What To Do When You're Not Getting Paid in Ontario: Serving an N4 and Submitting an L1

Published January 8, 2013 · Updated October 21, 2026

The business of owning rental property includes a very important element in the relationship between a landlord and their tenants: getting paid the rent.

You're a landlord and your tenant's cheque just bounced. This is the beginning of what could be a real pain. Many private residential landlords in Ontario aren't well equipped to handle the situation and don't know the legal route for addressing it. Part of this is because the process is complicated if you're going the Board route. I've personally done this three times since becoming a landlord, and came away from the first time feeling like learning to fly a commercial airliner would be simpler. I wanted to put this together to simplify the process with the Ontario LTB, because it doesn't have to be this hard. That's why I sat down with an Ontario paralegal who specializes in landlord cases.

She's seen a lot of small landlords in Ontario make big mistakes with the basics when they don't get paid. Serving an N4 to a tenant in arrears and submitting an L1 to the LTB is not easy, and she shared some valuable tips for this post.

First things first: bookmark the Landlord and Tenant Board's forms page. That's where you'll find the forms you need when rent isn't paid, and a lot more besides. Here we're just focusing on what to do when you don't get paid.

1. React quickly, and prepare the N4

Whether a post-dated cheque bounces (which can take a few days to find out from the bank) or the tenant simply hasn't paid by the due date, be ready. If it's 12:01 a.m. on the day after rent was due and you still don't have the money, you need to react. Not reacting quickly enough is the single biggest mistake landlords make. You need to fill out two copies of the N4: one for the tenant, and one for your records. Always fill out two. The other important things:

• Know the termination date. That's the date on the notice that acts as a line in the sand. Updated October 2026: for notices given on or after September 21, 2026, the termination date must be at least 7 days after you give the notice, whatever the rental period. In 2013 it was 14 days for monthly or yearly tenancies and 7 days for daily or weekly ones. Getting the termination date right is hugely important. If your tenant pays by post-dated cheque and the bank takes a few days to return it as NSF, your dates have to follow from when you actually give the notice. It isn't backdated to the first of the month. If you make an error with the dates, the Board can consider the notice defective and you're back at square one.

• Don't make a mistake giving the notice. Taping a notice to the door of a unit will get you in trouble and can lead to your application being dismissed. The paralegal's tips: if the mailbox is shared by other tenants, don't use it. If the mailbox is only for newspapers and flyers rather than Canada Post mail, don't use that either. You can slide it under the door, as long as the envelope goes all the way into the unit, but never open the door and toss it in: that's illegal entry. If you're out of town and can't serve it yourself, hire a reputable process server. If you must send it by regular mail, check the Board's current rules on extra days for mail before you set the date; in 2013 you added 5 days to the termination date. She also recommended never using registered mail, because tenants often refuse it.

• Keep a record. Keep your copy of the notice and a timeline of events. In Rentingwell, a logbook entry with a scan of the notice and how you gave it does this.

At this point the tenant has until the termination date to pay. If they don't, you need an L1.

2. The L1: Application to evict a tenant for non-payment of rent and to collect rent the tenant owes

This part means filing with the Board and paying a filing fee. Updated October 2026: the fee is now $186 through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, or $201 on paper. If the Board orders it, the tenant may have to pay the fee back to you.

A couple of things to note about the form:

• You can file the application no earlier than the day after the termination date on your N4. This is important. If you file before, you're back to square one.
• Include a copy of the N4 you gave the tenant, and your certificate of service for it.
• Make sure your dates and your math are right, and that you've signed the form.

In 2013 we recommended filing in person at the LTB office, because they'd give you a hearing date and the papers to serve the same day. Updated October 2026: applications are now filed through the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Check the Board's current instructions for filing and for serving the notice of hearing.

You'll receive a notice of hearing for you and the tenant, and instructions for serving it. The same care applies as with the N4: don't tape it to the door, and if you can't hand it to the tenant, follow the rules for what counts as proper service.

Keep the whole timeline in one place: when the payment was late, when you gave the N4, when you filed the L1, and the notice of hearing and certificate of service, with notes and scans. It's a big help when you get to the hearing, because you don't have to rely on memory or juggle paperwork.

When the hearing date comes, and assuming your tenant shows up, you'll usually either be offered mediation or have your hearing in front of an adjudicator.

Originally published January 8, 2013. Updated October 21, 2026 with the rule changes noted above. We've removed links that no longer work and the name of the paralegal we spoke to in 2013. This post is general information, not legal advice.