Agreeing to Email Service at the LTB: A Landlord and Tenant Walkthrough

In Ontario, a landlord and tenant who want to swap Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) paperwork by email use a short, one-page sheet: the Consent to Service by Email. "Service" is simply the legal word for delivering a document properly. Email counts as service under the LTB Rules of Procedure only where the recipient said yes in writing, and signing this sheet is the most straightforward proof of that yes.

Each side's stake: landlords gain a fast delivery route they can prove. Tenants choose which categories may land in their inbox, and they can cancel later.

Quick facts

The rules that make email service work

Section 191(1)(g) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) permits delivery "by any other means allowed in the Rules". The Board's Rules then open the door to email, with strings attached:

The sheet's own notes explain that, while consent must be written, nobody is forced to use this exact sheet. Its real benefit is a precise record of what each signer accepted.

Which documents the four boxes cover

Each tick box is a category. Ticking it means both people accept that category by email:

What is left out: papers that open a case

Box 3 deliberately excludes the hearing notice and copies of whatever started the proceeding (application, motion, review request). In the normal course the Board delivers the application and its Notice of Hearing on its own (Rule 5.1). If an order ever makes you responsible, follow RTA s. 191 together with Rule 3, or get permission for alternative service.

What is left out: termination notices

You will find no box for an N4, N5, N12 or other notice ending a tenancy. The N4 instructions list several delivery methods (in person, the mailbox, the door, fax, courier, post), and email is absent.

Still, the law permits email in principle. According to Interpretation Guideline 10, a termination notice is properly delivered by any s. 191(1) method or under Rule 3.1, and Rule 3.1 takes in email wherever the tenant agreed in writing. The real issue is scope: a sheet with just these four printed categories ticked does not plainly reach eviction notices.

• Landlord's takeaway: emailing a termination notice needs the tenant's written agreement covering that kind of notice. Absent that, stick with a method the instructions name. Section 191(2) lets the Board treat a disputed notice as delivered if you show its contents reached the tenant in time, but treat that as a safety net only.
• Tenant's takeaway: these four boxes, on their face, do not mean you agreed to get eviction notices by email.

Situations where the consent will not help you

Good times to sign: move-in (for entry and rent increase notices), and after a Board file starts (for evidence and submissions). But it is useless:

• for a category whose box nobody ticked;
• after the tenant cancels it in writing;
• to reach someone who no longer lives there, unless Rule 3.3(c) applies. That requires two things: the yes was given while the tenancy was ongoing, and you can show the contents really reached the person.

Filling it out: five steps

1. Each tenant's name and email. One readable address per person. With more than one tenant, every tenant signs and supplies an address; extra copies of the sheet are fine.
2. The landlord's name and email. Pick an inbox that gets read, because tenants can serve the landlord there as well.
3. The unit. Full civic address with unit number.
4. Categories. Check only what both people accept. An unchecked category has no consent.
5. Sign. Both people print first and last names, sign, and date in dd/mm/yyyy format.

Hand the tenant a copy; keep the original.

Checklist for every emailed document

• [ ] Address it exactly as written on the sheet.
• [ ] Include a contact person's name and telephone number in the message; the sheet makes that a condition.
• [ ] Confirm the document fits a checked category.
• [ ] Keep the outgoing email, attachments and timestamp.
• [ ] If the Board wants a Certificate of Service, it is due within 5 days of service (Rule 3.8).

Seven reasons email delivery is rejected

1. Nothing in writing. A friendly email thread is not written consent to service. Delivery then fails Rule 3.1(h), and Rule 5.17 lets the Board adjourn or dismiss over it.
2. Wrong category. A yes for rent increases is not a yes for hearing evidence, and the reverse holds too.
3. Consent was cancelled. A written cancellation ends it under Rule 3.6, emailed or not.
4. Emailing what opens the case. Hearing notices and application copies are excluded outright.
5. Contact details missing. No name and phone number means the condition on the sheet is unmet.
6. An ex-tenant and no proof. Rule 3.3(c) demands a yes from during the tenancy plus proof of receipt.
7. One signer, many tenants. Each person you deliver to needs their own yes.

Once it is signed

File it safely. If delivery is ever disputed, upload it via the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Being served inside the Portal is separate and calls for the Consent to Disclosure through Tribunals Ontario Portal (Rule 3.1(i)).

Common questions from both sides

Can a landlord email an N4 in Ontario?

Guideline 10 confirms Rule 3.1 email delivery can include a termination notice, but only with the tenant's written agreement to email service. Because the sheet has no termination category, its checked boxes alone do not clearly cover an N4. A delivery method named in the N4 instructions is safer.

When is an emailed document treated as served?

The same day it went out (Rule 3.9(e)).

I am a tenant. Can I cancel my consent?

Yes, whenever you like, by telling the other person in writing (Rule 3.6).

Is this specific form mandatory?

No. Consent must be written, but the sheet itself says using it is optional.

Official sources

• Consent to Service by Email (form)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 3.1, 3.3, 3.5 to 3.9, 5.1 and 5.17
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 191
• Interpretation Guideline 10
• N4 Instructions
• LTB Forms, filing and fees

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