Understanding the Ontario N4: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Unpaid Rent Notice for Landlords and Tenants

In Ontario, the N4 is the written notice a landlord gives when a tenant is behind on rent. It names the amount owing and a date to either pay or leave, and a landlord cannot apply to evict for unpaid rent (the L1) without serving it first. For a tenant, the N4 is a warning with a built-in way out: pay in full in time and the notice falls away. Since September 21, 2026, the payment window is 7 days instead of 14.

The N4 in one table

What the N4 means for each side

For the landlord, the N4 is step one toward an eviction order for unpaid rent. The power comes from s. 59 of Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), which applies where a tenant "fails to pay rent lawfully owing under a tenancy agreement." The notice must state the arrears and explain that paying them, together with any rent falling due before then, by the termination date stops the termination (s. 59(2)).

For the tenant, the N4 does not end anything by itself. Section 59(3) cancels it if the tenant clears every dollar of arrears, plus whatever further rent is owing on the day of payment, before the landlord's application reaches the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). So the termination date is not the real cut-off; the landlord's filing is.

Three limits apply to both sides:

• Rent only. Interpretation Guideline 11 excludes NSF charges, late fees, damage, an unpaid last month's deposit, and utilities the tenant owes to a utility company.
• No one is removed by a notice. Only an LTB order, carried out by the Court Enforcement Office (Sheriff), can evict.
• Occupancy matters. The tenant has to be in the unit when served and again when the L1 goes in.

Before you serve: is this the right notice?

An N4 fits when the tenant is living in the unit and some or all of the rent due is unpaid. Per the N4 checklist, a tenant can still pay up to midnight on the due date, so the following day is the first day an N4 can be given.

Pick another path if:

1. Collection without eviction. File an L9 instead. No notice is required, though the resulting order cannot remove anyone.
2. The tenant has already left. An L10 is the tool, and RTA s. 87(1.1) gives one year from move-out.
3. Rent arrives, just never on time. That is persistent late payment under the N8. Serving both notices at once is allowed: in Shearer v. Oz, 2026 ONSC 3753 (cited in Guideline 10), the Divisional Court treated unpaid rent as both late and in arrears.

Working out the dates, step by step

Step 1: count 7 days

RTA s. 59(1) requires a gap of 7 days or more between giving the notice and the termination date. Rule 1.13 tells you how: skip the delivery day, and include the termination date in the count.

Step 2: add days for the delivery method

• Mail (Xpresspost included): the N4 is treated as given on the fifth day after it is mailed (RTA s. 191(3); Rule 3.9).
• Courier: treated as given the day after the courier gets it. A weekend or holiday pushes that to the next business day (Rule 3.9), since Rule 1.1 treats Saturdays and Sundays as holidays. In the N4 instructions' words, add one business day.
• Fax: given on the date printed on the fax confirmation.

A worked example

Rent of $1,650 was due Thursday, April 1, 2027, and nothing has been paid.

• In person on Friday, April 2: count from April 3. The earliest termination date is Friday, April 9. The L1 can go in from April 10.
• Mailed on Friday, April 2: deemed given on Wednesday, April 7. The earliest termination date is Wednesday, April 14.
• Couriered on Friday, April 2: the next day is a Saturday, so the notice is treated as given on Monday, April 5. The earliest termination date is Monday, April 12.
• Given on Thursday, April 1: too early. The rent was not late yet.

Step 3: know what cannot be changed

Statutory notice periods are fixed; Guideline 10 confirms the LTB cannot lengthen or shorten them. Notices served before September 21, 2026 carried the old 14-day period.

Step 4: the filing window

Section 74(1) opens the L1 window on the day after the termination date, and it never closes: ss. 46(2) and 69(3) exempt rent notices from the 30-day expiry and 30-day filing rules that bind other notices. Waiting still carries risk, since full payment before filing wipes the notice out.

Completing the form, part by part

Get the current version from the LTB forms page, save it to your computer and fill it in there rather than inside a browser, as the LTB recommends. Have the official instructions beside you. The checklist page is for you only; remove it before service.

Page 1 checklist

• [ ] Termination date (dd/mm/yyyy): write out a specific day, counted as above. A phrase like "7 days" does not do it.
• [ ] Tenant's name: all tenants in possession (and any subtenant or assignee), spelled right. Children and guests are not listed.
• [ ] Landlord's name: yours, or every landlord's.
• [ ] Address of Rental Unit: the full street address with unit number (or "Basement"), city or town, and postal code.
• [ ] Amount of rent owing ($): complete it after page 3, using the same figure as Total Rent Owing.

Nothing needs filling in on page 2, which is information for the tenant.

Page 3: the rent table

Use one row per unpaid period. The columns are Rent Period From and To (the 1st through month-end when rent is due on the 1st), Rent Charged (lawful rent only), Rent Paid and Rent Owing. Their sum is Total Rent Owing.

What counts as "rent"? The basic rent, plus separate payments to the landlord for things like parking or a seasonal air-conditioner fee (RTA s. 2(1); N4 instructions). Per Guideline 11, a fixed monthly utility charge paid to the landlord qualifies; a utility bill the tenant pays to the provider, or a share of a bill that varies, does not.

More than three periods? Combine the older ones in row one or two and keep the latest period in the bottom row, or attach your own page showing each period and serve it along with the notice. Rent that was not yet due on the day of service stays off.

Table example. Rent $1,650, due on the 1st. February 1 to 28, 2027: paid $1,000, owing $650. March 1 to 31, 2027: paid nothing, owing $1,650. Total Rent Owing, and the page 1 amount: $2,300. On an N4 given March 25, April's rent stays off because it is not yet due.

Signing

Tick Landlord or Representative, add your name and phone number, then sign and date. Section 43(1)(c) limits signing to the landlord or an agent, and Guideline 10 says that agent need not hold a licence to sign a notice. Representatives also give their LSO number, company, mailing address, email and phone.

Delivering the N4

Approved ways to give it, according to the instructions:

1. Personal delivery to the tenant, or to an apparent adult at the unit.
2. The tenant's mailbox, or the spot where their mail usually lands.
3. Under the door, or through the mail slot.
4. Fax, courier or mail.
5. Email, if the tenant gave written consent to email service (Rule 3.1).

A notice on the door is not valid service. Deliver to each tenant, keep a true copy, and ask the person who delivered it to complete a Certificate of Service. Under Guideline 10, what matters is the approved method, not whether the tenant actually read it.

For tenants who have received an N4

Take a breath and go through this list:

• [ ] You are not out. Only a Board order, enforced by the Sheriff, can make you leave.
• [ ] The amount is rent alone, with no late fees, NSF charges, damage or deposit.
• [ ] The date is real: a calendar date with 7 clear days, more if mailed or couriered.
• [ ] Delivery was proper: not taped to the door, and not emailed unless you agreed in writing.
• [ ] You know your way out. Clearing all arrears and any newly due rent before the landlord files voids the N4, even past the termination date. Part payment does not, unless the landlord agrees otherwise (s. 45).
• [ ] You know the later options, covered under "After the termination date" below.

Why N4s fail

Guideline 10 relies on Boomer v. Arvane Farms Ltd., 2025 ONSC 1772, for the point that a served N4 cannot be amended. The RTA's s. 212 rescues a notice only from slips that cause the tenant no significant prejudice, and a wrong amount or date usually is significant. A failed N4 sinks the eviction claim, but Guideline 11 notes the Board can still order the arrears paid.

1. Served on the due date. The tenant had until midnight.
2. Too short. Fewer than 7 clear days, or the mail (5 days) or courier (1 business day) allowance forgotten. Nothing can repair a short period.
3. A phrase instead of a date. "Seven days from today" risks failing s. 43(1)(b).
4. Non-rent items. Per Guideline 11, NSF or late fees, admin charges, damage, an unpaid deposit or amounts owed to a utility "will likely invalidate the notice." NSF charges are claimed on the L1.
5. A miscalculated total. Arrears figured on a rent that was never lawfully raised have cost landlords their N4 (Guideline 10). So can rent not yet due, or page 1 disagreeing with page 3.
6. Gaps in names, address or signature. Guideline 10 requires that all tenants in possession be named and served, and a signature from anyone other than the landlord or agent is a defect.
7. Bad service. Door-taping, or email with no written consent, defeats the eviction claim unless s. 191(2) proof shows the tenant really received it in time.
8. Premature L1, filed on or before the termination date (s. 74(1)).
9. L1 filed after full payment. Section 59(3) voids the notice. Look at the ledger on the day you file.
10. Last month's deposit applied to arrears. Guideline 11 reserves it for the tenancy's final month.
11. Missing attachments. Upload the N4 and Certificate of Service when filing the L1, or no later than 5 calendar days afterward; otherwise Rules 4.4 and 4.5 permit an administrative dismissal.
12. An outdated form. The N4 was reissued on September 21, 2026. According to the Board's operational update, prior versions of the N5, N6, N8, N12, N13, L1, L2, L9, L10 and T5 stop being accepted on November 30, 2026; the N4 is not on that list, and whether the cut-off reaches it is unconfirmed. Download a fresh copy each time rather than find out.

After the termination date

Three paths, depending on what the tenant did:

1. Paid everything before the L1: the notice is dead. Any future arrears need a new N4.
2. Moved out: the tenancy has ended; claim the rent on an L10 within a year.
3. Did neither: from the day after the termination date, the landlord may file the L1 application through the Tribunals Ontario Portal with the N4 and Certificate of Service attached ($186 on the Portal, $201 otherwise).

Once an L1 is in:

• Tenant pays off the whole debt (arrears, new rent and the filing fee) before the order issues, and the application ends (s. 74(2)).
• Half-arrears rule. On an L1, L9 or L10 filed from September 21, 2026, any tenant hoping to bring up their own issues must first pay the landlord half the claimed arrears no later than 7 days before the hearing (RTA ss. 82, 87(2); O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.3).
• Relief from eviction. Section 83 obliges the Board to consider refusing or delaying eviction. Without the landlord's consent, a delay now needs compelling grounds and must not be unfair to the landlord or other tenants (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.4).
• Paying after the order. Paying the ordered amount before the eviction order becomes enforceable voids it (s. 74(4)).

What changed in 2026

• September 21, 2026. The N4 was reissued, and notices given from that day carry a 7-day period rather than 14. Rent applications (L1, L9, L10) filed from then on are subject to the half-arrears rule and the stricter delay test.
• July 1, 2026. Orders dated on or after this day can be reviewed only on a request made within 15 days (previously 30). Section 206 repayment plans now have to be written on the Board's own Payment Agreement form.

Common questions about the N4

I got an N4 this week. How many days do I have?

If it was given on or after September 21, 2026: 7 days at minimum, or longer when it came by mail (add 5) or courier (add one business day). Older notices allowed 14.

Is a late fee or bounced-cheque charge allowed on the notice?

No. It is a rent-only notice, and Guideline 11 warns that an NSF charge on it will likely sink it. Landlords claim NSF bank charges and the capped admin fee on the L1.

The termination date has passed and the tenant paid. What now?

Look at whether the payment covered everything. Full arrears plus rent that came due since, paid before the L1 was filed, void the N4 (s. 59(3)). Anything less leaves it standing.

How long is an N4 good for?

For unpaid rent, it has no fixed expiry (RTA ss. 46(2), 69(3)). The longer a landlord waits, though, the longer the tenant has to pay in full and cancel it.

Can the N4 arrive by email?

Yes, but only where the tenant consented in writing to email service (Rule 3.1). Door-posting is never valid.

Official sources

• N4 form (PDF)
• N4 Instructions
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 2(1), 43, 45, 46, 59, 69, 74, 82, 83, 87, 191, 206, 212
• O. Reg. 516/06, ss. 8.3, 8.4
• Interpretation Guideline 11: Rent Arrears
• Interpretation Guideline 10: Procedural Issues Regarding Eviction Applications
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 1.1, 1.13, 3.1, 3.9, 4.4, 4.5
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• LTB Operational Update, July 1, 2026
• Certificate of Service (PDF)
• 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.