N4 Notice for Non-Payment of Rent
Complete instructions for Ontario landlords issuing notice for rent arrears
Notice of Termination for Non-Payment of Rent
The N4 Notice is the first step in the eviction process when a tenant has not paid rent. This notice informs the tenant that they owe rent, specifies the exact amount owed, and explains that they can void the notice by paying the full amount within a specific timeframe. The notice must follow strict requirements set out in the Residential Tenancies Act, including proper calculation of arrears, correct notice periods based on payment frequency, and proper service on the tenant. An N4 Notice that contains errors or does not follow proper procedure may be invalid, which would prevent you from proceeding with an eviction application even if the tenant genuinely owes rent.
Completing an N4 Notice correctly is essential because the Landlord and Tenant Board carefully reviews notice requirements and dismisses applications based on defective notices. The tenant can challenge any errors in the notice at the hearing, and even small mistakes like incorrect dates or wrong calculations give the tenant grounds to have your application dismissed. These instructions walk you through the requirements for a valid N4 Notice, explain how to calculate rent arrears correctly, outline the notice periods that apply based on how often your tenant pays rent, and identify common errors that make notices invalid so you can avoid problems that delay eviction proceedings. For a complete overview of all Landlord and Tenant Board forms including applications and other notices, our comprehensive guide organizes every form type by category and explains when each is used.
Download the Official N4 Notice Form
The N4 Notice for Termination for Non-Payment of Rent is available from the Landlord and Tenant Board. Download the current official form before completing it using the instructions below.
Opens official Tribunals Ontario website in new window
Before You Issue an N4 Notice
Gather this information and consider these factors before serving notice
Verify Rent Owed
Confirm exactly what rent has not been paid by reviewing your records of payments received versus rent charged. Include only actual rent in your calculation, not utilities, parking fees, or other charges unless your tenancy agreement specifically defines those as additional rent. The N4 Notice can only address non-payment of rent itself, not other breaches of the tenancy agreement. If the tenant made partial payments, credit those against the oldest arrears first and calculate what remains unpaid. Keep detailed records showing each month’s rent charge, payments received with dates, and the running balance of arrears.
Check Last Month’s Rent Deposit
If you collected a last month’s rent deposit when the tenancy began, you cannot apply that deposit against arrears during the tenancy. The deposit can only be used for the actual last month the tenant occupies the unit, regardless of whether they owe other rent. Do not reduce your N4 Notice calculation by the amount of the deposit unless the tenant has given proper notice to terminate and this is genuinely their final month. Improperly applying the deposit against mid-tenancy arrears creates calculation errors that can make your notice invalid and delay eviction proceedings by months.
Consider Tenant Defenses
Before issuing an N4 Notice, think about whether the tenant has raised maintenance issues, claims about disrepair, or other problems with the rental unit. Tenants can raise these issues as defenses at the Landlord and Tenant Board hearing even if the rent is technically unpaid. However, as of November 2025, Bill 60 introduced new restrictions: tenants who want to raise their own issues at a rent arrears hearing generally must provide advance written notice and may be required to pay at least 50 percent of the claimed arrears before those issues will be heard at the same hearing. Tenants can still file separate applications about maintenance or other concerns, but using the arrears hearing itself to raise these defenses now has more procedural barriers.
If you have been ignoring serious maintenance problems, the tenant may still successfully argue for a rent abatement that reduces or eliminates the arrears you are claiming. Addressing legitimate maintenance concerns before pursuing eviction may be strategically wiser than proceeding with an N4 Notice that the tenant will defend by raising your neglect of repair obligations.
Landlord and Tenant Board hearings involve complex procedural rules and evidence requirements that go beyond simply proving rent is unpaid. Our landlord representation services help property owners navigate tribunal procedures, present evidence effectively, and anticipate tenant defenses before they derail your application.
Communication with Tenant
While not legally required before issuing an N4 Notice, discussing the situation with your tenant may resolve the matter without formal proceedings. The tenant may have temporary financial difficulties and be willing to arrange a payment plan, or there may be a genuine misunderstanding about payment due dates or amounts. Having a conversation and attempting to work out arrears before serving legal notice maintains a better landlord-tenant relationship and may get you paid faster than going through the full Landlord and Tenant Board process, which takes several months from notice to hearing to enforcement.
Calculating Rent Arrears Correctly
The N4 Notice must state the exact amount of rent owed and show a breakdown of how you calculated that amount. Calculation errors are one of the most common reasons the Landlord and Tenant Board dismisses eviction applications, so take time to ensure your numbers are accurate. Include only lawful rent charges and properly credit all payments received. The Board has no discretion to overlook calculation errors even when the tenant obviously owes some rent, so precision here is essential.
List Each Period
Create a table showing each rental period where rent was not paid, the amount charged for that period, any payments received, and the balance remaining. Start with the oldest unpaid period and work forward chronologically.
Apply Payments Properly
Credit payments to the oldest arrears first unless you and the tenant agreed in writing to apply payments differently. If the tenant paid eight hundred dollars when they owe two months at one thousand dollars each, apply the eight hundred to the oldest month.
Include Lawful Rent Only
Include only charges that qualify as lawful rent under your tenancy agreement. Utilities paid directly by the tenant to the utility company cannot be included. Late fees or NSF charges are not rent and cannot be included in an N4 Notice.
Total Accurately
Add up all unpaid amounts to reach a total. Double-check your arithmetic because even a small error in the total makes the notice invalid. Round to the nearest cent but do not round in your favour.
Notice Period Requirements
Understanding termination dates based on payment frequency (updated November 2025 under Bill 60)
Daily or Weekly Rent
For tenancies where rent is paid daily or weekly, the termination date on the N4 Notice must be at least seven days after you serve the notice. Count seven full days from the date of service, not including the service date itself. The termination date must also be the last day of a rental period or rent payment period. For example, if rent is due weekly on Mondays and you serve notice on a Wednesday, the earliest valid termination date would be the Monday that is at least seven days later, which would be eight days from service since you cannot terminate mid-week.
Monthly or Yearly Rent
For monthly and yearly tenancies, the termination date must be at least seven days after you serve the notice. This timeline was shortened from fourteen days under Bill 60, which took effect in November 2025. Count seven full days from the service date, and the termination date must be the last day of a rental period. If your tenant pays rent on the first of each month and you serve the N4 Notice on October tenth, the earliest valid termination date would be October thirty-first, assuming that is at least seven days from service. You cannot use a termination date in the middle of a rental period even if it meets the seven-day minimum.
Void Period
The tenant has a right to void the N4 Notice by paying all rent owed at any time before the termination date. If they pay everything listed on the notice before that date, the notice becomes void and you cannot proceed with an eviction application based on that notice. You would need to wait for additional non-payment and serve a new N4 Notice if rent remains unpaid after the void period expires. The void period protects tenants who experience temporary financial problems by giving them time to come up with the money and stay in the rental unit. Note that under the new seven-day timeline, tenants have significantly less time to arrange payment than under the previous fourteen-day rule.
After the N4: Filing an L1 Application
If the tenant does not pay the arrears and does not move out by the termination date, the next step is filing an L1 Application with the Landlord and Tenant Board requesting an eviction order and money judgment for the arrears. You must file within thirty days after the termination date or the notice expires. New rent that comes due after you served the notice but before you file can be included in your L1 Application. The L1 process involves a hearing where both parties present their cases, and if successful, results in an eviction order enforceable by the Sheriff.
Serving the N4 Notice
The N4 Notice must be served on the tenant using one of the methods allowed under the Residential Tenancies Act. Proper service is essential because without it, your notice is invalid even if everything else is correct. You can hand the notice directly to the tenant, which is the most reliable method and starts the notice period immediately. You can leave it in the tenant’s mailbox, but service is not considered complete until the fifth day after you place it there, so you need to account for this delay when calculating your termination date. You can slide it under the door of the rental unit or through a mail slot, with service complete on the fifth day after delivery.
You cannot serve notice by email, text message, or regular mail. These methods are not valid for N4 Notices regardless of whether the tenant actually receives and reads the notice. If you use mailbox service or door service, keep detailed records of exactly when and how you delivered the notice, because you will need to prove service if the tenant disputes it at the hearing. Taking a photo of the notice in the mailbox or by the door with a timestamp can help document service. If you serve the notice personally by handing it to the tenant, consider having a witness present who can testify about service if needed.
Received an N4 Notice?
If you’re a tenant who has received an N4 Notice, you have options—but you must act quickly. As of November 2025, the notice period for monthly tenancies is only seven days, giving you much less time to respond than before. Many N4 Notices contain errors that make them invalid, and even valid notices can often be defended at a hearing. You can void the notice by paying the full arrears before the termination date, or you may have defenses based on maintenance issues, improper calculations, or procedural defects.
Get Tenant HelpCommon Questions About N4 Notices
What happens if I make a mistake on the N4 Notice?
Mistakes on N4 Notices can make them invalid, which means you cannot proceed with an eviction application based on that notice. Common errors include incorrect calculation of arrears, wrong termination dates that do not meet minimum notice periods or do not fall on the last day of a rental period, missing information in required fields, or service that does not follow proper methods. If you discover an error after serving the notice, you generally cannot correct it and must serve a new notice with the correct information. This resets the notice period and delays the eviction process.
Some minor errors may not invalidate a notice if they do not prejudice the tenant’s rights or ability to understand the notice. However, do not assume an error is minor enough to overlook. The Landlord and Tenant Board tends to strictly interpret notice requirements, and tenants often challenge defective notices as a defense strategy even when they clearly owe rent. The safest approach is to carefully review every detail before serving the notice, and if you realize you made an error after service, serve a corrected notice rather than hoping the Board will overlook the problem.
Can I include late fees or NSF charges in the N4 Notice?
No, the N4 Notice can only include lawful rent as defined in the Residential Tenancies Act. Late fees, NSF charges, administrative fees, or penalties for late payment are not rent and cannot be included in an N4 Notice even if your tenancy agreement says the tenant must pay these charges. Including non-rent charges in your N4 calculation makes the notice invalid, which means you cannot proceed with eviction based on that notice. If you want to collect late fees or NSF charges, you would need to pursue those through a separate application to the Landlord and Tenant Board or through Small Claims Court.
The restriction to rent-only charges exists because the N4 Notice is specifically about non-payment of rent and leads to eviction, which is a severe remedy. The law does not allow eviction for failure to pay other charges even if those charges are legitimate under the tenancy agreement. This means you need to be very careful about what amounts you include in the N4 calculation, excluding anything that is not actual rent for occupation of the rental unit. Parking charges, utility charges, and similar fees may or may not count as rent depending on exactly how your tenancy agreement is worded, so review your lease carefully.
What if the tenant pays only part of the arrears?
If the tenant pays part of the arrears but not the full amount listed in the N4 Notice, the notice remains valid for the unpaid portion. The tenant must pay the complete amount shown on the notice to void it. Paying ninety-five percent of the amount is not sufficient even if the remaining five percent is a small sum. However, you should credit any partial payment against the arrears when you file your application with the Landlord and Tenant Board, reducing the amount you are claiming by whatever the tenant has paid since the notice was served.
Consider whether accepting a partial payment and working out a payment plan might be better than proceeding with eviction, especially if the tenant is making genuine efforts to pay. The Landlord and Tenant Board has discretion to allow tenants to remain in the unit if they can pay arrears over time, so you may end up in payment plan territory anyway after spending months going through the hearing process. If the tenant pays part of the arrears and you want to proceed with eviction for the remainder, you can continue with your application based on the original notice, claiming the reduced amount that remains unpaid after crediting the payment received.
How long do I have to file an application after serving the N4?
You can file your L1 Application with the Landlord and Tenant Board any time after the termination date specified in the N4 Notice has passed, provided the tenant has not voided the notice by paying all arrears. However, you must file within thirty days after the termination date if you want to rely on that notice. If more than thirty days pass after the termination date without filing, the notice expires and you must serve a new N4 Notice covering any unpaid rent and wait for that new notice period to expire before filing.
The thirty-day limitation prevents landlords from holding old N4 Notices indefinitely and filing applications months later when the financial situation may have changed. It ensures applications are based on recent notices that reflect current circumstances. If you are approaching the thirty-day deadline and are not yet ready to file, consider whether you should proceed with the application or let the notice expire and reassess the situation. Filing an application triggers a process that will take several months to complete, so ensure you are committed to pursuing eviction before submitting the paperwork and paying the filing fee.
How long do I have to request a review of an LTB order?
As of November 2025, Bill 60 reduced the time to request a review or appeal of a Landlord and Tenant Board order from thirty days to fifteen days. This applies to both landlords and tenants. If you receive an unfavourable order and believe there are grounds for review, you must act quickly to file your request within this shortened window. Once the fifteen days pass, the order becomes final and much harder to challenge. If you are considering a review, seek legal assistance immediately rather than waiting to decide.
Need Help as a Landlord?
Professional assistance with N4 Notices, L1 Applications, and hearing representation throughout Toronto and the GTA. Free consultation to discuss your eviction matter.
Request Free Consultation