Landlord and Tenant Issues

Can a landlord recover unpaid rent from a tenant who already moved out?

Last updated October 7, 2026.

Yes. Since September 1, 2021, an Ontario landlord can ask the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) to order a former tenant to pay unpaid rent by filing Form L10 no later than one year after the tenant moved out. The Board can order up to $50,000, and it subtracts any last month's rent deposit and interest. If the former tenant does not pay the order, it can be enforced through the Small Claims Court.

If you have read that a former tenant must be sued in Small Claims Court, that was the old route, and it changed on September 1, 2021. Our page on landlord and tenant help in Hamilton explains how Carson Frankum, a licensed paralegal, helps landlords and former tenants with these claims.

How does a landlord claim rent from a former tenant, step by step?

The rules are in sections 87, 88, 189.0.1 and 207 of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 (the Act), the LTB's L10 instructions (July 2026) and its brochure on collecting money a former tenant owes.

Check that the L10 fits. The tenant must have moved out on or after September 1, 2021, and the application must be filed no more than one year after the move-out date (s. 87(1), (1.1)). If the tenant is still living in the unit, the L10 is not available; use an L9, or an N4 and L1.
Work out the amount. The L10 has a table for rent charged, rent paid and rent owing, period by period. Rent includes separate charges such as parking and a flat monthly utility charge. A fluctuating utility share, such as half the hydro bill, is claimed separately as a utility cost.
Add other money the Act allows. The same L10 can claim compensation for days the tenant stayed after the tenancy ended, bank NSF charges and an administration charge of up to $20 per NSF cheque, unpaid utilities, damage beyond normal wear and tear, and certain costs caused by serious interference.
Find the former tenant's current address. The landlord, not the LTB, must serve the application (s. 189.0.1). It cannot be left at the old rental unit.
File the L10 and pay the fee. The fee is $201, or $186 through the Tribunals Ontario Portal, and it can be included in the total claimed.
Serve the application and Notice of Hearing. This must happen at least 30 days before the hearing. If none of the approved methods will work, a Request to use Alternative Service must reach the LTB at least 40 days before the hearing.
File the Certificate of Service. It is due at least 20 days before the hearing. Without it, the LTB may cancel the hearing and close the file, and the fee is not refunded.
Share evidence and attend the hearing. The ledger, the lease, notices, utility bills and repair invoices go to the former tenant and the LTB at least 7 days before the hearing.
Enforce the order if it is not paid. An LTB order for money can be filed with the Small Claims Court, where it is treated like a court order for enforcement purposes.

Where a rent claim goes in Ontario (Residential Tenancies Act, 2006, ss. 87 and 207; O. Reg. 626/00; LTB L10 instructions; read October 7, 2026)
Situation	Where it goes	Key limit
Tenant still living in the unit	LTB: L9 (rent only) or N4 then L1 (eviction and rent)	No L10 while the tenant is in possession
Tenant moved out on or after September 1, 2021	LTB: L10	File within one year of the move-out date; up to $50,000
Claim larger than $50,000	A court, not the LTB (s. 207(2)); above the Small Claims limit this is the Superior Court, where a lawyer is needed	If the claim goes to the LTB, any amount over $50,000 is lost (s. 207(3))
Tenant moved out before September 1, 2021	Not the LTB; any court claim would usually be long out of time under the two-year limitation period	Limitations Act, 2002, s. 4
LTB order not paid	File the order in the Small Claims Court for enforcement	Court enforcement fees apply

The Board's money limit is the greater of $10,000 and the Small Claims Court limit (s. 207(1)). The Small Claims limit rose to $50,000 on October 1, 2025 (O. Reg. 626/00), so the LTB limit did too. For more on that limit, see how much you can sue for in Small Claims Court.

How much rent can a landlord actually claim?

It depends on how the tenancy ended. Rent stops when a tenancy has ended and the tenant has moved out, and a landlord cannot demand "rent" for any period after that (s. 134(1.1)). The question is when the tenancy legally ended.

Proper notice or an agreement. If the tenant gave a valid notice or the two sides agreed to end the tenancy, rent is owed up to that termination date and no later (Guideline 11).
Short notice. If the tenant gave notice that did not follow the Act, rent is owed up to the earliest date a proper notice could have named (s. 88(1), para. 1). Guideline 11 adds that if the landlord accepted the short notice, the Board may find an agreement and no rent is owed after that date.
No notice at all. If the tenant simply left, rent is owed up to the earliest date a proper notice could have named, counting from the day the landlord knew or ought to have known the tenant had gone (s. 88(1), para. 2). On a fixed-term lease, that can run to the end of the term.
Re-rented. Once a new tenant is entitled to move in, the former tenant stops owing rent (s. 88(3)).
Mitigation. The landlord must take reasonable steps to keep its losses down (ss. 16 and 88(4)). Guideline 11 says this usually means trying to re-rent as soon as the landlord knew, or should have known, the tenant was leaving.

Then comes the credit. The last month's rent deposit must be applied to the last rent period of the tenancy (s. 106(10)), and Guideline 11 says the Board may deduct the deposit, and interest owed on it, from what a former tenant is ordered to pay. See how the last month's rent deposit and its interest work.

What changes the answer?

The move-out date. The L10 is only for tenants who left on or after September 1, 2021, and only within one year after they left (s. 87(1), (1.1)).
The Board's exclusive role. The Act gives the Board exclusive jurisdiction over the applications it creates (s. 168(2)). Whether a court would hear a rent claim the Board could have heard, or one filed after the one-year window, is a legal question that depends on the facts. Treat the one-year L10 deadline as the real deadline.
The size of the claim. Up to $50,000 at the Board. Choosing the Board extinguishes anything above that (s. 207(3)).
What the money is for. Rent, compensation, NSF charges, utilities, damage and interference costs each have their own rules (ss. 87 to 89). Normal wear and tear cannot be claimed.
A pattern of late rent while the tenant was still there. That is an eviction ground, not a money claim; see eviction for persistent late payment of rent.
Penalties in the lease. A clause that charges a penalty for leaving early runs into section 134(1)(a), which bars landlords from collecting a penalty or similar amount. The claim is limited to rent and the other amounts the Act allows.
Interest on the order. The Board can set a date for payment, and post-judgment interest under the Courts of Justice Act runs only after that date (s. 207(7)).

A worked example

For example, imagine a Hamilton landlord named Grace who rents a unit for $1,800 a month on a one-year lease ending August 31, 2027. Her tenant pays through December 2026, then moves out in early January 2027 without notice and without paying January's rent. Grace finds the unit empty on January 20.

Because it was a fixed-term lease, the earliest date a proper notice given on January 20 could have named is August 31, 2027. That is the outer limit of what she could claim. Grace advertises the unit right away and a new tenant is entitled to move in on March 1, so under section 88(3) the former tenant owes rent only for January and February: $3,600. The Board would then deduct the $1,800 last month's rent deposit and any interest owed on it, leaving about $1,800 plus the filing fee.

Grace files an L10 in the spring of 2027, well inside the one-year window. She finds the former tenant's new address, serves the application and Notice of Hearing at least 30 days before the hearing, and files her Certificate of Service at least 20 days before. If the order is not paid, she files it with the Small Claims Court in Hamilton for enforcement. Grace is hypothetical, and the amounts are for illustration only.

Common mistakes

Waiting too long. The L10 must be filed within one year of the move-out date. Landlords who spend that year sending demand letters can run out of time.
Serving the old address. The former tenant's copy cannot be left at the rental unit, and the landlord may be asked at the hearing how it found the current address.
Skipping the Certificate of Service. Without it, filed at least 20 days before the hearing, the hearing can be cancelled and the fee lost.
Claiming rent for months after re-renting. Once a new tenant is entitled to occupy the unit, the former tenant's rent stops (s. 88(3)).
Forgetting the deposit. The deposit and interest are credited to the former tenant. Leaving them out makes the claim look inflated.
Former tenants ignoring the hearing. A former tenant who does not attend loses the chance to raise the deposit, a valid notice, an agreement or the landlord's failure to re-rent.

What to do this week

Write down the exact date the tenant moved out and add one year; that is the last day to file an L10.
Build a rent ledger: rent charged, rent paid and rent owing for each period.
Gather the lease, any notice or agreement to end the tenancy, re-rental advertisements and the new lease start date.
Note the deposit amount and the interest paid on it each year.
Look for the former tenant's current address, or an email address they agreed in writing to use during the tenancy.
Former tenants who receive an L10: check the dates, the deposit credit and whether the landlord re-rented, and gather proof.
For help preparing or answering an L10, contact Cheddar Paralegal PC in Hamilton.

Frequently asked questions

Can a landlord still sue a former tenant in Small Claims Court?

For tenants who left on or after September 1, 2021, the Act gives the Board the L10 application for rent claims, and the Board's jurisdiction over matters the Act gives it is exclusive (s. 168(2)). The Small Claims Court comes in at the enforcement stage if the LTB order is not paid.

How is an LTB order enforced in Small Claims Court?

The landlord files the order with the court, and the Ontario guide to Small Claims procedures says it is then treated as a court order for enforcement. The court's fee for receiving an order for enforcement is $45, and the usual tools follow, starting with an examination hearing about the debtor's finances.

Can wages be garnished to pay an LTB order?

Yes, once the order is filed for enforcement. A notice of garnishment costs $144 to issue or renew, and our article on garnishing wages after a Small Claims judgment explains the process.

What if the tenant abandoned the unit?

The landlord first needs to be sure the unit is abandoned; under section 2(3) of the Act, as LTB Guideline 4 explains, a unit is not abandoned while the tenant is not in arrears of rent. For the steps, see our article on legal options when a tenant abandons a rental.

Can I claim for damage at the same time?

Yes. The L10 covers damage the former tenant, a guest or another occupant caused wilfully or negligently, plus unpaid utilities and certain interference costs. Normal wear and tear is not claimable.

What if I am owed money that is not rent at all?

A debt the Act does not cover, such as a private loan between landlord and tenant, is an ordinary claim. It follows the same Small Claims steps used for suing for an unpaid invoice.

How long does the LTB take to hear an L10?

The LTB's posted averages put most application types other than L1 and L9 at 5 to 7 months to a hearing. Our page on LTB timelines from notice to order explains what affects the wait.

Where is Small Claims enforcement handled for Hamilton?

At the Small Claims Court office for the Hamilton area. Our page on Small Claims Court in Hamilton has the local details.

Sources

Facing a landlord-tenant issue? Contact us today for assistance.

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This page gives general information about Ontario law, not legal advice for your situation. Cheddar Paralegal PC is a paralegal firm licensed by the Law Society of Ontario; licensed paralegals can help only with matters the Law Society allows paralegals to handle.