How to Properly Serve a Notice to a Tenant in Ontario
Service isn’t a formality. If a notice isn’t served by an approved method, or the termination date doesn’t allow for how it was served, the application can be dismissed. Here is how to serve correctly and when each method counts as received.
Key points
- Approved methods include handing it over, the mailbox, under the door or mail slot, courier and mail.
- Email only works if the tenant agreed in writing, for example in the standard lease.
- Mail counts as received 5 days after mailing; courier the next day.
- Complete a Certificate of Service and file it with your application.
The Residential Tenancies Act and the LTB Rules set out how notices must be served. Getting it right is as important as filling in the form correctly.
Approved methods
- Hand it to the tenant.
- Hand it to an apparent adult in the unit.
- Leave it in the tenant’s mailbox or where mail is normally delivered.
- Slide it under the door or through the mail slot.
- Send it by courier or mail.
- Email it, only if the tenant agreed in writing to email service.
Taping a notice to the door isn’t an approved method.
When it counts as received
| Method | Considered received |
|---|---|
| Handed over | The same day |
| Mailbox, under the door or mail slot | The same day |
| Courier | The next day that isn’t a holiday |
| 5 days after mailing | |
| Email (with written consent) | The day it’s sent |
Count your termination date from when the notice is considered received, and don’t count the day of service itself.
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Book a free 20-minute call →Who can serve
The landlord, an agent or a representative can serve the notice. Whoever serves it should complete the Certificate of Service and be ready to explain at the hearing how and when it was served.
The Certificate of Service
When you file an application based on a notice, you must give the LTB a copy of the notice and a Certificate of Service completed by the person who served it. Fill it in at the time of service: the date, the method and where it was delivered. See Certificate of Service.
Common mistakes
- Emailing a notice without the tenant’s written consent.
- Forgetting to add 5 days when mailing.
- Posting the notice on the door.
- Not serving every tenant named on the lease.
- Completing the Certificate of Service weeks later from memory.
Frequently asked questions
Can I email a notice to my tenant?
Only if they agreed in writing to receive documents by email, for example in the standard lease or a Consent to Service by Email form.
When is a mailed notice considered received?
Five days after you mail it.
Can I slide the notice under the door?
Yes, while the tenant is still living in the unit.
Can I tape the notice to the door?
No. That isn’t an approved method.
Who should sign the Certificate of Service?
The person who actually served the notice.
About Robert Di Lisi
Robert is a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario and co-founder of Stonegate Legal Services, a landlord-only firm. He leads client intake and speaks at landlord seminars across the GTA. Like the rest of the team, he is a landlord himself.
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