Behind on rent and facing an L1 or L9 in Ontario? Landlord and tenant can settle it before the hearing with a repayment plan written on the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) Payment Agreement. Since July 1, 2026, a plan meant to become a section 206 order under the Residential Tenancies Act has to be on this form and no other. One clause in it, available only on an L1, gives the landlord a fast eviction route (the L4) if a payment is missed.
In brief
| Signed by | Landlord plus all tenants named on the L1 or L9 |
| Usable | From the day the application is filed until the hearing opens |
| Absolute cut-off | Filed before the hearing has commenced (RTA s. 206(1)(c)) |
| Delivery | Portal, email or mail, with all signatures already on it |
| Money | Free to file; the tenant can repay the L1/L9 fee ($201, or $186 by Portal) inside the plan |
| Backup if it fails | L4 (L1 with the clause) or Request to Re-open an Application |
Why the form matters
Section 206 of the RTA is the shortcut: the Board may make an order with payment terms and skip the hearing, but only when s. 206(1) is satisfied in full:
- a written agreement resolves the application;
- it is written on the Board's approved form (new as of July 1, 2026);
- every party signed it; and
- it reached the Board before the hearing commenced.
The Board's operational update says plainly that the Payment Agreement form is now mandatory.
| The order may include (s. 206(2)) | The order may not (s. 206(3)) |
|---|---|
| Arrears of rent | Terminate the tenancy |
| NSF bank charges and administration charges | |
| The application fee | |
| Rent coming due during the repayment period |
The L4 clause
Section 206(3.1) allows an extra term on an L1 order: if the tenant breaches, the landlord may apply under s. 78. The form used for that is the L4. Three features make it powerful. The tenant gets no notice of the filing. There is no fee when it goes through the Portal. And the Board may grant eviction before hearing the tenant's side. The tenant's protection comes afterwards: a set-aside motion, which must be brought within 10 days.
What the form will not do
The form's instructions draw these lines:
- It handles L1 and L9 cases, nothing else. If the rent application was combined with another kind (an L2 filed together with the L1, say), this form is out.
- A move-out date, an eviction, or debts beyond rent, NSF charges and the filing fee cannot go in it.
- New rent in Section 3 and the L4 clause exist for L1s, not L9s.
- Parties who want the tenancy to end should use an N11 Agreement to End the Tenancy, or settle through mediation.
- Once the hearing is under way, it is too late for s. 206. At that stage, the Member can be asked for a Rule 14 consent order.
Clocks to watch
| Event | Time limit |
|---|---|
| Filing the signed agreement | Before the hearing commences, and ideally the day it is signed |
| L4 after a missed or short payment (L1 only) | 30 days from the tenant's failure (s. 78(5)); the Board cannot extend L4 filing time |
| Re-opening after a missed payment (L1 or L9) | 30 days from the failure (s. 206(6)); prescribed by O. Reg. 516/06, s. 56, so no extension |
| Re-opening for coercion or deliberate misrepresentation (either side) | 30 days from the date of the consent order (s. 206(5)) |
The form itself warns that a late-arriving agreement may not be turned into an order before the hearing date, in which case the hearing goes ahead. Attend unless you are holding the order or a notice that the hearing was cancelled.
Completing version 2026/07
Read the form's two-page "Important information" sheet first.
- Top block. File Number; language; accommodation needs.
- Parties and address. Use the names on the application. "Landlord" and "tenant" mean all of the people listed under each.
- Section 1 (Amount to be paid by tenant). Rent owing to a stated date, which should be the last day of the rent period running when you sign. Add NSF bank charges and administration charges if claimed; the administration charge is limited to $20 per cheque. Add the application fee if the tenant is repaying it. Then the total.
- Section 2 (Payment amounts and dates). One line per instalment, each with a sum and a date. No maximum number; past 12, attach a page. The lines must total Section 1 exactly.
- Section 3 (Rent that becomes due, L1 only). The ongoing rent and its due day, which the tenant keeps paying alongside the instalments until the arrears are cleared, together with today's rent amount and rent period.
- Section 4 (Failure to make a payment). The re-opening right for L1 and L9 is pre-printed. The optional L4 clause on an L1 counts only when the tenant initials it.
- Signatures. Every landlord (or representative) and every tenant prints, signs and dates.
Example with real numbers
Monthly rent: $1,300, due on the 1st. Unpaid: October and November 2026, so $2,600. The landlord filed the L1 on the Portal for $186. Section 1 total: $2,786.
Section 2 schedule:
| Due date | Amount |
|---|---|
| December 15, 2026 | $700 |
| January 15, 2027 | $700 |
| February 15, 2027 | $700 |
| March 15, 2027 | $686 |
| Total | $2,786 |
Section 3 notes that the regular $1,300 is still payable on the 1st of every month, separately. Suppose the tenant initials the L4 clause and then pays nothing on February 15, 2027. Counting 30 days from that failure, the landlord's L4 or re-open request must be filed by March 17, 2027.
Filing
After the last signature, send it to the Board through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, or use email or mail, which the form also allows. A Member then decides on a consent order. Issued: the hearing comes off the calendar. Not issued: the hearing is held as planned.
Where agreements go wrong
- Drafting your own version. No approved form, no s. 206 order (s. 206(1)(a.1), in force July 1, 2026).
- L4 clause left without the tenant's initials. The landlord is limited to re-opening.
- Trying it on a combined L1 and L2. Not permitted by the form.
- Smuggling in other terms. A move-out date, damages and non-rent debts do not belong here.
- Gaps in signatures, or a filing after the hearing opened. Section 206(1) fails either way.
- Totals that do not reconcile. Instalments that fall short of Section 1, or an L1 plan that forgets ongoing rent, may lead the Board to refuse the order or produce an order that does not protect the landlord.
- Staying home on hearing day. No order yet means the hearing may run, with or without you.
- Letting a default sit. Thirty days is all there is for either the L4 or a re-open request.
A note for tenants
Before you initial Section 4 on an L1, understand the trade. With your initials there, one missed or short instalment can let the landlord obtain an eviction order without a hearing, and you would then have just 10 days to move to set it aside. Without your initials, the landlord can still ask to re-open, but that means a hearing first. Keep proof of every payment. Nothing in the agreement can make you move out, and the only charges it can include are the arrears, NSF charges (administration charge capped at $20) and the filing fee.
Once the order issues
The tenant pays on schedule. On a default, the landlord picks, within 30 days, between an L4 (L1 with the initialled clause) and a Request to Re-open an Application. If the Board never issued an order, both sides attend the hearing, and the landlord brings a current L1/L9 Information Update.
Recent changes
Bill 97 added s. 206(1)(a.1) to the RTA, and from July 1, 2026 a s. 206 repayment plan must be on the LTB's Payment Agreement form, as the Board's operational update confirms. The form now carries version number 2026/07.
Frequently asked questions
Is the official form optional?
Not if you want the Board to issue the plan as a s. 206 order without a hearing. That has been the rule since July 1, 2026.
Can the parties add a move-out date?
No; s. 206(3) and the form itself forbid it. A tenancy can end only through a different agreement or by an order after a hearing.
What follows a missed instalment?
On an L1 with an initialled L4 clause, the landlord can file an L4 inside 30 days, and an eviction order may issue with no hearing. Otherwise the landlord's tool is a re-open request, also inside 30 days.
Once signed, is the hearing off?
Only after the Board issues the consent order before the hearing date. Until then, prepare as though it is going ahead.