The Tribunals Ontario Portal (often shortened to TOP) is the Landlord and Tenant Board's online case management system. Ontario landlords use it to file the most common LTB applications, pay the filing fee at a reduced rate, upload evidence, exchange documents and messages with the tenant, and check the status of a file. This guide covers what the Portal does, what it does not do, and the procedural traps that catch landlords who treat an upload as if it were service.
At a glance
| Item | What applies |
|---|---|
| Account | Ontario Public Secure login (My Ontario Login or a bank-based Sign-in partner) |
| Landlord applications filed on the Portal | L1, L2, L3, L4, L9, L10 |
| Filed elsewhere | L5 (email to AGIpayments@ontario.ca), L6, L7, L8, A1, A2, A4 (email, mail/courier or ServiceOntario), Request to Review an Order (email) |
| Fee for L1, L2, L3, L9, L10 | $186 on the Portal ($201 by other methods) |
| L4 fee | No charge through the Portal |
| Payment cards | Visa credit, Visa Debit, Mastercard credit, Debit Mastercard |
| Uploading evidence | Allowed, but it is not service on the tenant unless the tenant consented in writing |
| Lawyers and paralegals | Must use the Portal for listed items since January 1, 2025 |
What the Portal does
According to Tribunals Ontario, Portal users can:
- submit applications and pay application fees;
- check the status of a file;
- upload evidence;
- view and exchange messages and documents with other parties;
- in certain circumstances, self-schedule preferred hearing dates; and
- use the online dispute resolution (ODR) tool to try to reach an agreement.
The LTB treats the Portal as the up-to-date record of your file. Its help page states that the information there is current and that staff cannot give more information about a file's status than the Portal shows.
Setting up your account
You sign in through Public Secure, the Ontario government's login service. You can create a My Ontario Login (an email address and a password of at least eight characters with an upper-case letter, a lower-case letter, a number and a symbol) or use a Sign-in partner, Government Sign-In by Verified.Me, which lets you sign in with your online banking credentials. Tribunals Ontario says the Portal does not work well in Internet Explorer; use a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge.
If you file the application yourself, your file is automatically linked to your account and you do not need a PIN.
Which applications go through the Portal
The Portal accepts these landlord applications:
- L1: evict for non-payment of rent and collect the rent owing
- L2: end a tenancy and evict, or collect money
- L3: the tenant gave notice or agreed to end the tenancy
- L4: the tenant failed to meet the conditions of a settlement or order
- L9: collect rent the tenant owes
- L10: collect money a former tenant owes
It also takes tenant applications T1, T2, T5 and T6, and co-op applications C1 and C2.
The rest go by other routes. The LTB lists the L6, L7, L8, A1, A2 and A4 applications, Requests to Review an Order and Requests for Hearing Recordings as filed by email, with the fee paid first on the Online Payment for Tribunal Applications page and the application and receipt then sent to ltbpayments@ontario.ca. The L5 (above-guideline increase) has its own email process through AGIpayments@ontario.ca, with the Rental Unit Information (RUI) spreadsheet. The L5, L6, L7, L8 and A applications can also be filed by mail or courier or at a ServiceOntario centre that accepts LTB documents; the LTB lists the Request to Review an Order as filed by email. Never email credit card details: the LTB deletes any application that contains them.
Filing an application step by step
- Have your notice and proof of service ready. For an L1 or L2 you need the notice of termination (N4, N5, N12 and so on) and the Certificate of Service showing how and when you served it.
- Complete the guided application. The Portal walks you through each section. Name every tenant and give an email address for each party and your representative where you have one; the LTB uses those addresses to send PINs and documents.
- Upload the notice, affidavit or Certificate of Service at the time of filing. Rule 4.4 of the LTB Rules of Procedure requires it. If you cannot, Rule 4.5 gives you 5 calendar days to file them, and missing that deadline can lead to administrative dismissal.
- Review before you reach "Ready to Submit". Once you reach that page you cannot go back and edit the draft. If something is wrong, you must start a new application.
- Pay. The fee is paid on the Portal by Visa credit, Visa Debit, Mastercard credit or Debit Mastercard. LTB fees are non-refundable.
Under Rule 4.8, a document uploaded to the Portal is filed on the day it is uploaded. A document filed through the Portal may be signed by typing the person's name (Rule 4.3).
After filing, LTB staff check the application and its supporting documents, and whether it was filed on time. An incomplete or late application can be refused or dismissed (Rule 6 lists the common timing errors; see also the L1 guide).
PINs and linking a file
When an application is filed on the Portal, the other parties are notified and given a unique, one-time PIN. That is sent by email where an address was provided, otherwise by mail. A tenant or a representative who did not file the application uses "Link my Account to a File at LTB", the file number and the 5-digit PIN to see the file. Once linked, the PIN is no longer needed.
PINs belong to one person and cannot be shared. If you are a landlord who hires a paralegal or lawyer after filing, add them by uploading a "Request to Add a Representative or Agent" under Documents, Evidence and Requests on your file. If you lost your PIN or never received one, contact the LTB at LTB@ontario.ca or 416-645-8080 / 1-888-332-3234.
Uploading evidence
For L1, L2, L3, L4, L9 and L10 files, the Practice Direction on Evidence says evidence should be uploaded to the Portal: open the file, choose Documents, Evidence and Requests and select Submissions. The technical limits are:
- maximum file size of 500 MB;
- accepted formats: AVI, DOC, DOCX, GIF, JPEG, JPG, MP3, MP4, MSG, PDF, PNG, TIF, TXT, XLS, XLSX, CSV, DAT or MOV;
- no links to social media or other websites (print or save the content as a document instead);
- pages consecutively numbered, readable, with a table of contents if you submit more than one item.
The LTB will not accept evidence through cloud platforms such as Dropbox or iCloud.
Deadlines
Rule 19.1 requires each party to give the other parties and the LTB all evidence they intend to rely on at least 7 days before the case management hearing or hearing, and Rule 19.2 requires responding evidence at least 5 days before. On an L1 or L9, the landlord must also give the LTB and each tenant the L1/L9 Information Update at least 5 days before the hearing (Rule 10.2).
Uploading is not service: the Consent to Disclosure
This is the mistake that costs landlords hearings. Rule 19.1.1 states that uploading documents to the Portal is not a permitted method of giving evidence to another party unless that party has consented in writing to accept service through the Portal, and the written consent has been uploaded. Without that consent, you must also serve the tenant by an approved method (by hand, mail, courier, or email if the tenant consented to email service) within the same deadlines.
The LTB's Consent to Disclosure through Tribunals Ontario Portal form records that agreement. Key points from the form:
- it must be signed by the landlord and the tenant, and each tenant signs a separate form;
- the consent must be in writing, although the LTB form is not mandatory;
- either person can later stop receiving documents through the Portal by telling the other in writing;
- each person is responsible for checking the Portal for new uploads.
Upload the signed consent under Documents, Evidence and Requests and choose "Consent to Disclosure through TOP". Rule 3.1 also allows service by uploading to the Portal where the receiving party has consented in writing, and Rule 3.9 deems a document served on the day it is uploaded.
Messages, settlement and withdrawals
The ODR tool lets the parties negotiate a settlement themselves. Tribunals Ontario describes it as neither mediation nor adjudication: if the parties reach an agreement or an impasse, they can ask for a Dispute Resolution Officer. Anything said in ODR is confidential under Rule 13.5 and cannot be used before the LTB. ODR can end with a payment plan, consent order or mediated agreement, or with the applicant withdrawing through the Portal.
Lawyers and paralegals must use the Portal
Since January 1, 2025, Law Society of Ontario licensees must use the Portal to submit Portal-eligible applications and listed items such as summonses, requests to reschedule, extend or shorten time, withdrawal and discontinuance requests, requests to amend an order or re-open an application, L1/L9 Information Updates, evidence and requests to amend an application. The LTB will not process those items from a licensee by mail, fax, courier, email or ServiceOntario.
Frequently asked questions
Is filing on the Portal cheaper?
Yes. The L1, L2, L3, L9 and L10 fee is $186 on the Portal and $201 by other methods, and the L4 has no charge through the Portal.
Can I file an L5 on the Portal?
No. The L5 is filed by email to AGIpayments@ontario.ca with the Rental Unit Information spreadsheet, or by mail, courier or at ServiceOntario. You pay through a secure link the LTB emails you, which expires after three calendar days.
My tenant has a PIN. Does uploading my evidence serve them?
Only if the tenant has consented in writing to service through the Portal and that consent is uploaded. Otherwise serve them separately by the deadline.
I made a mistake after reaching "Ready to Submit". What now?
You cannot edit the draft from that page. Start a new application and check it before you choose "Save and Next".
Who do I contact if Zoom or the Portal will not work on hearing day?
For Zoom problems on the day of the hearing, the LTB hearing support line is LTBHearingSupport@ontario.ca or 416-212-9064 (toll-free 866-769-7865). For Portal or PIN issues, contact the LTB at LTB@ontario.ca.