For an Ontario landlord, a long wait for a Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) decision is rarely neutral: arrears keep growing and the unit stays tied up. The LTB's Request to Assign a New Member is a motion form asking that your file be handed to a different Member because the original one cannot finish, or has blown through a deadline the Chair set. It is the one formal remedy for decision delay, and it comes with conditions you must satisfy before the LTB will even accept it.
Snapshot
| Who may file | Any party, landlord, tenant or other, or a representative |
| Earliest filing | After a written status inquiry, and no sooner than 90 days after the last hearing date or submission deadline |
| Latest filing | None; 90 days is a floor, not a cut-off |
| Where | The Tribunals Ontario Portal, choosing "Motion for Assignment of New Member"; the instructions also mention email, mail, courier and ServiceOntario |
| Fee | The LTB fee schedule shows none |
| What follows | Usually nothing; the motion is ordinarily decided on paper |
The legal basis
The Statutory Powers Procedure Act, s. 4.4, allows a tribunal's chair to appoint another panel to finish a hearing or decide a matter where a single-member panel has died, is or seems unable to complete the work, or has not finished within a period the chair set. LTB Rule 27, together with the Practice Direction on Motions to Assign a New Member Due to Delay, explains how a party brings that request.
There are only two qualifying situations. The original Member must either:
- have died, or be unable (or appear unable) for some other reason to finish the hearing or decide the case; or
- have missed a completion or decision deadline that the Chair had already set.
The Practice Direction leaves no room for argument: the motion is not available for any other purpose.
Fit and misfit
It fits a file where the hearing is finished, no more dates are set or anticipated, 90 or more days have run since the last hearing date or submission deadline, and a written inquiry to the LTB has not brought a decision.
It does not fit where:
- you want a different Member because you disagree with, or suspect bias in, the current one; Rule 27 offers no such ground;
- the hearing was adjourned and you want it to move faster; the Practice Direction points you to a Request to Shorten Time instead;
- further hearing dates are on the calendar or expected; the LTB will refuse to accept the motion.
When you can file
The 90-day floor
The motion cannot be accepted until 90 days or more have passed since the latest of these (Rule 27.2; form; instructions):
- the final hearing date, where no more hearings are set or expected;
- any deadline the Member gave for post-hearing submissions;
- the final submission deadline in a written hearing.
Example. Your hearing ended on April 6, 2027, and the Member allowed written submissions until April 20, 2027. The later date governs, so the earliest filing date is Monday, July 19, 2027, not 90 days from the hearing.
The inquiry comes first
A written inquiry about where the hearing or decision stands is a precondition (Rule 27.1). According to the instructions and the Practice Direction, send it to LTB@ontario.ca and put your file number in the subject line. Keep a copy: the LTB looks at that inquiry before any other factor.
Completing the form
Language Preference and Accommodation. Fill these in; accommodation needs go on the Accommodation Request.
File Numbers. Every related file number.
Requesting Party's Information. Choose Landlord, Landlord Representative, Tenant, Tenant Representative or Other, and give your name, company name (for a corporate landlord), mailing address, phone numbers and email. Be careful with the communication question: choosing Email is consent to receive LTB documents that way, so if there are several requesters and anyone wants paper, leave Email unticked.
Unit, Building or Complex Covered by the Application. Write out the full address; the instructions allow NE, NW, SE and SW for long directional words.
Request Details. A statement at the top says either that the Member cannot complete the matter or that a deadline set by the Chair has passed. Below it, make your case by working through the factors the LTB may consider:
| Factor | What to say |
|---|---|
| Prior inquiry | The date you emailed the LTB about status |
| Length of delay | How long since the last hearing or submission deadline |
| Reasons for delay | Any explanation you have been given |
| Expected completion | Any date by which the original Member could finish |
| Complexity and urgency | For a landlord, typically arrears still building or a safety problem, with figures |
| LTB resources and other factors | Anything else relevant |
Attach your inquiry email and any reply.
Signature. Tick the box for your role, certify that the contents are correct and that Rule 27 is satisfied, and sign with the date.
Representative details. Licence number with the Law Society of Ontario and contact information. The LTB will contact the representative at the email given here.
Filing
Under the Practice Direction, upload the motion through the Tribunals Ontario Portal and pick "Motion for Assignment of New Member" in the dropdown. The instructions also list three alternatives: ServiceOntario; email to LTB@ontario.ca; or mail or courier to 15 Grosvenor Street, Ground Floor, Toronto ON M7A 2G6. Representatives are expected to use the Portal. No fee applies.
Why these motions are refused
- No written inquiry beforehand. Without one, Rule 27.1 is not met, and the form warns that incomplete requests may be denied.
- Filed inside the 90 days. The count starts from whichever is later, the last hearing date or the last submission deadline, not simply the hearing.
- More hearing dates set or expected. The motion will not be accepted.
- A reason outside Rule 27. Grievances about the Member's conduct or the likely result are treated as unrelated reasons, and the Practice Direction says such reasons will not be considered.
- Urgency asserted but not shown. Ongoing unpaid rent is relevant under the complexity-and-urgency factor, but only if you put the numbers in front of the LTB.
How the LTB deals with it
The motion is ordinarily decided on the papers, with no hearing and no submissions from the other side (Rule 27.3), and the Chair may give it to another Member to decide. If it succeeds, the new Member has several options:
- decide on the existing record, including any recording of the hearing;
- carry on with a hearing that was not finished;
- rehear part or all of the case;
- recall witnesses or ask for further evidence;
- ask the parties how they think the matter should proceed.
A rehearing is possible, so prepare for the chance that you will need to present your evidence again.
Questions about reassignment
How long do I have to wait?
Ninety days or more from the latest of the last hearing date, any deadline for post-hearing submissions, and the last deadline in a written hearing (Rule 27.2).
Must I contact the LTB before filing?
Yes. Rule 27.1 requires a written status inquiry before the motion. Email LTB@ontario.ca with the file number in the subject line.
Can I use it if I believe the Member is biased?
No. It is limited to a Member who cannot finish or who has missed a deadline set by the Chair.
Is there a hearing on the motion?
Ordinarily not. The LTB generally rules on it without a hearing and without hearing from the other parties.