A1 Form Ontario: Getting a Ruling on Whether the RTA Covers Your Unit

In Ontario, Form A1 is how you ask the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for a ruling on whether the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), in whole or in part, governs a particular rental unit or residential complex. Either side of the relationship, landlord or tenant, may bring it. Where coverage is honestly unclear, an A1 order tells you which rules bind you before you act.

At a glance

The purpose of the A1

Under s. 9 of the RTA, a landlord or a tenant may ask for an order on "whether this Act or any provision of it applies to a particular rental unit or residential complex". Keep in mind that the Act governs rental units in residential complexes even where the parties signed something saying otherwise or purported to waive it (s. 3(1)). Labelling the deal a "licence", a "room rental" or "not a tenancy" changes nothing on its own. Under s. 202 the Board weighs what the arrangement actually is and can set aside how it was dressed up.

The issues an A1 typically resolves fall into three groups.

Complete exemptions under s. 5. These include:

• seasonal or vacation stays in a hotel, motel, cottage or similar place;
• housing for farm workers that depends on their employment;
• a unit whose occupant is required to share a bathroom or kitchen with the owner, or with the owner's spouse, child or parent, or the spouse's child or parent, where that person lives in the building;
• emergency shelter on a short-term basis;
• some student residences;
• housing tied to employment in a building partly used for business; and
• short-term respite care in a care home.

Partial exemptions. Under s. 6.1, the rent rules do not reach units in a building whose first occupancy came after November 15, 2018, nor certain second units in houses created after 2018. Under s. 7, social and non-profit housing is exempt from parts of the Act.

Parts that apply only to certain housing. Part IX covers care homes alone, and Part X covers mobile home parks and land lease communities.

Choosing the A1 (and knowing when to skip it)

File an A1 ahead of any action when the answer controls the process you have to follow. Picture an owner who lives in the house and shares the kitchen with a boarder: before ending that arrangement, the owner wants to know whether LTB termination notices are required at all.

Often no separate A1 is needed: if a tenant raises coverage in an existing application, such as your L2, the Board can decide it there, sparing you an extra hearing.

The A1 is also the wrong tool for sorting out tenant status after an unauthorized person moves in; that question belongs on an A2.

Finally, never take an exemption for granted. For the post-2018 rent exemption, s. 6.1(6) places the onus of proof on the landlord, and for any exemption you rely on the Board will want to see evidence.

Timing rules

• Limitation period: none is set out in s. 9.
• When it counts as filed (Rule 4.8): an emailed application is filed on the day it arrives; a couriered one, the next business day after the courier gets it; a mailed one, on the fifth day after mailing that is not a holiday.
• Serving the other side: the Board usually serves the application together with the Notice of Hearing itself (Rule 5.1). Where the Board tells you to serve, you must do so no later than 15 days before the hearing (Rule 5.9), and your Certificate of Service is due within five days after serving (Rule 5.15).
• Challenging the result: for orders issued on or after July 1, 2026, any party may request a review within 15 days (Rule 26.5).

Completing the A1, part by part

The version in use is 01/04/2022. Type, or print in capital letters, and keep the A1 instructions open as you go.

Part 1: General Information

• Applicant Information: shade the "Landlord" box and supply your name or the company's name, address, telephone numbers and email. List any co-landlords on a Schedule of Parties.
• Address of the Rental Unit, Building or Residential Complex: the complete street address, including the unit number and postal code.
• Other Parties to the Application: shade "Tenant", since a tenant is always the other party. List each occupant whose status is in question; if there is more than one, use a Schedule of Parties.
• Related Applications: give the file number of any unresolved application involving the same unit or complex.

Part 2: Reason for Your Application

This part asks you to "describe the premises" and to explain why, in your view, the RTA applies or does not. Specifics win here. Cover:

1. the layout: is the unit self-contained, or are the kitchen and bathroom shared, and with whom?
2. who owns the property, who lives in it, and from what date;
3. what the occupant pays, and what that payment buys;
4. whether employment, a program, care or a seasonal element is part of the arrangement;
5. for a s. 6.1 argument, the date residential occupancy of the building or addition first began, backed by proof such as an occupancy permit;
6. the precise RTA section you rely on (s. 5(i), for instance) and which provisions you say apply or do not.

Next, state how many rental units the complex holds in total and how many are covered. Where some but not all units are covered and there is more than one, list them on a separate page.

Part 3: Signature

Shade either "Landlord" or "Representative", then sign and date. A representative must also give a Law Society number and contact information.

Payment Information Form

Mark how you are paying. If you paid online, record the receipt number.

Filing the A1

You have three routes:

• By email. Pay the $53 fee through the Online Payment for Tribunal Applications page (Visa or Mastercard, credit or debit). Within 24 hours, send the application and the receipt to LTBpayments@ontario.ca, putting the receipt number and the address in the subject line.
• By mail or courier. Enclose a certified cheque or money order payable to the "Minister of Finance", or pay by credit card using the Credit Card Payment Form.
• At ServiceOntario. Bring it in person to a location that accepts LTB filings.

The A1 instructions (August 2023) mention mail or courier only, while the LTB's current forms, filing and fees page adds email and ServiceOntario. Fees are not refunded; details are on the LTB fees page. If cost is a barrier, a Fee Waiver Request can be made.

Errors that sink an A1

1. Trusting the wording of the agreement. Any term saying the RTA does not apply is void (ss. 3(1), 4), and the Board looks past labels to substance (s. 202).
2. Stretching the shared-facilities exemption. Section 5(i) only works where the kitchen or bathroom is shared with the owner, or a listed relative of the owner, who lives in the building. Sharing with a property manager, a landlord who is not the owner, or a fellow tenant falls outside it.
3. Claiming the s. 6.1 rent exemption without proof. The onus sits with you (s. 6.1(6)). With no evidence of first occupancy, the claim will likely fail.
4. A thin Part 2. A bare assertion that the Act does not apply, with no facts and no section cited, leaves the Board nothing to rule on.
5. Acting first and asking later. Suppose you deal with the occupant as if the Act did not apply and, say, change the locks; if the Board then decides the RTA does apply, the tenant can bring applications over what you did.
6. Missing fee or outstanding LTB fines. Either one stops the application from being processed (Rule 6.1).

After you file

A hearing is scheduled, and the Board then issues an order declaring whether the RTA applies and to what degree. A finding that it applies means the standard RTA notices and applications govern from there. A finding that it does not means the LTB lacks jurisdiction, and any dispute has to go to the courts.

Frequently asked questions

I rent out a room in the home I live in. Is that covered by the RTA?

It is not covered if the occupant has to share a bathroom or kitchen with you as owner, or with your spouse, child or parent, or your spouse's child or parent, living in the building (s. 5(i)). Where the room comes with its own kitchen and bathroom, or the owner lives elsewhere, the Act probably applies.

Can the parties agree in the lease that the RTA won't apply?

They cannot. The Act governs regardless of any agreement or waiver to the contrary, and any lease term that conflicts with it is void.

Do new buildings escape the RTA entirely?

No. Where a building was first occupied after November 15, 2018, its units are exempt from the rent increase guideline and related rent rules under s. 6.1, but everything else in the RTA, eviction rules included, continues to apply.

Who is responsible for the A1 filing fee?

Whoever files it. The fee is $53 for a landlord and for a tenant alike.

Official sources

• Form A1 – Application about Whether the Act Applies (PDF)
• A1 Instructions
• LTB Forms, filing and fees
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 3, 5, 6.1, 9
• Interpretation Guideline 21: Landlords, Tenants, Occupants and Residential Tenancies
• LTB Rules of Procedure