If you filed something at Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) and no longer want a decision on it, the Request to Withdraw an Application is how you close the file yourself. The person who filed, landlord or tenant, uses it. You can also use it to abandon a motion you brought, such as a set-aside or voiding motion, or a review request you filed.

Quick facts
Who can file it The applicant, meaning whoever started the case, or that person's representative
Timing Freely until the hearing starts; after that, only if the Board consents
Written hearings Without consent up to the day written submissions are due
Where it goes Online, on the Tribunals Ontario Portal; licensees have no other option
Cost Nothing to withdraw, but the original fee stays paid
Next form None; the file simply ends

What withdrawing does

The Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (RTA) gives an applicant the right to withdraw at any point before the hearing begins (s. 200(2)). After that point, s. 200(4) makes the Board's consent a condition. The Board's Rule 17 explains the mechanics:

  • When a hearing "begins." For an oral or electronic hearing, the start is the parties' first appearance in front of the Member or Dispute Resolution Officer (DRO). Showing up only to deal with a preliminary issue still counts (Rule 17.3).
  • Written hearings. No consent is needed until the date written submissions are due (Rule 17.1).
  • Telling people. Notice of the withdrawal goes promptly to the Board and to every other party (Rules 17.1 and 17.2).

Think before you file. Per the form's own instructions, once something is withdrawn, a change of heart does not let you carry on with it.

Good reasons to use it, and situations where it is the wrong tool

It fits when you filed the wrong application, when you reached a private deal that does not need a consent order, or, for a landlord, when the tenant has left and you have no interest in a money order.

It is the wrong tool in three common situations:

  • An L1 where the tenant has paid in full. When the tenant paid all of the arrears, all new rent that came due and the filing fee before any order was issued, the law treats the L1 as discontinued (RTA s. 74(2)). Instead of withdrawing, file the Request for a Discontinuance Order Without a Hearing; the file then ends with an actual order.
  • A deal you may need to enforce. Withdrawing leaves no order behind. Where money is coming in instalments, put the deal into a settlement or consent order; a s. 206 plan also needs the mandatory Payment Agreement.
  • A correctable mistake. An amendment under Rule 15 may cost less than starting over with a new fee.

When you can withdraw

  • Before anyone has appeared: go ahead; the Board's permission is not required.
  • Hearing already started: the decision belongs to the Member or DRO. You can raise it at the hearing. Where the matter was adjourned, send in the form and the Board will rule on it. Until you have confirmation that the Board said yes, the instructions tell you to attend the next scheduled date.
  • Written hearing: free to withdraw until submissions are due. After that date, make the request to the Board in writing, still on this form.

Completing the form

  1. File Number. Copy it from the Notice of Hearing or from the Portal.
  2. Language Preference. English or French.
  3. Requester. Tick the box that describes you (Landlord, Tenant, Co-op, Representative or Other). Fill in your name, email and a phone number where you can be reached during the day. Licensed representatives add their LSO number.
  4. "I have the authority to bind all Applicants." Answer Yes only when it is accurate. With more than one landlord or more than one tenant on the application, confirm before you tick it.
  5. Rental Unit Address. Match the application word for word.
  6. Withdrawal. By completing it you confirm you want the case closed with no further steps. The reasons box is required only on a tenant's T2 harassment application (see the FAQ). Still, if the hearing has started, one or two lines of explanation help.
  7. Signature of Requester. Name, signature, date in dd/mm/yyyy format. Filing online? A checkbox replaces the handwritten signature.

Submitting it

According to the Board's forms page, this request is filed on the Tribunals Ontario Portal. Law Society licensees have had to use the Portal for it since January 1, 2025; if a licensee sends it by email, mail, courier or ServiceOntario, the Board will not process it. Withdrawing is free. The fee paid to start the application is not refunded.

Six ways a withdrawal goes wrong

  1. Assuming it is automatic after the hearing started. If the parties have already been before a Member or DRO, even only on a preliminary point, the Board must consent. Skipping the next date because you think the file is closed means the hearing may go on without you.
  2. The wrong person filing. Withdrawal belongs to the applicant or the applicant's representative. A property manager who lacks authority will be refused, and so will a tenant who tries to withdraw the landlord's case (or the reverse).
  3. Ticking the "bind all Applicants" box when you cannot. If co-owners or affiliated companies filed jointly, no single one of them speaks for the others without their authority.
  4. Withdrawing an L1 after the tenant cleared it. That throws away the discontinuance order, and with it a tidy record. Use the discontinuance request.
  5. Pulling the case instead of recording the deal. When a handshake plan falls apart, there is nothing on file to enforce.
  6. Not notifying the other party. Rule 17 requires notice, and the instructions call for it in writing.

If you are the other party

When the other side withdraws before the hearing starts, the file closes and you do not need to respond. When they try to withdraw after it has started, the Member or DRO still has to agree, so keep the hearing date unless the Board tells you otherwise. One special rule protects tenants: no T2 harassment application is withdrawn without the Board agreeing, whatever stage it is at.

After you file

With no hearing yet held, the Board closes the file. Where the hearing had already started, the Member or DRO rules on consent; until told otherwise, assume any booked hearing is going ahead. If you want to pursue the matter later, it is a brand-new application with its own fee.

Frequently asked questions

Is the filing fee refunded when I withdraw?

No refund. The form says so, and so does the Board's fees page.

The tenant paid off all the arrears. Do I withdraw the L1?

Generally, no. Full payment of the arrears, the new rent owing and the filing fee before any order issues discontinues the L1 under s. 74(2) of the RTA. The form to file is the discontinuance request (no hearing needed).

Once withdrawn, can the case be revived?

Not the old file; it stays closed. A fresh application with a fresh fee is the only route, and it must still meet any deadline tied to your notice.

Can a tenant withdraw a harassment claim at will?

No. When a tenant's T2 alleges harassment, obstruction, coercion, threats or interference by the landlord, the Board must consent to its withdrawal (RTA s. 200(3); Rule 17.2). The tenant explains the reason on the form.

Official sources