The Ontario L6 Explained: Asking the Board to Look Again at a Maintenance Work Order

With an L6, an Ontario landlord asks the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to take a second look at a work order that a municipal inspector issued under the provincial maintenance standards. It is a tightly limited tool: it cannot be used against an order made under a city or town's own property standards by-law, and it has to be filed within 20 days of the day the order is issued.

What it means for each side:

• Landlords use it to argue that the order is wrong, asks for too much, gives too little time, or has already been complied with.
• Tenants who complained to the municipality are named on the application as the tenants in the unit. The L6 is a dispute between the landlord and the municipality about the order; a tenant's own repair claim is a separate T6 application.

Quick facts

Where these work orders come from

The provincial maintenance standards live in O. Reg. 517/06. Under s. 224 of the RTA, they cover a residential complex in two situations:

1. the municipality has no property standards by-law that reaches the complex; or
2. there is such a by-law, yet prescribed circumstances bring in the provincial standards too. One example from O. Reg. 517/06, s. 4: when a by-law deals only with the outside of buildings, the provincial standards for interiors still govern.

How an order is made:

1. A tenant complains to the municipality.
2. The municipality sends an inspector (s. 224.1).
3. If the inspector finds a breach, a work order may follow.
4. Under s. 225, the order has to list the address, reasonable particulars of the work, how long the landlord has to comply, and how long the landlord has to seek a Board review.

A landlord unhappy with what the order requires may apply under s. 226 within 20 days. The Board then has four options:

• confirm the order as written;
• vary it, for instance narrowing the work or lengthening the time to comply;
• rescind it, where the landlord has already done the work; or
• quash it.

Is the L6 the right application?

Use it when

• [ ] the order refers to the provincial maintenance standards, and
• [ ] you disagree that the work is needed, how much is needed, or whether the time given is realistic; or
• [ ] you have already done the work and want the order rescinded.

Do not use it when

• The order comes from a municipal by-law. According to the L6 instructions, the form reviews provincial-standards orders and nothing else. A fast check: a provincial order must tell you the deadline for asking the LTB to review it (s. 225(2)(d)). An order that points to a municipal committee or some other appeal belongs somewhere other than the LTB. Under the Building Code Act, 1992, s. 15.3(1), an owner served with a by-law order appeals by registered mail to the local property standards committee, and has 14 days from service to do it.
• You are answering a tenant's T6 or dealing with an AGI. These are separate cases. Still, an AGI can be affected when a work order is left outstanding (RTA s. 126(12)).

For tenants: if your landlord files an L6, the order you prompted is being reviewed, not your own claim. If you want a remedy for repairs, that is done through your own T6.

Timelines to watch

1. Count 20 days from the issue date (s. 226(1)). Use the date printed on the order, not the day it reached you.
2. The Board counts the day it receives the filing (Rule 4.8): - email: filed the day it arrives; - courier: filed the next business day; - mail: filed on the fifth non-holiday day after it was mailed.
3. Late? File the extension request with the L6. The Board has power under RTA s. 190(1) to give more time on an s. 226 application, but the Request to Extend Time must travel together with the late L6 (Rule 16.2). Length of delay, the reason for it and prejudice to others all count (Rule 16.4).
4. Serve the municipality 15 or more days ahead of the hearing; your Certificate of Service is due within five days after (Rules 5.10, 5.15).
5. Assume the compliance clock keeps running. The RTA is silent on whether an L6 stops the compliance period, and the LTB has not addressed it. When time is your concern, request a variation under s. 226(2)(a) and contact the municipality.

Worked example. An order is issued on Tuesday, April 6, 2027. Day 20 is Monday, April 26, 2027.

• Emailing on April 26 is in time, because email counts the day it arrives.
• A courier package needs to leave by Friday, April 23, so that it is filed the next business day, Monday, April 26.
• By mail, the fifth non-holiday day has to be no later than April 26. Saturdays and Sundays are not counted, so the latest safe mailing date is Monday, April 19. A mailing on Tuesday, April 20 would be deemed filed on Tuesday, April 27, one day late.

Completing the form, one part at a time

Use version 01/04/2022. Capital letters only, circles fully shaded, unused boxes left blank. The L6 instructions go through every field.

Part 1: General Information

1. Address of the Rental Unit Covered by This Application: the complete address, unit number and postal code included. For long street directions, use NE, NW, SE or SW.
2. Landlord's Name and Address: who you are (and your company, if any), where mail reaches you, phones and email. List any co-landlords on a Schedule of Parties.
3. Tenant Names and Address: the tenants who are in possession of the unit. The form has room for two; put others on a Schedule of Parties. Add a mailing address only where it is different from the unit.
4. Related Applications: if a tenant's T6 or another case about this unit is still open, its file number goes here.

Part 2: Reason for Your Application

Most L6 cases turn on this box. Open with the order's number and issue date. Then cover:

• [ ] every item you challenge, and why (no breach of the standard, work completed, or the wrong method was ordered);
• [ ] the outcome you want, whether quashing, rescinding, less work, or a longer period;
• [ ] for timing disputes, why the deadline is unworkable and the time you really need, given things like trades' availability, permits or seasonal conditions.

Extra sheets are fine.

Part 3: Signature

Choose "Landlord" or "Legal Representative" and sign with the date. Representatives include their Law Society number, name and contact details.

Payment Information Form

Indicate the payment method; online payers add the receipt number.

Sending it to the Board

Attach a copy of the work order every time. Per the instructions, an L6 missing it is refused.

No refunds are given (see the LTB fees page). If you cannot afford the fee, a Fee Waiver Request can be made.

Six errors that sink an L6

1. Filing after day 20 without an extension request in the same package. It is out of time, and sending the request later on its own breaks Rule 16.2.
2. Challenging a by-law order. The Board's s. 226 power does not reach these, and dismissal follows.
3. No work order attached. The application is refused.
4. A thin Part 2. "I disagree" gives the Board nothing to work with. Back each point with photos, quotes or reports from contractors, or permit timelines.
5. No service on the municipality. Rule 5.10 sets 15 days before the hearing as the minimum; without it the Board may adjourn or dismiss (Rule 5.17).
6. Ignoring the compliance date. RTA s. 234 makes non-compliance an offence. An unresolved order can also hurt the landlord if a tenant brings a maintenance case or the landlord seeks an AGI, which tenants may want to keep in mind.

After you file

1. A Notice of Hearing arrives from the LTB.
2. Serve it, with the L6, on the municipality, then file proof of service.
3. Come to the hearing with evidence of the condition and of completed work.
4. The decision will confirm, vary, rescind or quash the order.
5. Anyone who is a party has 15 days to request a review of a Board order made from July 1, 2026 onward (Rule 26.5).

Questions people ask

What is the deadline to challenge a provincial maintenance work order?

Twenty days, counted from the issue date. More time is possible only when your extension request goes in with the L6.

My city issued a property standards order. Is the L6 for me?

No. Only orders made under O. Reg. 517/06, the provincial maintenance standards, can be reviewed this way. A by-law order is challenged through the route set out in that by-law and in the order itself.

What outcomes are possible at the hearing?

Four: the order stays as is, it is changed (less work or more time, say), it is rescinded since you complied, or it is quashed.

Is the L6 filed on the Tribunals Ontario Portal?

No. After paying the $201 fee online, you email it to LTBpayments@ontario.ca; otherwise you mail it, courier it, or take it to a ServiceOntario location that accepts LTB filings. The work order must be attached or the application will be refused.

Does an L6 put the compliance deadline on hold?

Nothing says it does, either in the RTA or in LTB guidance, so treat the deadline as live. Need longer? Seek a variation extending the time, and raise it with the municipality.

Who receives a copy of the L6?

Only the municipality needs to be served, with both documents (application and Notice of Hearing), 15 days or more before the hearing date. File your Certificate of Service inside five days (Rules 5.10, 5.15).

Official sources

• Form L6 – Application for Review of a Work Order about Provincial Maintenance Standards (PDF)
• L6 Instructions
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 126, 190, 224–226 and 234
• Building Code Act, 1992, s. 15.3
• O. Reg. 517/06 (Maintenance Standards), s. 4
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 4.8, 5.10, 5.15, 5.17, 16.2, 16.4 and 26.5

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