The S2 Motion in Ontario: Undoing an L3 or L4 Eviction Order Made Without a Hearing

Some Ontario eviction orders are issued "ex parte", meaning the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) made them without holding a hearing. Most come from two landlord applications: the L3, after a tenant's own notice or agreement to move, and the L4, after a broken settlement or order. Tenants, and co-op members, fight these orders with the S2. File it in time and the eviction is put on hold until the Board hears the motion.

Quick summary

How the S2 works

Against an L3 order (RTA s. 77)

A tenant's signed N11, or an N9 or other notice from the tenant, lets the landlord obtain an eviction order with no notice to the tenant at all (s. 77(1)). Under s. 77(6)–(7), the tenant gets 10 days to move against it, and the order is frozen as soon as the motion is filed. At the hearing, two outcomes are possible:

• The order must be set aside if, in fact, the tenant never made the agreement or gave the notice.
• The order may be set aside if the prescribed test is met.

Failing both, the stay comes off, immediately or from a date the Board picks (s. 77(8)).

The prescribed test since September 21, 2026 comes from s. 8.2 of O. Reg. 516/06. The Board will set the order aside only if, considering all the circumstances, doing so "would not be unfair". What it may not weigh: anything that changed in the tenant's life once they had signed, or once their notice was given.

Against an L4 order (RTA s. 78)

An L4 is available (s. 78(1)) where a mediated settlement or a Board order said a breach by the tenant would let the landlord apply without notice. The same 10 days apply, and the same automatic stay on filing (s. 78(9)–(10)). Under s. 78(11) the Board will undo the order where the L4 conditions were not met or where doing so would not be unfair; if not, the stay is lifted. Undoing it on the fairness ground also lets the Board rewrite the original settlement or order (s. 78(12)).

Is the S2 the right tool?

Only for orders issued without a hearing. Other situations need other forms:

The clock

Ten days from issue (ss. 77(6), 78(9)). Do not count the day the order was issued (Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89(3)). A tenth day that falls on a weekend, or any day the Board's offices are shut, carries over to its next open day (Rule 1.14; Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89(1)–(2)).

Example: the Board issues an order on Thursday, March 4, 2027. Day 10 is Sunday, March 14, so the S2 can still be filed on Monday, March 15, 2027.

Missed it? A request to extend time has to be filed at the same time as the S2 (Rule 16.2(b)–(c)). The Board weighs how long the delay was, why it happened, and any prejudice (Rule 16.4).

Serving. The S2 and the Notice of Hearing go to the landlord at least 48 hours before the hearing starts (Rule 5.11).

Telling the Sheriff. Copies of the motion, the hearing notice and the stay belong at the Court Enforcement Office immediately; Rule 25.1 requires it and the S2 says so too.

The six-month expiry. Per Guideline 10, a stay from a pending set-aside motion pauses the s. 81 six months a landlord has to file the order with the Sheriff.

Completing the S2

The current version is 01/04/2022: a single page, plus a request for French-language service or accommodation.

Between / File Number. Names of both sides (landlord or co-op; tenant or member), the rental address, and the LTB file number from the order.

The request. Fill in your name and the date of the order you want cancelled.

The reasons box. This is the substance. Possible grounds include:

• no agreement or notice ever existed;
• the signature on it is not the tenant's;
• the tenant did not break the settlement's conditions;
• why cancelling the order would be fair.

Signature. Mark whether you are the tenant, a co-op member or a representative, then name, phone and date.

Filing

No fee is charged. According to the LTB's forms page, the S2 goes in through the Tribunals Ontario Portal. The Board then schedules the matter and sends out the hearing notice.

What each side should do

The tenant

• File within the 10 days, and give real reasons on the form. A blank or one-line explanation is a weak start.
• Serve the landlord 48 hours or more before the hearing, and take the papers to the Sheriff right away.
• On an L3 order, focus on facts from the time you signed or gave notice: whether you really agreed, whether the signature is yours, and why undoing the order would not be unfair. Changes in your life after that point cannot be considered.
• On an L4 order, show one of three things: no breach on your part, L4 requirements that were not satisfied, or fairness in undoing the order.

The landlord

1. Hold off on enforcement. The order is on hold from the moment the Board has the motion (ss. 77(7), 78(10)); leave the Sheriff out of it until the ruling.
2. On an L3 order, the evidence is the tenant's written notice or signed N11, how and when you got it, and the affidavit that went in with your L3. A disputed signature calls for proof: the emails, the story of how it was signed, a witness if there was one.
3. Speak to the "not unfair" test. Spell out the harm to you if the order is undone, such as a new tenant already signed up, a closing or a family move-in planned around the notice, or money spent. Remember the Board ignores what changed for the tenant after the signing or notice.
4. On an L4 order, bring the settlement or order itself, the affidavit you swore about the breach, payment ledgers or similar records for every condition missed, and the term that permitted an application without notice (s. 78(1)–(2)).
5. Say what you want. A lifted stay can take effect at once or on a set date (ss. 77(8)(c), 78(11)(c)). Ask for the date that works for you and explain why.

Why S2 motions fail

1. Late, with no extension request in the same filing (Rule 16.2).
2. The wrong form for the order. An S2 against a post-hearing order, or against an L1 order, does not fit.
3. Leaning on later events. Section 8.2(2) of O. Reg. 516/06 bars the Board from considering what changed after the notice or agreement on an L3, so arguments resting only on that tend to lose.
4. No explanation. Leaving the reasons box empty defeats the purpose of the form.
5. Served late, inside the 48-hour window (Rule 5.11).
6. The Sheriff never told. An enforcement office unaware of the stay may carry out the eviction anyway.

After the hearing

Either the order is cancelled, in which case the landlord's original application resumes (or is dismissed and replaced by a new order), or the stay ends and the eviction proceeds from the date the Board fixes.

Recent changes

On September 21, 2026, s. 77(8)(b) of the RTA was amended to point to prescribed circumstances, and a newly added s. 8.2 in O. Reg. 516/06 now governs L3 orders: they are set aside only where that is not unfair, and post-notice developments in the tenant's life are excluded. No new S2 was released; 01/04/2022 is still current. Details are in the LTB Operational Update.

Common questions

Will filing an S2 stop the eviction?

Yes. From receipt of the motion, there is a stay; nobody can enforce the L3 or L4 order until the Board rules (ss. 77(7), 78(10)). Make sure the Sheriff has a copy.

I signed an N11 but could not find a new place. Can I undo it?

The current test (September 2026 onward) asks whether undoing the L3 order would be unfair, and it shuts out anything that changed for you after the N11 was signed or the notice given.

Official sources

• Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 77, 78, 81
• O. Reg. 516/06, s. 8.2
• Motion to Set Aside an Ex Parte Order – Form S2 (PDF)
• LTB Rules of Procedure, Rules 1.14, 5.11, 16.2, 16.4, 25.1
• Legislation Act, 2006, s. 89
• Interpretation Guideline 10
• LTB Operational Update, September 21, 2026
• LTB Forms, filing and fees