Discontinuing an L1 When the Rent Is Paid: Steps for Landlords and Tenants

In Ontario, the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) form called Request for a Discontinuance Order Without a Hearing is how a landlord closes an L1 eviction application once the tenant has paid everything owing, before any eviction order is made. For the landlord, it shuts the file cleanly. For the tenant, it is the paper that confirms the eviction case is over. The PDF comes with a ready-made order attached; filled in properly, it is usually signed by a Member with no hearing needed. Its instructions use a different title for it: Request for Ex Parte Discontinuance Order.

Key facts

Who this form helps, and how

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), in s. 74(2), makes discontinuance mandatory for an N4-based L1 where, ahead of any eviction order, the Board is satisfied that three amounts reached either the landlord or the Board:

1. the arrears of rent;
2. the further rent that, without the termination notice, would have been owing on the day of payment; and
3. the fee the landlord paid to apply.

For tenants: once those three amounts are paid, that L1 can no longer lead to your eviction, even if you fall behind again later. A new problem would need a new notice.

For landlords: the form is your sworn statement that the money arrived, which allows a Member to make the s. 74(2) order without anyone attending.

Paid into the Board? Then the landlord has nothing to file: under Rule 20.1, the LTB releases the money to the landlord and closes the application itself.

Check before you file

Use this form only if every box is ticked:

• [ ] The tenant paid you directly, after the L1 was filed.
• [ ] The payment covers all of s. 74(2): arrears, rent up to the payment date, and the fee.
• [ ] No eviction order has been issued.
• [ ] The application is an L1.

It is the wrong form when:

• Only part was paid. Money short of the full amount does not end the L1. For the hearing, update the figures using the L1/L9 Information Update.
• An eviction order already exists. Payment then raises a different question, whether the order is voided under s. 74(4), and that has its own procedure and its own sum.
• You filed an L2 or an L9. Only L1s qualify here. Other applications are ended with a Request to Withdraw an Application.

Choosing the "period ending" date

One blank asks for the date "ending on" which all rent has been paid. The instructions direct you to put the final day of the rent period during which the tenant paid.

1. Monthly rent, first-of-the-month due date. Payment arrives Thursday, November 12, 2026. Enter November 30, 2026.
2. Rent periods that run mid-month. If each period runs from the 10th to the 9th of the next month and the tenant pays on December 3, that payment falls in the November 10 to December 9 period, so you enter December 9.

Worked numbers. Monthly rent is $1,350 and nothing was paid for September, October or November. The landlord filed on the Portal for $186. The tenant pays on December 4: $4,050 in arrears, $1,350 for December, and the $186 fee, for $5,586 in all. That discontinues the L1 for the period ending December 31.

Completing the PDF, step by step

The instructions require you to fill in the fillable fields in both parts of the PDF.

Part A: your request

1. Write your name, state that you filed the L1 as landlord or as the landlord's legal representative, and add the L1 file number.
2. Insert the "period ending" date worked out earlier. In the same paragraph you confirm that arrears, any new rent owing and the filing fee have all been paid.
3. Read the solemn declaration. Your signature confirms the contents are true and acknowledges that handing the Board a false or misleading document is an offence.
4. Check Landlord or Landlord Representative, then add the declarant's name, signature and the date (dd/mm/yyyy).

Part B: the draft s. 74(2) order

5. Enter the file number, rental unit address, landlord name and tenant names, matching the L1 word for word.
6. Carry the Part A "period ending on" date into paragraph 1.
7. Do not touch two lines: "Date Issued" and the Member's signature line. The Member completes both.

Sending it in

File through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, the method the LTB's forms page lists. For lawyers and paralegals the Portal is required, and a copy sent by any other route goes unprocessed. There is no charge. A complete, accurate request normally results in an order, issued without a hearing, that goes out to all parties.

Six problems that hold it up

1. Declaring payment before it clears. If the funds bounce, your declaration was false and your own file is already closed.
2. The wrong date. Entering the payment day instead of the period's last day, or a date that the dollars do not back up, puts the request out of line with s. 74(2).
3. An empty order section, or a filled-in Member line. Your job is the order's fill-in fields; Date Issued and the Member's line stay empty.
4. Taking a short payment. If the fee or this period's rent is missing, there is no discontinuance, and signing would throw away a live case.
5. Mismatched file number or party names. Your draft becomes the order, mistakes included.
6. Filing after an eviction order. Once an order exists, s. 74(4) voiding applies instead.

What to expect afterwards

• Landlord: the Member signs, the hearing never happens, and the matter ends. Any future arrears need a brand-new N4.
• Tenant: you receive a copy of the order. That L1 cannot be used to evict you.

Recent changes

Bill 60 left s. 74(2) as it was. An N4 served on or after September 21, 2026, though, gives 7 days' notice rather than 14, and both the N4 and the L1 were revised that day. From November 30, 2026, older L1 versions are refused. That LTB notice is silent on the N4, so just use its current version. Note that the form's worked example, which speaks of "15 days after" an N4, dates from before Bill 60.

Frequently asked questions

As a tenant, how much do I have to pay to stop the L1?

Three things: all arrears, rent accruing to your payment date, and the landlord's application fee. The money can go to the landlord or the LTB, but it must be paid ahead of any eviction order (RTA s. 74(2)).

Does someone have to attend a hearing?

Usually no, provided the request is filled in fully and correctly.

Are NSF charges part of the amount?

No. They are not among the three items listed in s. 74(2). NSF charges matter for voiding an existing order under s. 74(4).

What if the payment was made to the LTB?

Then no form is needed from the landlord. Rule 20.1 directs the LTB to release the required sum to the landlord and to discontinue the case on its own.

Official sources

• Request for a Discontinuance Order Without a Hearing (form and instructions)
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 74
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 20
• Practice Direction Requiring Law Society Licensees to use TOP
• 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.