

What happens next

Serve exactly as approved, keep proof (sent emails, receipts, screenshots) and file the Certificate of Service on time. If refused, try further regular service or raise it at the hearing (Rule 3.4).

Frequently asked questions

Can I serve a former tenant by text message or social media?

Only if the LTB approves it as an alternative method. Explain in Question 2 why the person will receive documents that way, and attach proof they use the account.

How far ahead do I need to ask on an L10?

At least 40 days before the hearing (Rule 3.4).

Can I ask for alternative service at the hearing?

Yes. Rule 3.4 allows the request at the hearing, except for the 40-day rule on L10 applications. Asking in advance avoids losing a hearing date.

Is serving the tenant's lawyer or paralegal allowed?

Service on a party's representative is one of the alternative methods Rule 3.4 names. It needs the LTB's permission unless the Rules already allow it.

Official sources

• Request to use Alternative Service (form)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 3 and 5
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 191
• 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.