Managing your rental
What an Ontario landlord can do when rent is unpaid: a payment agreement, the N4 notice and its 7-day rule, an L1 or L9 application, and who enforces an eviction.
By the Tenant.ca teamUpdated 4 min read
The province encourages landlords to negotiate a payment agreement with a tenant before seeking an eviction, and the Landlord and Tenant Board has a payment agreement form for it. A landlord cannot impose a payment plan, and a tenant cannot be evicted for refusing one.
Whatever you agree, write it down, keep a ledger of what was owed and paid, and give a receipt for every payment: section 109 of the Act requires a free receipt when the tenant asks.
This page is general information, not legal advice. It reflects the Residential Tenancies Act, the province's pages and the Landlord and Tenant Board's forms as checked on October 19, 2026. If a tenancy is already in dispute, speak to a lawyer or licensed paralegal.
If rent stays unpaid, section 59 lets the landlord give a notice of termination for non-payment, the Board's Form N4. Since a 2025 amendment, the termination date can be no earlier than the 7th day after the notice is given, for every kind of tenancy; older guides that say 14 days describe the previous rule. The notice must set out the rent owed and tell the tenant they can avoid termination by paying it, and any rent that has since come due, by the termination date.
The Board's instructions say to count clear days, not counting the day you give the notice, and to add one business day if you send it by courier and five days if you mail it. Include only rent: the basic rent and separate charges paid to you for services such as parking. Utilities the tenant pays to the utility company, the last month's rent deposit and NSF charges do not go on an N4.
A tenant who pays in full can keep the tenancy at several points:
Section 74 says you cannot apply before the day after the termination date in the N4. The Form L1 asks the Board to end the tenancy, evict the tenant and order the rent owed; the Form L9 asks only for the rent the tenant owes while they still live in the unit. The Board's brochure says there is no deadline to file an L1. The filing fee for either is $201, or $186 through the Tribunals Ontario Portal.
At the hearing the landlord has to prove the case, and the Board must consider all the circumstances before it refuses or delays an eviction. Bring the lease, your rent ledger, a copy of the N4 and a record of how and when you gave it.
The Board's brochure is direct: an eviction order can only be enforced by the Court Enforcement Office of the Superior Court of Justice, also called the Sheriff's Office, and a landlord cannot personally enforce it. Changing the locks without giving the tenant a key is illegal (section 24), and so is withholding a vital service such as heat or water to pressure a tenant (section 21).
The Board decides on evidence. Keep:
Tenant.ca follows the rent on every unit we manage, contacts the tenant as soon as a payment is late and keeps the rent ledger. If a notice is needed, we prepare it on the Board's form for you to review, and your owner portal shows each payment for each unit, so you can see where things stand without asking.
Management is $98 per month plus HST for a condo or apartment and $148 per month plus HST for a house, and the first 60 days of the agreement are a trial period.
