Recovering Money From a Tenant Who Has Moved Out: Ontario's L10 Application

When a tenant leaves owing you money, the L10 is how you get it back through the Ontario Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB). It reaches unpaid rent and compensation for overholding, NSF charges, utility arrears, damage, and costs flowing from substantial interference. Two features set it apart from the other landlord applications: a hard one-year limitation period that runs from the day the tenant moved out, and a rule that service on the former tenant is your job, not the LTB's, proven with a Certificate of Service made just for the L10.

The essentials

What you can recover with an L10

From September 1, 2021, the RTA has allowed claims against a tenant or former tenant no longer in possession, as long as that person left on or after that date. Five kinds of claim are possible:

1. Rent owing (s. 87(1)), together with compensation for use and occupation for any days the tenant stayed past the end of a tenancy terminated by notice or agreement (s. 87(3)).
2. NSF charges, meaning the bank's fee plus an administration charge capped at $20 per cheque (s. 87(5); O. Reg. 516/06, s. 17), claimable only when you also claim rent or compensation.
3. Utilities the tenant was obliged to pay under the tenancy agreement and did not (s. 88.2).
4. Undue damage that the tenant, an occupant or a guest caused, whether wilfully or through negligence (s. 89).
5. Out-of-pocket expenses arising from substantial interference with your lawful rights or reasonable enjoyment (s. 88.1).

Whatever the LTB awards is reduced by the rent deposit and any interest owed on it.

The L10 has limits:

• RGI landlords cannot use it to recover additional rent caused by misrepresented income; that claim survives only while the tenant remains in possession (s. 90).
• The LTB cannot award above $50,000, and anything over that amount is extinguished when the order is issued (s. 207(3)).
• A guarantor cannot be pursued on an L10 (Interpretation Guideline 11).

Picking the right application

The L10 fits a tenant who is no longer in possession and a claim still inside the one-year window. Otherwise:

How far the rent claim reaches depends on the way the tenancy came to an end (Interpretation Guideline 11; RTA s. 88):

• Ended by agreement: rent runs to the agreed termination date.
• Ended by a defective tenant notice: rent runs to the earliest date a compliant notice could have named. Accepting the short notice risks a finding that you agreed to end the tenancy, in which case nothing is owed past that date.
• No notice, or the unit was abandoned: rent runs to the earliest date a valid notice could have set, measured from when you knew, or should have known, the tenant was gone.
• Mitigation applies throughout. The LTB considers whether you made reasonable efforts to re-rent and limit your loss (ss. 16, 88(4)), and it will not award rent for a period when a new tenant was paying you.

Timelines that decide the case

The one-year limit. Every L10 claim has to be filed within one year of the date the tenant stopped being in possession (RTA ss. 87(1.1), 87(3.1), 88.1(2), 88.2(2), 89(1.1)); the form's information page puts it as no more than 365 days after move-out day. The limit comes from the statute and cannot be extended by the LTB (O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56). Be ready to prove the move-out date with something concrete: the return of the keys, a move-out inspection, or the facts showing abandonment. For instance, if a tenant handed back the keys on March 14, 2026, the claim must be filed by March 14, 2027.

Service on the former tenant. Each former tenant must receive the application and the Notice of Hearing 30 or more days ahead of the hearing (Rule 5.8). Under RTA s. 191(3) and Rule 3.9, mail counts as served five days after it is sent, so the practical mailing deadline is 35 days out. Courier is treated as served on the first business day after you hand it to the courier (Rule 3.9).

Certificate of Service. It must be on file with the LTB 20 or more days before the hearing (Rule 5.16).

Alternative service. When no permitted method will work, a Request to Use Alternative Service is due 40 or more days before the hearing (Rule 3.4).

Evidence. Bills, invoices, photographs and the tenancy agreement go to the former tenant and the LTB 7 or more days before the hearing (Rule 19.1).

Put together for a hearing on Thursday, June 10, 2027: an alternative-service request by May 1, mailing by May 6 (deemed served May 11, exactly 30 days out), the Certificate of Service filed by May 21, and evidence disclosed by June 3.

Completing the L10, part by part

The form in force is version 2026/09. It consists of a three-page checklist and information sheet that you do not file, the eight-page application, and a Payment Information Form.

Language and accommodation. Select English or French. Any Accommodation Request is sent on its own.

Part 1 – Address of the rental unit. The complete address of the unit the tenant vacated.

Part 2 – Total amount the former tenant owes. Carry over the Total from Part 5.

Part 3 – General Information.

The Landlord box takes your name, contact details and your choice of Mail or Email for communication.

The move-out date line reads "The former tenant moved out of the rental unit on (dd/mm/yyyy)". Since this date starts the one-year clock, enter one you can prove.

Under Former tenants, list each person's name, email and phone number.

The current address box asks where each former tenant lives now, if you know. Do not put the rental unit address here. The LTB uses the current address to send the order, and you may rely on it to enforce. At the hearing you may be asked how you obtained it. If you do not know it, you may leave it blank, but the duty to serve the application remains.

Part 4 – Applying to Collect Money the Former Tenant May Owe You.

Reason 1 (rent and compensation). Complete the Rent Owing table: From, To, Rent Charged, Rent Paid, Rent Owing. Older periods may be grouped in the first or second row, but the bottom row must show only the final period. Next, enter the deposit information: the amount held, when it was collected, and the most recent interest period. A fixed monthly utility charge paid to you is rent; a variable share of a utility bill is claimed under Reason 3 instead.

Reason 2 (NSF charges, only together with Reason 1). One line per cheque. The administration charge cannot exceed $20, and the face amount of the cheque is not part of this claim.

Reason 3 (utilities). One line per bill: provider, bill date, period, total, amount paid by the tenant and amount still owing. Explain the claim in writing and disclose the bills and the written tenancy agreement.

Reason 4 (damage). State the total and explain, item by item, what was damaged and the basis for each repair or replacement figure. Estimates are acceptable.

Reason 5 (substantial interference). List the out-of-pocket expenses and tie each one to the conduct. Damage and utilities do not belong here.

Part 5 – Total Amount Owing. Add up the five reason totals, then add whichever application fee you are actually paying.

Part 6 – Signature. Signed and dated by the landlord or a legal representative; a representative also gives a Law Society number and contact details. Unsigned applications are not accepted.

Payment Information Form. Pay by credit card, or by certified cheque or money order made out to the "Minister of Finance". For card payments sent by mail or courier, use the Credit Card Payment Form.

Portal filing. The Portal collects the same information through on-screen fields. Review it all before reaching the "Ready to Submit" page, because the draft cannot be changed after that. Tribunals Ontario does not publish a screen-by-screen guide, so rely on the prompts as they appear.

Filing and serving

You file the completed L10 with the fee, or with an approved Fee Waiver Request instead of the fee (L10 Instructions, Section C). The Tribunals Ontario Portal is the route shown on the LTB forms page, with mail, courier and ServiceOntario also covered in the instructions. Lawyers and paralegals are required to use the Portal.

Your service obligation (RTA s. 189.0.1). When the Notice of Hearing issues, every former tenant must be handed or sent a separate set (the L10 plus the Notice of Hearing), 30 or more days before the hearing. The allowed methods (RTA s. 191(1.0.1); Rule 3.3) are:

• personal delivery to the former tenant;
• leaving it with someone who appears to be an adult at the current residence of the former tenant;
• mail or courier to that current residence;
• leaving it at the current residence where mail is normally delivered, through the mail slot, or under the door;
• email, but only where the tenant consented in writing during the tenancy to email service and you can prove it was received, such as by a reply or read receipt.

Leaving the documents at the old rental unit is not allowed. Where none of these methods is workable, ask the LTB at least 40 days before the hearing for permission to use another, such as service at the tenant's workplace (Rule 3.4).

The L10-specific Certificate of Service. The general Certificate of Service will not do. Use Certificate of Service – Serving a Former Tenant or a Tenant no Longer in Possession of the Rental Unit, and complete:

• the file number and rental unit address;
• the service date and what was served (the L10 Application and the Notice of Hearing);
• the person or people served (where you served more than one former tenant by the same method on one day, shade the circle and attach a list with each name and address);
• the method, including the address or email address used;
• the signature of whoever actually carried out the service.

It must reach the LTB 20 or more days before the hearing.

Where L10s go wrong

1. Filing after the one-year mark. Because the limit is set by statute and cannot be extended, even one day late ends the claim at the LTB.
2. A move-out before September 1, 2021. Those claims are outside the LTB's jurisdiction.
3. Missing or late L10 Certificate of Service. If it has not arrived 20 or more days before the hearing, the LTB may cancel the hearing and close the file, and the filing fee is not returned (Rule 5.16; L10 Instructions, Section E).
4. Serving at the former rental unit. That method is not available for a tenant who is out of possession.
5. Serving with too little time. Service has to be complete 30 days before the hearing. Mailing exactly 30 days out means deemed service only 25 days out, and Rule 5.17 lets the LTB adjourn or dismiss for failure to serve.
6. Email service lacking proof of receipt, or lacking written consent from the tenancy period. Rule 3.3 is not satisfied.
7. No explanation for the current address. Should the former tenant fail to attend, expect to explain how you learned where they live now. Keep the forwarding address, the tenant's own messages, or whatever other source you relied on.
8. Ignoring re-rental. Claiming months when a new tenant was paying, or not addressing your efforts to re-rent, can shrink the rent award or eliminate it (s. 88(4)).
9. NSF charges without a rent or compensation claim, or an administration charge above $20 per cheque.
10. Filing an outdated L10 on or after November 30, 2026. From that date, versions older than 2026/09 are not accepted.

After filing

On the hearing date set by the Notice of Hearing, the former tenant is free to contest the figures. Because s. 87(2) carries the s. 82 tenant-issues rules over to rent claims, where the claim was filed on or after September 21, 2026, a former tenant who intends to raise issues of their own must do two things at least 7 days before the hearing:

• describe those issues in writing to both you and the LTB; and
• pay you half of the rent arrears you claimed.

Both the updated L10 form and Interpretation Guideline 11 reflect this.

The LTB sends the order by email, or to whatever current address you supplied. It is a money order only, enforced as a debt, with no eviction attached. For orders issued on or after July 1, 2026 that contain a serious error, a review request must be made within 15 days of the order. Since collection depends on the order being sound, it is worth reading it closely as soon as it arrives.

Recent changes

September 21, 2026

• An updated L10 was released, and versions dated before 2026/09 stop being accepted on November 30, 2026.
• For rent applications filed from that date onward, a tenant or former tenant must pay the landlord half of the claimed arrears, 7 days before the hearing, in order to raise other issues.
• Interpretation Guideline 11 was revised.

July 1, 2026

• Seasonal air-conditioner charges may be included in rent.
• For orders issued on or after this date, the time to request a review was cut from 30 days to 15.

Questions about the L10

What is the filing deadline?

One year from the day the tenant moved out, with no extension available from the LTB. The move-out must also have happened on or after September 1, 2021.

Will the LTB serve the former tenant for me?

No. Serving each former tenant with the application and Notice of Hearing 30 or more days before the hearing is your responsibility, followed by filing the L10 Certificate of Service 20 or more days before the hearing.

I have no idea where the former tenant lives. Can I still file?

Yes, the current-address box can be left blank. You still need to serve them by an allowed method, or obtain the LTB's permission for an alternative method 40 or more days before the hearing, and you may have to explain how you found any address you used.

Is email service allowed?

Only if two things are true: while still a tenant, they gave written consent to email service, and you have proof the email actually reached them.

Official sources

• Form L10 (2026/09) and L10 Instructions
• Certificate of Service – L10 Serving a Former Tenant
• Request to Use Alternative Service
• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 16, 87, 88, 88.1, 88.2, 89, 90, 189.0.1, 191, 207
• O. Reg. 516/06, ss. 17, 56
• LTB Rules of Procedure
• Interpretation Guideline 11: Rent Arrears
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• LTB Forms, filing and fees