Fee Waiver Request at the Ontario LTB: Eligibility, Income Limits and Filing

An individual with a low income can use Ontario's Fee Waiver Request to ask the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) not to charge its fees. The waiver reaches application fees, the fee for a Request to Review, hearing recordings and copies. Few landlords meet the test and corporations are excluded entirely, but an individual landlord whose household lives mainly on income support, or earns less than the published limits, may qualify.

At a glance

The legal basis for a waiver

Under s. 181.1 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), the Board may, in accordance with its Rules, waive or defer some or all of a fee "for low-income individuals in appropriate circumstances". Rule 2 of the LTB Rules of Procedure makes the LTB's Fee Waiver Request the required form and provides that a waiver will be granted when the requester satisfies the criteria printed on it.

The effect of a granted waiver is broad. According to the Practice Direction on Fee Waiver, every fee the LTB charges in connection with the application you are a party to is waived going forward.

The two ways to qualify

You need to fit one route, not both.

Route 1: income support is the household's main income

The household's primary source of income must be one or more of the following:

• Canada Pension Plan
• War Veterans' Allowance
• Old Age Security Pension, but only when combined with the Guaranteed Income Supplement (OAS by itself is not enough)
• Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)
• Ontario Works

Route 2: household income under the limit

Add up the household's gross income for a month, from every source and before any tax or deduction. It must be under the figure for your household size:

These limits come from the current form and the Practice Direction on Fee Waiver dated August 14, 2026. The household is you, your spouse and any dependent children.

To illustrate: an individual landlord living with a spouse and no children is a household of two. If the two of them together bring in $2,300 a month gross, including any rent received, they fall under the $2,475 limit. At $2,500 a month they would be over it.

Situations where the form fits, and where it does not

It fits an individual landlord filing an L-application, a Request to Review, or any request that carries a fee (a hearing recording, for instance, costs $16.15), provided the household satisfies Route 1 or Route 2.

It does not fit a landlord that is a corporation, partnership or other organization, because only individuals are eligible. Nor does it help once you have already paid: waivers apply only from the moment they are granted, and the LTB does not refund fees.

Completing the form

Part 1: General Information

Fill in your name, mailing address, a daytime telephone number and your email.

Part 2: Reason for Request

Pick Reason 1 or Reason 2, never both. For Reason 1, check every income support program that forms the household's primary source of income. For Reason 2, choose the household size and write in the household's total gross monthly income from all sources.

Part 3: Declaration

Read the declaration before you sign it. By signing, you confirm the information is complete and accurate; you accept that filing false or misleading information is an offence under RTA s. 234; and you agree that the LTB may ask for financial records to back up your statements. Add the date.

Staff use the "For Office Use Only" box; leave it alone.

Submitting the request

• The form states, in bold, that it must be attached to the front of the application or request it relates to, or to your written note explaining what you are asking the LTB for (copies, for example).
• The LTB forms page gives mail or courier and ServiceOntario as the ways to file.
• Rule 2.1 lets a representative licensed by the Law Society of Ontario fill in the request in the Tribunals Ontario Portal using the client's information.
• The Practice Direction itself lists only two ways to file: in person through ServiceOntario, or by mailing the package to an LTB office. Fax comes up only where it explains the reply: a request made at ServiceOntario, by mail or by fax gets a mailed answer within a week saying whether the waiver was granted.

Why requests are denied or filings stall

1. The landlord is a company. Waivers are for individuals. A numbered company holding title to the rental will be refused.
2. Household income is understated. The measure is gross household income from every source, which includes a spouse's earnings and rent coming in. Understating it is an offence under s. 234, and the LTB can test your figures by asking for financial documents.
3. Both reasons checked, or none. The form calls for exactly one.
4. Relying on OAS without GIS. Old Age Security on its own does not meet Reason 1.
5. Sending the form on its own, or behind the filing. It belongs on the front of the document it relates to.
6. No payment after a denial. If you left out payment details and the request is refused, the Practice Direction gives you three business days after the LTB contacts you to pay. Miss that and the application comes back to you. Where timing matters, that delay can cost you your place.

After you file

Staff assess the request and send back a copy stamped Approved or Denied (criteria not met). An approved waiver means your filing goes ahead with no fee, and any later LTB fees on the same application are waived too, which matters if you later need a hearing recording or a review. Should your finances change while the case is under way, the Practice Direction allows a fresh request.

Frequently asked questions

Is a fee waiver available to landlords at all?

Yes, to a landlord who is an individual and whose household satisfies Reason 1 or Reason 2. A corporation or other organization cannot obtain one.

What are the 2026 income limits for a waiver?

Monthly gross household income must be under $1,650 for a single person, $2,475 for two people, $2,840 for three, $3,390 for four, and $3,940 for a household of five or more.

Does the Tribunals Ontario Portal accept a fee waiver request?

Under Rule 2.1, a licensed lawyer or paralegal can complete one in the Portal for a client. For people representing themselves, the LTB forms page lists mail, courier and ServiceOntario, and the August 14, 2026 Practice Direction on Fee Waiver mentions only ServiceOntario and mail. Since neither source describes a Portal option for self-represented filers, confirm with the LTB before counting on one.

Do I have to prove my income?

You might. The declaration you sign warns that the LTB can require financial documents on request.

Official sources

• Fee Waiver Request (form)
• Practice Direction on Fee Waiver
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rule 2
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, s. 181.1
• LTB Forms, filing and fees