How Much Does the LTB Charge? Fees, Payment Options and Waivers for Both Sides

Before the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) in Ontario will process an application from a landlord or a tenant, a fee normally has to be paid. The amount is set by the form you choose and by the route you take to file it, with the Tribunals Ontario Portal being cheaper for some landlord forms. This guide lists the current amounts posted by Tribunals Ontario, explains how to pay on each route, covers the few cases where money is returned, shows how a winner can recover it, and sets out the low-income waiver.

Quick summary

Step 1: Look up what your form costs

Landlord fees, grouped by price

$186 on the Portal, or $201 by mail, courier or at ServiceOntario:

• L1, to collect unpaid rent and evict
• L2, to end a tenancy and evict, or to collect money
• L3, used when the tenant gave notice or agreed in writing to go
• L9, to collect rent from a tenant who is staying
• L10, to collect money from someone who has already moved out

$201 (no Portal option): the L6, L7 and L8; plus an A2 (sublet or assignment) or A4 (varying a rent reduction) brought by a landlord.

$53: the A1, which asks whether the Act applies at all.

$58: a Request to Review an Order.

Free: the L4 (tenant breached the terms of a settlement or order) when it goes through the Portal, and the S3, a landlord's motion asking the Board to set aside an order that voided an eviction.

L5 above-guideline increase: a base of $233 that includes up to ten units, $10 added for every further unit, and a ceiling of $1,000.

Why only some forms get the lower price: the Portal discount applies to the landlord forms the Portal accepts, namely the L1, L2, L3, L4, L9 and L10. For how that system works, read the Tribunals Ontario Portal guide.

Tenant fees, grouped by price

Tenants pay far less. Landlords on the receiving end may still want these numbers in mind while discussing a deal.

• $48 through the Portal or $53 otherwise: T1, T2, T5, T6.
• $53 flat: T3, T4, T7, and an A1, A2 or A4 that a tenant brings.
• Group applications by tenants of several units: $53 covers the first unit, each extra unit adds $5, and the total is capped at $450. Note the inconsistency on the LTB site: its fees section requires these to be sent by mail or courier, while its forms list offers a Portal link for the multi-tenant Schedule of Parties.
• $58: asking for a review of an order.
• Free: a motion to set aside an ex parte order, and a motion to void an eviction order based on arrears.

Step 2: Budget for extras

• Photocopies or electronic copies from your file run $0.54 per page.
• Certified copies of an order: each party's first mailed copy is free, and every additional one is $6.72.
• Record searches: no charge for the first 2 hours, then $8.07 for every quarter hour.
• The recording of a hearing: $16.15.
• A copy of the Rules and Guidelines, or the CD of L5 supporting documents: $5.38.
• Free of charge: forms, instructions, written reasons, and swearing an affidavit.
• Witnesses are paid by the party that summonses them. The amounts follow the civil courts' Tariff A, reprinted as Appendix A to the LTB Rules: $50 for each day a witness attends, travel on top, and $75 for each night if staying over is necessary.

Step 3: Pick a payment method that matches your route

Think of it route by route:

• Filing on the Portal: credit card (Visa, Mastercard), Visa Debit or Debit Mastercard.
• Filing in person at ServiceOntario: any of those cards, a certified cheque or money order made payable to "Minister of Finance", or cash (this is the only place cash works).
• Filing by mail or courier: credit card using the credit card payment form, or a certified cheque or money order to "Minister of Finance".
• Filing by email: pay online beforehand with a credit card or Visa Debit; the LTB's email-filing instructions also name Debit Mastercard for that payment page.

How an email filing works

Email is the route for these forms: L6, L7, L8, A1, A2, A4, Requests to Review, and Requests for Hearing Recordings. Follow these steps in order:

1. Make your payment on the Online Payment for Tribunal Applications page.
2. Attach both your application and the receipt to an email to ltbpayments@ontario.ca.
3. Write the 7-digit receipt number and the rental unit's address in the subject line.
4. Hit send no more than 24 hours after paying. Late? The LTB refunds the payment rather than filing anything.

The L5 is the exception to that order. You email the application on its own, then the LTB sends you a secure link to pay, and that link lapses after three calendar days.

Never type card details into an email or a fax. Applications sent that way are deleted and not processed, and under Rule 4.2 any email containing payment information is refused.

Step 4: Expect to keep paying, not to be refunded

Tribunals Ontario's fees page is clear that the LTB does not refund its fees. A landlord whose application fails over a defective notice, or because it went in too early, must pay again to refile. Taking care with the notice and the dates is the surest way to avoid a second bill.

Money comes back in just two narrow cases:

1. A review that succeeds. Under RTA s. 182, the $58 may be returned if the Board varies, suspends or cancels the original order.
2. A paid email filing that was never sent. If no application follows within 24 hours of the online payment, that payment is refunded.

By contrast, if your application is discontinued because you owe the LTB an outstanding fine, fee or costs, nothing is refunded (Rule 6.5).

Step 5: Recover the fee from the other side

A party who succeeds may ask the Board to make the other party pay back the filing fee as costs (Rule 23.1).

On an L1 the fee is woven into the amounts a tenant has to pay to keep the home:

• Paying before any order is issued discontinues the application, so long as the tenant covers the arrears, the further rent that has fallen due and the landlord's filing fee (RTA s. 74(2)).
• Paying after the order but before it can be enforced voids the eviction order, provided the tenant pays all amounts in the order, costs included (s. 74(4)).

Tenants trying to catch up should therefore count the landlord's fee in their total. Landlords should know that on an L1 or L9, Rule 10.3 allows the Board to deny your fee if you were late with the L1/L9 Information Update.

Step 6: Check whether a fee waiver fits you

RTA s. 181.1 gives the LTB power to waive or defer fees for people with low incomes, following its Rules. The details are in Rule 2 and in the Practice Direction on Fee Waiver.

Eligibility checklist

• [ ] You are a person (not a company or organization) who is a party to the application or directly affected by it. This means a corporate landlord is never eligible.
• [ ] And one of these is true:
• the main source of income in your household is Ontario Works, ODSP (the Ontario Disability Support Program), OAS combined with GIS (Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement), War Veterans' Allowance, or CPP (the Canada Pension Plan); or
• your household's monthly income before deductions is lower than the figure for its size below.

"Household" counts you, a spouse and any dependent children. The Board may want to see financial documents.

How to ask for one

1. Complete every part (there are three) of the Fee Waiver Request, signing the declaration.
2. Place it on top of the application or request it goes with.
3. Send it the way the LTB lists for this form: mail, courier or ServiceOntario. A licensed lawyer or paralegal acting for you can do it on the Portal instead (Rule 2.1).
4. There is no fee for making the request.
5. If you are turned down, you have three business days after the LTB contacts you to pay, or the application will not move forward.

When the waiver is granted, it applies to all LTB fees in that application going forward. Answer honestly: under RTA s. 234, a false statement on the request is an offence.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the fee for an L1?

It is $186 if you use the Tribunals Ontario Portal and $201 if you file by mail, by courier or at a ServiceOntario counter.

Is there a charge for giving a tenant an N4 or N12?

There is not. Notices go to the tenant and are not filed with the Board, and every LTB form is free to download. A fee only arises once you file the L1 or L2 that follows the notice.

If my case is dismissed, do I get the fee back?

In nearly every case, no, since LTB fees cannot be refunded. The exception is a review: the $58 may be returned when the order under review is varied, suspended or cancelled.

Are landlords ever eligible for a fee waiver?

A landlord who is an individual and meets the income test can get one. Corporations and other organizations are excluded.

What does it cost to have the sheriff enforce an eviction?

That charge belongs to the court, not the LTB. See the Enforcement Office guide for details.

Official sources

• LTB Forms, filing and fees (Fees)
• Practice Direction on Fee Waiver
• Fee Waiver Request form
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006
• LTB Rules of Procedure

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