Can't Make Your LTB Hearing? How the Request to Reschedule Works, Step by Step

If a date set by Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) will not work for you, whether it is a full hearing or a case management hearing (CMH, a shorter meeting to sort out issues), the Request to Reschedule a Hearing is how you ask for a different one ahead of time. Any party can use it when they, a witness or a representative has a conflict, and it works best when everyone agrees.

Quick facts

What this form does for each side

Rule 21 of the LTB's Rules of Procedure allows the parties to jointly ask, before the scheduled day, for a hearing or CMH to be moved. Rule 21.1 sets two conditions. All parties have to agree, and the request has to land at the LTB at least 5 business days ahead, and sooner if reasonably possible. Agreement is required even if the application and Notice of Hearing have not reached the other side yet.

There is a narrow exception. When a request is late or lacks consent, it can still be granted if a Member or Hearing Officer accepts that the requester could not reasonably have complied with Rule 21.1 (Rule 21.2). For a CMH, the LTB may also choose to scrap the CMH and schedule a hearing in its place (Rule 21.5).

Should you use it? A quick check

• Yes, if you know about a real conflict in advance, such as an earlier court date, surgery, an absent key witness or your representative's clash, ideally with the other side's agreement.
• First, ask whether someone else could attend. Under Rule 7.1 the LTB can sit by video or other electronic means, in person, or in writing (see the Practice Direction on Hearing Formats). Because the form asks you to explain why neither a virtual appearance nor a stand-in will do, consider sending an agent or representative.
• Not on the hearing day. Then you ask for an adjournment as the hearing opens, and the Member has discretion whether to grant it (Rules 21.7–21.8).
• AGI cases are different. For an above-guideline increase application (s. 126), a new date or an adjournment needs exceptional circumstances (Rules 21.6, 21.9).
• Hoping for an earlier date instead? File a Request to Shorten Time.

Timing: counting the days

• The 5-day minimum is about arrival. What matters is when the LTB receives your request, not when you sent it.
• Only business days count. Saturdays, Sundays and LTB holidays are skipped under Rule 21.1.
• Do not sit on it. File "as soon as reasonably possible"; unexplained delay hurts you under Rule 21.2.
• Blocked dates cover three months. Under Rule 21.3, list every party's and representative's unavailable days for three months past today's scheduled hearing date.
• The old date stays live until you are told the request was granted.

Worked example. Hearing on Thursday, April 22, 2027. Count back five business days, skipping the April 17–18 weekend, and you reach Thursday, April 15, 2027: aim for the LTB to have it by then. Arriving Monday, April 19 leaves only three business days, which is too late under Rule 21.1. Blocked dates would run to July 22, 2027.

Completing the form: eight steps

You are filling in version 2025/04 of the form.

1. File Number, language preference and accommodation. Copy the file number from your Notice of Hearing and note any language or accommodation needs.
2. Requesting Party's Information. Tick your role from the list on the form, then add your contact details (name, company if any, address, phones, email) and your preferred way to receive LTB documents.
3. Unit, Building or Complex Covered by the Application. Write out the rental unit's full address.
4. Hearing Information. Enter the hearing date you want moved, as dd/mm/yyyy.
5. Consent Confirmation. Record whether you have the others' agreement, and if so, whether it was spoken or written. According to the form's notes, verbal consent is acceptable; written consent is the better choice.
6. Additional Information. Give your reasons for a new date, explain why a virtual hearing or a stand-in will not work, and attach proof.
7. Scheduling Information. Fill in each person's blocked-out days (landlord, tenant and both representatives) for the coming three-month stretch.
8. Signature. Tick your role, sign and date. Licensed representatives add their Law Society number and how to reach them.

Sending it to the LTB

Portal steps:

1. Log in to the Tribunals Ontario Portal and open your file.
2. Go to Documents, Evidence and Requests.
3. Pick Request to Reschedule the Hearing.

Other routes listed on the form: fax (numbers are printed on it), the address LTB@ontario.ca, or the regional office named on your Notice of Hearing by mail or courier. If you are a lawyer or paralegal, the Practice Direction on licensees means you must use the Portal for this request. File once; duplicates slow processing down.

Six reasons requests fail

1. Someone did not agree. Without all-party consent (Rule 21.1), you are left arguing that compliance was not reasonably possible (Rule 21.2).
2. It arrived too close to the date. Under 5 business days, the same harder Rule 21.2 test applies.
3. The blocked-out dates are missing. They are mandatory under Rule 21.3, and the form warns that an incomplete request can be denied.
4. There is nothing proving the conflict. The form expects documents backing up the clash.
5. You treated it as approved. It is up to the parties to confirm the outcome with the LTB. If an applicant fails to appear, the application can be dismissed, or treated as abandoned at a CMH (Rules 9.4, 21.4).
6. You said the other side consented when they had not. Under the RTA it is an offence to give the LTB false or misleading information.

If the other side asks you to agree

• You can agree verbally or in writing; writing is easier to prove.
• Have your own unavailable dates for the next three months ready, since the request must list them.
• The original date holds until the LTB confirms a change. A respondent who does not attend may find the LTB proceeds without them.

After the LTB decides

A Member or Hearing Officer either grants or refuses the request.

• Granted: a fresh Notice of Hearing is issued with the new date.
• Refused, or not decided in time: the CMH or hearing goes ahead on the original date (Rule 21.4). Attend, and if you still need more time, ask for an adjournment when the hearing begins.

Questions people ask

What if the other side will not agree to a new date?

Expect a refusal, unless the Member is persuaded you could not reasonably have obtained consent or met the deadline (Rule 21.2). Plan to attend, or to ask for an adjournment once the hearing opens.

What is the latest I can send it?

Rule 21.1 requires the LTB to receive it 5 or more business days ahead. Earlier is always better.

Is a spoken "yes" from the other party enough?

The form accepts verbal consent as well as written consent. Getting it in writing is still wiser, because it is simpler to prove.

How is this different from an adjournment?

Rescheduling happens on paper, in advance. An adjournment is a spoken request at the start of the hearing, and under Rule 21.8 the Member considers the reason, any prejudice and how the file has gone so far.

I sent the request and heard nothing. Now what?

Contact the LTB well before the day. Silence is not approval, so prepare for the original date.

Official sources

• Request to Reschedule a Hearing form (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 21
• Tribunals Ontario Practice Direction on Hearing Formats
• 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.