How to Evict a Tenant for Non-Payment in Ontario (2026 Steps)
Evicting a tenant for unpaid rent in Ontario follows a fixed sequence. Skip a step or get a date wrong and the Landlord and Tenant Board can dismiss your application, often after months of waiting. Here is the full process under the rules in force since September 21, 2026.
Step 1: Talk to the tenant and document it
Before any form, contact the tenant in writing. Many arrears cases end with a payment arrangement. Whatever happens, the written record helps you at the hearing.
Step 2: Serve the N4
The day after rent is due and unpaid, you can serve the N4, Notice to End your Tenancy Early for Non-payment of Rent. Use the current version from the Tribunals Ontario website.
For notices given on or after September 21, 2026, the termination date must be at least 7 days after the notice is given. Add one business day for courier and five days for mail. Our free N4 calculator works the dates out for you.
List the arrears accurately, period by period. Don't include late fees, NSF charges or utilities the tenant owes separately; the N4 is for rent only.
Step 3: Complete a Certificate of Service
Whoever served the notice fills out a Certificate of Service stating when and how. You'll file it with your application.
Step 4: File the L1
If the tenant hasn't paid everything by the termination date, you can file an L1, Application to Evict a Tenant for Non-payment of Rent and to Collect Rent the Tenant Owes, starting the day after the termination date.
The fee is CA$186 on the Tribunals Ontario Portal or CA$201 by mail, courier or at ServiceOntario. The portal is cheaper and lets you track the file, upload evidence and use the dispute resolution tool.
Step 5: Prepare for the hearing
The LTB will send a Notice of Hearing. Before it:
Build a rent ledger showing every charge and payment.
Gather the lease, the N4, the Certificate of Service and any written communication.
Follow the LTB's Practice Direction on Evidence for how and when to upload documents.
If the tenant wants to raise issues like maintenance at the hearing, they now have to pay you half the arrears claimed at least seven days before it (for applications filed on or after September 21, 2026).
Step 6: The hearing
Hearings are held by video. You may be offered mediation with a dispute resolution officer first, at no extra cost. If not resolved, an adjudicator hears the case and can order the tenancy ended, order the arrears and filing fee paid, or set a payment plan.
Step 7: Enforcement
If the order ends the tenancy and the tenant doesn't leave, file the order with the Court Enforcement Office (the sheriff). Only the sheriff can remove a tenant. Changing the locks yourself is illegal.
If the tenant pays all the arrears and costs before the sheriff enforces, they can usually move to void the order, so keep your ledger current right up to the end.
The fastest way through
LTB Mastery with Jordan Nieuwhof walks through every step with the templates he uses: the N4, the L1, the hearing and enforcement, with a year of LEAD community access included. CA$197, one time.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
