Can the LTB Hear You Sooner? Ontario's Shorten-Time Request for Landlords and Tenants

Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) schedules hearings in its own order. The Request to Shorten Time is how you ask to jump ahead — either to get your hearing earlier than usual, or to rescue an above-guideline rent increase (AGI) application that missed the 90-day lead time before the first increase. Any party can use it, landlord or tenant. It works only when waiting would cause harm you can actually prove.

Quick summary

Two things it can ask for

Under RTA s. 190 and Rule 16, the Board can shrink its own time requirements, though never the prescribed ones. Two boxes appear on the form:

How the Member decides (Rule 16.4):

• prejudice to you, or to the other side, from granting or refusing;
• whether that prejudice can be fixed;
• good faith;
• anything else that's relevant.

Does your situation qualify?

The official instructions give landlord examples. They show how serious things need to be:

• L1 (arrears): months of non-payment creating serious personal or financial hardship for the landlord, laid out specifically and documented.
• L2 based on an N6: illegal acts by the tenant endangering the health and safety of another tenant.
• L2 based on an N12: a purchase and sale agreement could fall through if the tenant stays — backed up by the closing date, proof an extension is unlikely, and the buyer's housing situation.
• Late L5: an emergency in the landlord's life blocked filing on time.

Tenants can use the same form on the same test: show concrete prejudice from waiting, and deal with the other side's.

Wrong tool if you want to:

• cut a notice period. Notice periods are prescribed; O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56 puts them beyond reach. Example: the minimum of 7 days on an N4 given from September 21, 2026 (RTA s. 59(1)) applies to daily, weekly and monthly tenancies, and stays 7;
• change the date of a hearing already scheduled → reschedule request;
• file late → extension request.

Timing points

1. Hearing requests have no deadline, but an earlier date helps less the longer you wait to ask.
2. The AGI option is only relevant inside the 90-day window. Example: if the first increase you want takes effect Monday, March 1, 2027, the L5 needed to be filed by Tuesday, December 1, 2026. A landlord ready only on Wednesday, January 6, 2027 would need this request.
3. One shot per time requirement. Denied once? A repeat request about that hearing or that AGI deadline needs a significant change in circumstances (Rule 16.6; form).
4. You might end up serving. Shortened service time can come with an order that you, not the Board, deliver the application and Notice of Hearing (Rule 5.2). Read the order, and where needed file proof of service.

Filling in the form (version 2025/10), step by step

1. File Number at the top. Same reason for several files? List them all, then upload the form to each file on the Portal separately.
2. Language and accommodation — fill in if relevant.
3. Requesting Party's Information. Which party or representative you are; contact particulars; preferred delivery method for LTB documents.
4. The unit, building or complex — complete address.
5. What you want shortened — the hearing box or the AGI box.
6. Your reasons. Connect each one to this application; the form warns that unrelated reasons won't be considered. Make the harm measurable — dollars owing to date, the closing or mortgage date at risk, each safety incident by date. Then deal with the other party's side: what an earlier date costs them, and why your harm is greater or theirs can be managed. Late AGI? Explain the obstacle to timely filing.
7. Documents. The form cautions that a request without them may be denied. Medical notes: condition, impact, likely recovery.
8. Signature. Role, signature, date; licensees add Law Society number and contact information.

Sending it

• Portal: upload to the file on the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Lawyers and paralegals must use the Portal when the Request to Shorten Time stands alone (no other request attached).
• Email: LTB@ontario.ca.
• Mail or courier: the LTB at 15 Grosvenor Street (Ground Floor), Toronto, M7A 2G6.
• In person: a ServiceOntario centre.

A letter or email can replace the form under the instructions, provided it identifies the file, the time requirement and your reasons — but the form is the recommended route.

Checklist before you send

• [ ] The request is about an earlier hearing or a late AGI — not a notice period, a reschedule or a late filing
• [ ] Every reason is tied to this application
• [ ] Harm is quantified and documented
• [ ] The other side's prejudice is addressed
• [ ] Uploaded to every relevant file
• [ ] It's your strongest version — you may not get a second try

Why requests are denied

1. Nothing to back it up. The number-one reason for refusal: hardship asserted, with no bank statements, sale agreement or incident records behind it.
2. Reasons unrelated to the application. Complaints about LTB delays generally won't be considered, per the form.
3. Silence about the other side. Both parties' prejudice matters under Rule 16.4; skip theirs and refusal gets easier.
4. Aiming at a prescribed time, like a notice period. Outside the Board's power — RTA s. 190(2) and O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56.
5. Uploading to one file when several are affected. Each file needs its own upload.
6. Wasting your one request. A weak first try can foreclose a better second one, absent a significant change.

After you file

A Member rules on it — often with no input from the other side (Rule 16.5) — granting or denying, with reasons.

• Granted, hearing: expect a replacement Notice of Hearing showing the new, earlier date; see whether serving it is now your job.
• Granted, AGI: the L5 goes ahead for processing.
• Denied: the hearing is scheduled the normal way — prepare accordingly.

Questions people ask

If it's granted, how much earlier is the hearing?

Nobody can say; the LTB hasn't published a timeline. All the form promises is "sooner" than the normal schedule.

Does it cost anything to ask?

The LTB's fee schedule shows none for this request. The underlying application's fee still applies.

What should a landlord attach to an L1 request?

The instructions want specifics about how the arrears are affecting you, plus documents. Think rent ledger, evidence of mortgage or property tax payments you couldn't make, and correspondence from your lender — records that demonstrate hardship.

My L5 is late. Have I lost it?

Not necessarily. This request is your chance to show why meeting the 90-day lead time was impossible, while dealing with prejudice on each side. If it's denied, the L5 won't be accepted.

Official sources

• Request to Shorten Time form (PDF)
• Request to Shorten Time Instructions (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 5 and 16
• O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 190
• Practice Direction Requiring Law Society Licensees to use TOP

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