Ontario L1 Eviction Voided by Payment: Landlord Guide

In Ontario, a tenant facing an L1 eviction order for unpaid rent can file a motion asking the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to declare the order void, on the basis that everything the order requires has now been paid. For a landlord, the motion can undo an eviction that seemed settled. Below is how it works, where it fails, and the steps open to you.

At a glance


Filed by	A tenant under an L1 eviction order for rent arrears
Timing	Once the full amount is paid, either before the order becomes enforceable (where some or all was paid to the landlord), or after that date but before the Sheriff acts
Time limit	Payment has to come before the Sheriff enforces. A motion after the enforceable date is available once per tenancy agreement
Filing and service	Filed with the Board, attaching the declaration and payment receipts; any hearing requires 48 hours' service or more
Fee	No fee
Your response	Your own motion on the S3, due 10 days after a without-hearing void order

How paying voids an eviction order

Under s. 74 of Ontario's Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA), a tenant facing eviction for arrears can save the tenancy by paying. There are two routes, depending on timing.

Route 1: payment before the enforceable date (s. 74(4)–(6))

Full payment before the enforceable date, made to you, to the Board, or partly to each, voids the order. "Full" means:

the arrears;
rent that has fallen due up to the date of payment;
any bounced-cheque bank charges and NSF administration fees the order allowed;
the costs the order awarded.

If the tenant paid everything into the LTB, the Board simply confirms by notice that the order is void; no motion is needed (s. 74(5); Rule 20.2). If you received some or all of the money directly, the tenant must bring this motion, ex parte, for confirmation that the order is void. The Board decides it on paper, with no hearing (s. 74(6)–(8)).

Route 2: payment after the enforceable date but before enforcement (s. 74(11))

Here the tenant must pay the whole balance, rent up to the day of payment included, bring the motion with notice to you, and swear the payment covers everything. The Board then holds a hearing (s. 74(14)).

Limits on the motion

Section 74(12) allows only one after-enforceable motion per tenancy agreement.
The Board must refuse a s. 74(11) motion that falls short of any requirement (s. 74(11.1)).
Once the Sheriff has enforced the order, or the tenant has moved out, the Board cannot void it (form, page 2).

An example

Say an L1 order dated March 5, 2027 requires $4,200 by March 16, 2027, and monthly rent of $1,400 is due on the 1st. If the tenant pays $4,200 on March 15, part to you and part into the LTB, that is route 1 and the tenant files the motion without notice to you. If the tenant waits until April 3, 2027, after the order is enforceable and after April's rent fell due, the payment has to cover the $4,200 plus April's $1,400, and the motion goes to a hearing on notice to you.

Which orders the motion applies to

The motion is limited to L1 eviction orders that rest on an N4. Ex parte L3 and L4 orders have their own S2 motion, and other orders are challenged by review. A partial payment voids nothing; money paid into the LTB that falls short is refunded to the tenant (Rules 20.3–20.6).

Dates that matter

The enforceable date. The order says when the Sheriff (Court Enforcement Office) can enforce it and how much must be paid before then. Past that date, the tenant must also cover all rent that has since fallen due.
Service. Rule 5.11 requires the tenant's motion to reach you at least 48 hours before the scheduled hearing time.
Your S3. Section 74(9) gives you 10 days after a s. 74(6) order (made without a hearing) to seek to set it aside. Any request for more time must accompany the S3 itself (Rule 16.2).
Order expiry. Under s. 81, an eviction order dies if it is not lodged with the Sheriff inside six months from its effective date. According to Guideline 10, that period stops running while an LTB motion stays the order.

What the tenant fills in

The form is version 15/12/2018. The first two pages are information; the motion itself comes after.

Between / File Number. Both parties' names, the rental address and the Board's file number.
The request. The tenant asks the Board to determine that a specified order (by file number and date) is void.
Signature. The tenant or a representative, with name, phone number and date.
Declaration for the Tenant's Motion. The tenant states that the arrears, NSF charges and costs, together with every rent payment falling due after the order, are fully paid, then lists only the payments made after the hearing, giving each one's amount, date, recipient and form (cash, cheque or money order). Payments made before the hearing should already appear in the order.
Proof of payment. Attach your receipts or the Board's trust deposit slips.

Although ss. 74(7) and 74(11) mention an affidavit and the 2018 form uses a declaration instead, that difference does not matter. Under Rule 1.5, a declaration carrying the same content, signed and dated, with a statement that it is true and that making a false declaration is an offence, is accepted wherever the RTA requires an affidavit. Guideline 11 also speaks of "a signed declaration or affidavit".

Where and how it is filed

No fee is charged. The 2018 form tells tenants to file in person at an LTB office, by mail, by courier, or through ServiceOntario; the Board's current forms page, by contrast, places this motion on the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Section 74(11) frames this as a motion to set the eviction order aside, which brings it under Rule 25.1: once a stay and Notice of Hearing issue, that Rule requires the tenant to bring copies to the Court Enforcement Office without delay, and Rule 25.2 requires the same for a notice or order confirming the eviction order is void.

Protecting your position as the landlord

Reconcile the figures straight away. Set the order's total, every rent instalment due since, the permitted NSF charges and costs, and each payment you have received side by side in date order. Any shortfall, however small, means the order is not void.

Challenge a void order you believe is wrong. If the Board confirmed the order void on paper but the full amount had not actually been paid by the enforceable date, bring a no-fee S3 motion within the 10-day window. Under s. 74(10), the void order survives if the tenant either paid everything on time or has completed payment by the hearing.

Prepare for a hearing on a late payment. Where the tenant paid after the enforceable date, bring your ledger and records of any Sheriff fees you paid. Any non-refundable enforcement costs you paid will be fixed by the Board, and unless the tenant deposits that amount with the LTB by the deadline it sets, the eviction order continues (s. 74(15)–(17)). Should the motion be dismissed, s. 74(18) permits an order that the tenant repay those costs to you.

Look for an earlier motion. A tenant who has used an after-enforceable motion once under the current tenancy agreement cannot use another (s. 74(12)), and s. 74(3)(c) means the eviction order itself should flag this.

Respect the stay. Under s. 74(13), a compliant s. 74(11) motion halts enforcement automatically, so hold off until it is resolved.

Know the numbers before you accept money. Section 45 means accepting arrears is not by itself a reinstatement of the tenancy, yet collecting the complete sum the order requires can trigger a s. 74 void.

Why these motions fail

Less than the full amount. If post-order rent, NSF charges or costs are missing, the order stands (s. 74(4), (11)).
Pre-hearing payments listed again. Those are already credited in the order, so listing them double-counts and makes the declaration inaccurate.
A repeat motion after the enforceable date under the same tenancy agreement. Section 74(12) prohibits it.
A defective sworn statement. If it does not satisfy s. 74(11), the Board must reject the motion and there is no stay (s. 74(11.1), (13.1)).
The order has been enforced, or the tenant has left. The Board cannot void it.
Enforcement costs not deposited on time. Under s. 74(17), the stay lapses and enforcement can resume.

How the motion is decided

When every payment was made before the enforceable date, the Board decides the motion on the documents, and you may answer with an S3. Otherwise a hearing is held, and under s. 74(14) the outcome is one of two: the order is declared void (with any enforcement-cost condition attached), or the stay is lifted.

Frequently asked questions

Can paying after the order stop an eviction for arrears?

Yes. Ahead of the enforceable date, paying what the order requires plus any rent that has since fallen due will do it. Afterwards, the tenant must clear the whole balance and bring this motion, an option available a single time per tenancy agreement and only until the Sheriff acts.

If the order is voided, who covers the Sheriff's fee?

On a motion after the enforceable date, the Board specifies the non-refundable enforcement costs you paid, and the tenant must pay that amount into the LTB by a set date before the void takes effect (s. 74(15)).

How long do I have to challenge an order that voided my eviction without a hearing?

Ten days from the date the without-hearing order was issued, using the S3 (s. 74(9)). There is no fee.

Does accepting rent from the tenant cancel my eviction order?

Not by itself; accepting arrears does not reinstate the tenancy (s. 45). But if what you receive adds up to the full amount the order requires, the order can be void under s. 74.

Official sources

Last reviewed October 31, 2026. General information, not legal advice for your situation. Always use the current version of the form from the LTB.

When a Tenant Pays to Void an L1 Eviction Order: What Ontario Landlords Need to Know