The Sheriff Stage of an Ontario Eviction: A Step-by-Step Guide for Landlords and Tenants

Winning an eviction order at Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) is not the same as getting the unit back. One body carries the order out: the sheriff, whose formal name is the Court Enforcement Office of the Superior Court of Justice. This guide walks both sides through that last stage. If you are the landlord, it covers when and where to file, the deadline and the fees. If you are the tenant, it explains what the sheriff can and cannot do, how your belongings are protected, and which motions can pause or end enforcement.

Quick summary

What each side should understand first

For landlords. The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), s. 39, says you can recover possession of a rental unit only in the way the Act allows. If the tenant is still there after the move-out date in the order, the LTB brochure How a Landlord Can End a Tenancy makes clear you may not enforce it yourself. That means you do not remove the tenant and you do not change the locks. Section 85 gives the order the same effect as a writ of possession, and it is enforced in the same manner. Skipping the sheriff by changing the locks invites a tenant application and possible prosecution. Since July 1, 2026 the maximum fine for an offence under the Act is $100,000 for a person and $500,000 for a corporation (s. 238).

For tenants. An order against you does not let your landlord lock you out. Only the sheriff can put the landlord back in possession, and until enforcement happens there may still be steps open to you (see "Ways a tenant can pause or stop enforcement" below).

Step 1: Find the date the order becomes enforceable

Look at the order itself: it always names the first date for filing. Interpretation Guideline 7 notes that LTB orders commonly become enforceable 11 days after they issue, but the RTA itself does not fix that number of days. A shorter period can be set where there was serious misconduct. The LTB can also postpone enforcement under s. 83(1)(b). Since September 21, 2026 that requires either the landlord's consent or that O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4 is satisfied.

Some orders must include a request that the sheriff expedite enforcement. Section 84 makes that request mandatory where the order is based on:

• s. 61(2)(a), for an illegal act involving drugs;
• s. 63, where the notice alleged wilful or serious damage;
• s. 65, for interference in a small building the landlord also lives in; or
• s. 66, where safety was impaired.

If the order is for unpaid rent (L1)

An arrears order names the amount the tenant can pay to cancel it. Payment of that full amount, either to the landlord or into the LTB, before the enforceable date makes the order void, and it cannot then be enforced (s. 74(4)). If the money went to the Board, it issues a notice that the order is void (Rule 20.2).

Landlord checklist before filing an L1 order:

• [ ] The enforceable date in the order has arrived.
• [ ] You have confirmed with the tenant that no full voiding payment was made to you.
• [ ] The LTB has told you it received no full payment.

Step 2: Work out which office to file with

Under s. 81 you file in the office whose territory includes the rental unit. Ontario has 49 such offices. To find the right one:

1. Go to the court locations page run by the Ministry of the Attorney General.
2. Pick the municipality the rental unit is in.
3. Select "Enforcement" as the type of court office.
4. Not sure? Call and confirm. A town's limits and a court's territory are not always the same.

Step 3: File the order

How you file depends on where the unit is.

Units in Toronto. The Ontario Courts Public Portal has accepted residential eviction orders from the LTB, and the enforcement forms that go with them, since October 14, 2025. Sign in with an Ontario.ca account and pay by debit, Visa or Mastercard. Submissions are reviewed by staff within 3 business days, and no charge goes through on a rejected filing. In-person and mail filing at the Toronto office remain available.

Units anywhere else. Take the documents to the Court Enforcement Office in person or send them by mail.

Either way, send a copy of the order plus any request or instruction the office asks for. Ontario.ca mentions only the "necessary enforcement forms" without naming them, so phone your Court Enforcement Office ahead of time and ask exactly what it wants.

Step 4: Watch the six-month limit

Section 81 sets a hard limit: if the order is not with the sheriff within six months of its effective date, it expires. Interpretation Guideline 10 adds three points both sides should know:

1. After an order expires, the landlord cannot bring a new eviction application on the same issue.
2. The clock is paused during any stay from an appeal to the Divisional Court, or from an LTB review or set-aside proceeding. The Guideline relies on Elguindy v. Galaxy Real Estate Core Ontario LP, 2024 ONSC 5911.
3. Once it is filed, Rule 60.10(4) of the Rules of Civil Procedure keeps the order enforceable for one year from its effective date, and a party may ask the court for more time.

Worked example. Suppose an order takes effect on Monday, March 15, 2027 and is never stayed. The six-month window runs to September 15, 2027. A landlord who has not filed with the sheriff by then loses the order and cannot reapply on the same issue.

Step 5: Budget for the fees

Sheriff fees are fixed by a regulation under the Administration of Justice Act, O. Reg. 294/92 (Sheriffs – Fees). Ontario's civil court fees page lists, among other things:

• $75 for filing an order that the sheriff is required to enforce (unless it is one delivered to a land registrar);
• $240 per attempt, successful or not, to enforce a writ of execution or an order that has no separate listing; and
• a travel allowance, calculated under R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 11 (Kilometre Allowances), for the round trip from courthouse to unit.

According to Ontario.ca, payment is made to the Enforcement Office at the time you file. Those two dollar items are the ones matching the filing and the enforcement; the office gives you the complete figure, travel included, when you file. If the fees are out of reach, look at Ontario's court fee waiver process.

Landlords usually pay up front. Suppose you have paid and the tenant then uses s. 74(11) to void an L1 order. The LTB must name the non-refundable sum you spent under the Administration of Justice Act, and voiding depends on the tenant depositing that sum with the Board by a deadline it sets (s. 74(15)). Miss the deadline, and the stay ends so enforcement can continue (s. 74(17)).

Step 6: Enforcement day and afterward

The office sets a date, and on that date a sheriff goes to the unit and gives possession to the landlord. The practical details (notice to occupants, whether the landlord or an agent has to be there, who arranges a locksmith) are not published by Ontario.ca or the LTB. Your local office can tell you how it books and runs an eviction.

Once the eviction has happened:

• The tenant's belongings. The landlord may not sell, keep or throw out anything of the tenant's for 72 hours, and has to let the tenant collect it from a spot near the unit from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in that period (RTA s. 41; O. Reg. 516/06, s. 46). Tenants: use that window. Afterward, s. 41 allows disposal without liability.
• Money owed. A payment order in the decision is a separate matter, collected through the Small Claims Court.
• Complaints about enforcement. Per Guideline 10, concerns about how the sheriff handled it go to the sheriff. Once its order is final, the LTB has no power to direct the sheriff further.

Ways a tenant can pause or stop enforcement

Landlords should know these before hiring movers; tenants should know them before the sheriff arrives. Under Rule 25, whoever files a set-aside motion or gets a stay or void notice must deliver a copy to the Court Enforcement Office immediately.

1. Paying off an L1 order early (s. 74(4)). If the full voiding amount is paid before the enforceable date, the order is void and the sheriff cannot act on it.
2. An L1 motion after the enforceable date (s. 74(11)). Before the sheriff acts, the tenant pays all that is owed (arrears, additional rent, permitted NSF charges and costs) and files an affidavit. Acceptance of the motion by the LTB stays the order (s. 74(13)). A tenant gets this option one time per tenancy (s. 74(12)). At the hearing that follows, the Board voids the order or lifts the stay.
3. Setting aside an L3 or L4 order issued without a hearing. Within 10 days of the order, the tenant files a Motion to Set Aside an Ex Parte Order; filing in time stays the order automatically. On L3 orders since September 21, 2026, the Board can set aside only where that would not be unfair, and it must ignore any change in the tenant's situation after the notice or agreement (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.2).
4. A request to review, due 15 days after an order dated July 1, 2026 or later. The request alone pauses nothing; the tenant has to ask for a stay as well, and the Board rules on it (Rules 26.10 and 26.11).
5. An appeal to the Divisional Court, filed within 30 days and limited to questions of law (s. 210). Tribunals Ontario's position is that the appeal stays the order automatically until the court or the Board lifts the stay.

Landlords: if one of these happens after the sheriff fees are paid, call the office to find out what it does with a paused file, and file the LTB's stay or void notice with your papers.

Frequently asked questions

I am a landlord with an eviction order. Am I allowed to change the locks?

No. That job belongs to the Court Enforcement Office alone, and doing it yourself can lead to a tenant application or a prosecution.

What is the time limit for taking the order to the sheriff?

You have six months from its effective date (s. 81). Time spent under a stay, whether from an appeal or from an LTB review or set-aside proceeding, is not counted.

My rental unit is in Toronto. How do I file?

Use the Ontario Courts Public Portal, or bring or mail it to the Toronto Court Enforcement Office.

How much will enforcement cost?

Under O. Reg. 294/92 the fees are $75 to file the order and $240 for each attempt to enforce it, plus a kilometre allowance. Your local office confirms the total.

I am a tenant and I paid everything just before the sheriff's visit. Does that help?

On an L1 order, yes. A s. 74(11) motion is open to you one time per tenancy; once accepted, it puts enforcement on hold until a hearing. Voiding may be conditional on your repaying the sheriff fees the landlord cannot get back.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
• O. Reg. 516/06
• How a Landlord Can End a Tenancy (LTB brochure)
• Interpretation Guideline 10
• Interpretation Guideline 7
• File enforcement documents online
• Civil court fees (Sheriff fees) and O. Reg. 294/92
• LTB Application and hearing process

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.