The L4 in Ontario: When a Tenant Misses a Condition of an LTB Order or Settlement

Ontario's L4 is the landlord's follow-up when a deal at the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) falls apart. An earlier eviction case ended in an LTB order or an LTB-mediated settlement; the tenant agreed to conditions (often a payment plan); and the order or settlement said the landlord could apply for eviction if those conditions weren't kept. When a condition is broken, the landlord files an L4. It's decided ex parte — usually no hearing and no notice to the tenant before the eviction order issues. For the tenant, the key protection is a short window to ask the Board to set that order aside.

Quick summary

What the L4 does

RTA s. 78(1) sets a three-part test. All three boxes must be ticked before a no-notice eviction application is possible:

• [ ] An earlier application. There was a prior LTB case in which this landlord sought termination or eviction.
• [ ] It ended in the right kind of outcome. That case closed with an LTB order or a s. 194 Board-mediated settlement, which (i) imposed tenant conditions whose breach would recreate the original termination grounds, and (ii) expressly permitted a s. 78 application on breach.
• [ ] A broken condition. At least one condition has gone unmet.

Section 206 consent orders based on a Payment Agreement are a special case: they can't terminate a tenancy on their own, yet s. 206(3.1) lets them carry a s. 78 default clause.

Asking for money too

Eviction isn't the only thing an L4 can get you. Two money options exist (s. 78(3), (7)):

Rent deposits and interest are deducted (s. 78(8)). Under s. 78(7.1) the Board may additionally cancel the prior order and require payment of its unpaid balance.

Is the L4 available to you?

Yes — broken condition plus a s. 78 term, both in an LTB order or Board-mediated settlement.

No — in these situations:

• Private deals. Only LTB orders and settlements reached through Board mediation (s. 194) qualify. Texts, emails and side letters don't — start over with a new notice.
• Missing clause. Then the L4 is off the table. A s. 206 payment-agreement order lacking it can instead be reopened on request, made within 30 days after the default (s. 206(4), (6)).
• Unrelated breach. The condition broken must tie back to the original termination grounds.
• New money. Reason 2 depends on an earlier L1 arrears claim; Reason 3 on an earlier L2 damage claim.

Deadlines

1. Filing (s. 78(5)): a 30-day statutory limit from the tenant's failure — not extendable (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56). The instructions' wording: a condition unmet "within the past 30 days". Day zero is the due date that passed without payment or performance.
2. Several missed payments: the statute says "a failure". Whether a second missed instalment gives you a new 30 days after you ignored the first is something the LTB hasn't addressed in published guidance. Play safe: the first default starts your clock.
3. Documents on the Portal: settlement or order plus declaration, uploaded at filing or no later than 5 calendar days after (Rules 4.4–4.5).
4. Tenant's set-aside window: ten days from issue (s. 78(9)).

Example. A mediated settlement for a Hawkesbury apartment required the tenant to pay $450 toward arrears on Monday, March 1, 2027. Nothing arrives. The landlord's L4 must be filed by Wednesday, March 31, 2027. If the landlord waits for the next instalment to be missed too, the first default may already be out of time.

Completing the L4 (version 01/04/2022)

Eight pages, Declaration included. September 21, 2026 brought new instructions but no new form.

Step 1 — Part 1: General Information

• Unit address, landlord and tenants — consistent with the earlier order.
• Related Applications: open related file numbers.

Step 2 — Part 2: Information about your previous application

Identify the earlier outcome: its file number and date.

Step 3 — Part 3: Reasons for your application

Either Reason 1 on its own, or Reason 2, Reason 3, or both:

• Reason 1 — termination and eviction, nothing more.
• Reason 2 — adds rent and charges; prior case must be an L1.
• Reason 3 — adds damages and charges; prior case must be an L2 that sought damages.

Calculation of Amount Owing (Reasons 2 and 3):

1. Amount the deal or order obliged the tenant to pay
2. − payments made toward it
3. • post-deal NSF charges (admin fee capped at $20 a cheque, O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17)
4. • (Reason 2 only) post-deal rent still unpaid
5. = amount owing

The LTB's limit is $50,000.

Current rent: the amount and how often it's paid. With Reason 3 alone, say whether the tenant paid full rent for the month you're filing in.

Step 4 — Part 4: Signature

Signed and dated by the landlord or a legal representative; representatives add their Law Society number and contact details.

Step 5 — The Declaration (pages 5 to 8)

The make-or-break part. Cross through and initial whatever doesn't apply.

Reason 1 only? Do Sections A and E. Reasons 2 or 3? Do all of them.

Portal tip. The Portal collects the same information and uploads. Review everything before you reach "Ready to Submit"; after that, the draft can't be edited. Tribunals Ontario doesn't publish the Portal screens step by step, so follow the prompts.

Filing it

Three items, or the LTB refuses it (L4 Instructions, Section E; RTA s. 78(2); Rule 6.10):

• [ ] the L4 itself;
• [ ] the order or mediated settlement;
• [ ] the Declaration, signed (a sworn affidavit also works), explaining what was breached and how, with the s. 78(4) money details where relevant.

On the Portal the LTB fee table shows the L4 as no charge. Law Society of Ontario licensees must use the Portal.

For tenants: if you receive an L4 order

Because the L4 is decided without you, the first you may hear of it is the eviction order. Here's what the law gives you:

1. Ten days. That's the window to bring a motion against the eviction order and any money order (s. 78(9)).
2. Automatic pause. The motion stays both (s. 78(10)).
3. Sheriff's office. Deliver the motion and stay to the Court Enforcement Office (Rule 25.1).
4. Serve it no later than 48 hours ahead of the motion hearing (Rule 5.11).
5. The two winning arguments. A missing s. 78(1) element (no clause, no Board mediation, etc.) forces the LTB to cancel the order. Otherwise, the Board may cancel it if, weighing everything, that "would not be unfair" (s. 78(11)).
6. Receipts. Any payment missing from the landlord's Section D is worth pointing out.

Where landlords go wrong

1. Day 31. Too late, permanently. A fresh notice and a new case may be all that's left.
2. No s. 78 clause. Nothing to apply under — and s. 78(11)(a) makes cancellation mandatory on a tenant's motion where any s. 78(1) element is absent.
3. A settlement the LTB didn't mediate. Writing it down privately doesn't fix that.
4. A vague declaration. "Tenant breached" fails s. 78(2), which demands the specific conditions and the manner of breach. Cite the clause, the due date and exactly what happened.
5. Leaving payments out of Section D. Inflated totals hurt your credibility at a motion hearing and risk a misleading-information problem.
6. Choosing the wrong reason. Reason 2 belongs to L1-based deals; Reason 3 to L2 damage claims. An L4 following an L2 N5 settlement can't pick up arrears.
7. Missing documents. Refusal — or, on the Portal, possible administrative dismissal if the 5-day window passes (Rule 4.5).
8. Taking money after the breach without a plan. No published LTB guidance says how partial payments after a default affect an L4. Log every one in Section D, and get advice before you accept money you don't intend as a cure.

After the L4 is filed

• The order. Normally made on the papers (s. 78(6)); a s. 78(7) payment order too, if requested.
• Enforcement. The Sheriff (Court Enforcement Office) needs the order within six months of its effective date (RTA s. 81).
• Tenant's motion. After a hearing, s. 78(11) leaves three possibilities: (a) cancellation for a missing s. 78(1) element; (b) cancellation because, on everything, it "would not be unfair"; (c) the stay lifted, now or from a set date.
• After (b), s. 78(12) allows the Board to rewrite the original deal or order — a fresh payment timetable, for example.

About the 2026 set-aside change. New O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.2 prevents the Board from weighing a tenant's post-agreement or post-notice change in circumstances. Its target is L3 orders (s. 77). L4 motions still turn on s. 78(11)(b)'s broad "all the circumstances" test — so landlords should arrive with the payment record and an explanation of the unfairness to them.

What's changed recently

• September 21, 2026: updated instructions only. Version 01/04/2022 of the form survives, and the November 30, 2026 retirement of outdated forms doesn't touch it.
• July 1, 2026: s. 206 repayment plans now require the LTB's Payment Agreement form; review requests shrank to a 15-day window for orders from that date (Request to Review an Order). Landlords who want a later L4 option should confirm the s. 78 term appears in both the agreement and the consent order.

See also: L1 and L2.

Questions people ask

What's the deadline for an L4?

A month, in effect: 30 days from the missed condition, with no extensions.

Will there be a hearing?

Normally not — it's decided on paper, unannounced. Only a tenant's set-aside motion within the 10 days triggers one.

What does it cost?

Nothing, according to the LTB fee table, when filed on the Tribunals Ontario Portal.

The tenant and I made a private deal. Can I use an L4?

No. It must be an LTB order or a Board-mediated settlement, and it must contain the s. 78 default term.

Can the missed payments be claimed on the L4?

Yes, where the original case claimed arrears (L1 — Reason 2) or damage (L2 — Reason 3) and the deal or order imposed payments. Fill in the calculation and Declaration Sections B–D.

Official sources

• Form L4 and L4 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 78, 81, 192.1, 194, 206
• O. Reg. 516/06, ss. 8.2, 17, 56
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• LTB Operational Update, July 1, 2026

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